In the dynamic world of smartphones, the Poco C55 has made its mark. This article presents a comprehensive Poco C55 review, aiming to provide an in-depth analysis of the device’s features, performance, and overall user experience.
The Poco brand, a subsidiary of Xiaomi, has been known for offering feature-packed smartphones at competitive prices. The Poco C55 is no exception. It promises to deliver a blend of style, performance, and value, making it a potential contender in the mid-range smartphone market.
This review will delve into the specifics of the Poco C55, examining its design, display, performance, camera, battery life, and software. We will also highlight the pros and cons, providing a balanced view of what the device has to offer.
Whether you’re a tech enthusiast looking for your next gadget, or someone seeking a reliable smartphone within a budget, this Poco C55 review aims to provide all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Stay tuned as we unravel the details of the Poco C55, a smartphone that’s creating quite a buzz in the tech world.
Table of Contents
Design and Build Quality
The Poco C55 stands out in the budget smartphone segment with its unique and familiar design. The front of the phone is dominated by a large display, with a significant chin at the bottom. The rear panel is where the design gets interesting, featuring a Poco-styled camera module.
The back panel is made of polycarbonate with a faux leather stitched pattern. This not only looks good but also offers a better grip than a plain polycarbonate back. The patterned back tends to pick up fewer scratches and scuffs during usage.
The smartphone comes with a volume rocker and a power button on the right side. The left side houses the SIM card tray slot. The bottom edge includes a multipurpose micro USB port, along with the primary microphone and the loudspeaker. A 3.5 mm headphone jack is provided on the top side.
Despite housing a large 5,000mAh battery, the phone feels lightweight. Thanks to its slim form factor and modern design, the smartphone is comfortable to hold. However, the fingerprint sensor is placed a bit higher, which could be slightly tricky to access with your finger.
To handle a few raindrops, the smartphone comes with an IP52 water and dust resistance. This makes the Poco C55 one of the very few budget phones to have an IP rating.
While the Poco C55 doesn’t look as premium as some other smartphones in the segment, it is definitely sturdy. Given its pricing, the phone’s material leaves a little something to be desired. But overall, the Poco C55 offers a solid build quality and a unique design that sets it apart in the budget smartphone market.
Display Quality
The Poco C55 boasts a large 6.71-inch display with HD+ resolution. This LCD display is typical of budget smartphones, featuring chunky bezels and a standard refresh rate. Despite being HD+, pixelation is not noticeable thanks to the high pixel density of 268 PPI.
The screen comes with a 60Hz refresh rate, which works fine across apps and user interface. It also has a 120Hz touch sampling rate, enhancing the touch sensitivity experience. The colours and viewing angles are satisfactory for the price point.
However, the display’s brightness might pose a problem in outdoor conditions, especially on sunny days. Despite this, the display quality is good for casual use.
In terms of design, the display features a waterdrop notch. This contributes to the phone’s modern look while providing space for the front camera.
In summary, the Poco C55 offers a decent display quality considering its budget-friendly price. It may not be the best in the market, but it certainly delivers value for money.
Performance
The Poco C55 is powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, which is a popular choice for budget smartphones. It comes with either 4GB or 6GB of RAM and 64GB or 128GB of user-expandable storage.
In terms of performance, the Poco C55 does a decent job for its price range. It handles day-to-day tasks such as browsing, social media, and light gaming without any noticeable lag or visual delay. Apps launch relatively quickly, and games like Bubble Shooter and 2048 run smoothly.
When it comes to benchmarks, the Poco C55 scored 2,53,881 points in AnTuTu, which is better than most budget smartphones. In Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core tests, the handset managed 418 and 1,279 points, respectively. However, the phone’s performance throttles to 73 percent running 20 threads for 30 minutes in the CPU Throttle test.
Despite these numbers, the Poco C55 is not designed for heavy gaming or multitasking. If you’re a casual user looking for a smartphone for everyday use, the Poco C55 could be a good choice. But if you’re a power user or a gamer, you might want to consider other options.
In conclusion, the Poco C55 offers decent performance for its price. It won’t blow you away with its speed or power, but it gets the job done for everyday tasks.
Camera Quality
The Poco C55 is equipped with a dual-camera setup, featuring a 50 MP primary sensor and a 2 MP depth sensor. The main 50 MP camera performs quite well in daylight, offering crisp images. You can expect good performance from it given the price.
The camera allows you to take wider shots, thanks to the sensor with an aperture of up to F 1.8. Its night mode enables you to capture images even in low-light conditions. The HDR mode enhances the photos’ details, color, and contrast, making them more attractive.
However, the 2 MP depth sensor is quite basic and is primarily used for depth sensing in portrait mode. The quality of portrait shots is decent, with good edge detection and background blur.
On the front, the Poco C55 features a 5 MP selfie camera. While it’s not the highest resolution, it’s sufficient for casual selfies and video calls.
The camera software is straightforward and easy to use, with modes like photo, video, portrait, and more. There are also additional features like AI scene detection, which can automatically adjust the camera settings based on the scene.
In conclusion, the Poco C55 offers a decent camera setup for its price. While it may not compete with higher-end models, it’s more than capable for everyday photography.
Battery Life
The Poco C55 comes with a substantial 5,000mAh battery. This large capacity ensures that the phone can easily last a full day of moderate use. In fact, the Poco C55 has been reported to last up to 28 days on standby, up to 39 hours of talk time, about 27 hours of binge-watching, or up to 10.5 hours of gaming time on a single charge.
However, the charging speed might be a point of contention for some users. The Poco C55 supports only 10W charging, which is relatively slow compared to other smartphones in the same price range. This means that while the battery life is impressive, it may take a while to fully charge the device.
Despite this, the Poco C55’s battery performance is commendable for its price range. Whether you’re a casual user or a power user, the Poco C55’s battery life should be more than sufficient for your daily needs.
Software
The Poco C55 operates on Android 12 with MIUI 13 running out of the box. However, the latest update brings the device to HyperOS 1, based on Android 14.
This update enhances the user experience with new features and improvements.
HyperOS 1 offers a clean and intuitive interface, making it easy for users to navigate through the phone. It also includes features like Dark Mode, Reading Mode, and Second Space, which allows users to create a separate space on their device.
However, like many other budget smartphones, the Poco C55 comes with some pre-installed apps or bloatware. While some of these apps can be uninstalled, others cannot. This might be a point of contention for some users.
Despite this, the Poco C55’s software performance is commendable for its price range. It provides a smooth and responsive user experience, making it a good choice for those who want a budget-friendly smartphone with up-to-date software.
Pros and Cons
The Poco C55 has its share of strengths and weaknesses, like any other smartphone. Here’s a summary of the pros and cons based on various reviews:
Pros:
- Good Screen: The Poco C55 boasts a large 6.71-inch display with HD+ resolution. Despite being HD+, pixelation is not noticeable thanks to the high pixel density.
- Decent Performance: Powered by a MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, the Poco C55 handles day-to-day tasks such as browsing, social media, and light gaming without any noticeable lag.
- Solid Battery Life: With a substantial 5,000mAh battery, the phone can easily last a full day of moderate use.
Cons:
- Bloatware: Like many other budget smartphones, the Poco C55 comes with some pre-installed apps or bloatware.
- Uses Micro-USB Port: The Poco C55 uses a micro-USB port for charging and data transfer.
- Slow Charging Speeds: The Poco C55 supports only 10W charging, which is relatively slow compared to other smartphones in the same price range.
Poco C55 offers a balanced mix of pros and cons. It’s a good choice for those looking for a budget-friendly smartphone with decent features.
Conclusion: Poco C55 Review
The Poco C55 is a budget smartphone that offers a range of decent features. It’s a price/performance monster with a price tag of about $105. It packs quite a hardware in every aspect. The phone is nicely built and powerful enough to handle regular usage. The display, cameras, and battery are also up to the mark. However, it has a slightly dated OS (Android 12) and slow 10W charging via micro-USB. Despite these, the Poco C55 is a good option for budget-conscious consumers and is worth checking out.
