POCO X8 Pro Unboxing, First Look, Sample Shots - iPhone 17 design, unbelievably priced low for the specs

POCO today introduced the X8 Pro Series—both unbelievably priced low, considering the global memory shortage.

POCO X8 Pro is now official

The unit that I have is the POCO X8 Pro in the Mint Green colorway. This device has a starting price of just PHP 18,999 for the 8GB/256GB version, or could be as low as PHP 15,499 for its Early Bird Sale beginning today, March 17, until March 26, 2026.

Why? The build, the chip, the battery, and the cameras are all very promising at this price point.

Read on.

Unboxing/Accessories

The box and the phone

Nothing much here. You'll get the usual case, paper documents, and SIM ejector tool. It is followed by the phone itself with a pre-installed screen protector, Type-A to Type-C data/charging cable, and a power brick.

Everything inside the box

What made it special is that POCO managed to fit a super-fast 100W charging power brick on a phone priced this low.

Build Quality/Design

Back design of POCO X8 Pro

The design is undoubtedly very iPhone 17-inspired, but I don't mind. What's important is that we get this level of craftsmanship at this price point.

Build quality like a high-end phone!

First, the phone packs a premium metal-aluminum build with no sharp edges, which feels as good as phones double the price.

Second, it has the highest level of dust and water resistance for the entire body and Gorilla Glass 7i protection for the display.

Third, it has a velvety feel at the back and has the proper size for one-handed use.

At the back, it has a glass-like finish with an anti-fingerprint smudge frosted finish available in Black, White, and Mint Green colors. It is a little bit slippery without the case.

The display

In front, it uses a 6.59-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, 2560Hz touch sampling rate, 3840Hz PWM dimming, 1.5K 2756 x 1268 resolution at 450 ppi.

High-quality smooth and bright AMOLED display

This display has slim symmetrical bezels, adding a more premium and immersive viewing experience. It is also one of the better displays I've seen at this price point, with great colors and a sunlight-ready 3,500 nits of peak brightness.

This has a top-center notch housing the 20MP f/2.2 selfie camera. On top of the selfie camera is the earspeaker  Below the display, it has an In-Display fingerprint reader.

Top, bottom

On top of the phone are the first microphone hole and the IR Blaster remote control for home appliances. Below, users will find the SIM tray slot, primary microphone, USB-C port, and the primary speaker.

Buttons on the right side

There's nothing found on the left. At right, you will find the power key and volume up and down buttons.

This device measures 157.53 x 75.19 x 8.38 mm. At 8.38mm, this handset is considered slim for a handset with a fairly large 6,500mAh battery capacity. It is a bit hefty for the size at 201.47 grams.

Overall, it feels like a slightly thicker and heavier iPhone 17 with a similar build.

What to expect?

Today is my second day with the phone, but I'm very happy with the general experience, particularly at this price point.

Speedy for the price

The phone is super fast for the price, it runs all the content creation apps I use with ease, and there's no overheating so far when recording 4K videos at around 5 minutes or so.

Undeniably nice display

As mentioned, this has one of the best displays for the price, making it amazing for watching YouTube clips and more.

The processor of this phone is a 3.4GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8500-Ultra. For context, this is as fast as the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 and faster than the Dimensity 8400-8450 processors. Those chips are commonly found on smartphones in the PHP 25K and above.

The battery life is also legit so far. I still have 35% left in the tank at day 2 of usage. Having 6,500mAh capacity is nice.

I still have to test the 100W fast charging, but that's rare on phones in this category.

Wide, ultra-wide

For cameras, my expectations aren't that high since this is mostly a performance and gaming-focused smartphone based on the specs. But this phone is proving me wrong.

It has a few focus hunting issues (likely because the software of my phone is not yet updated), but the general output from its 50MP f/1.5 main shooter with OIS is great for the price.

Colors are natural-looking, and images are crisp in most lighting conditions.

26mm (1x), 52mm (2x)

Even the Portrait mode from this one is usable. They just need to improve the separation of the subject from the background a little better.

There are artifacts and minor grain in low light or challenging lighting when you pixel peep, but nothing alarming. Most users will not notice it.

Ultra-wide at 6:11 PM (almost low light)

The ultra-wide cam is surprisingly good considering that it only uses an 8MP shooter.

Selfie camera (with face beauty, even if it is off)

The selfie camera is okay so far, but are average in performance. 

I checked, and it can even record up to 4K60fps using the main camera. Not bad, POCO.

POCO X8 Pro Specs

Display: 6.59-inch Gorilla Glass 7i protected AMOLED screen w/ 120Hz refresh rate, 2560Hz touch sampling rate, 3840Hz PWM dimming, 1.5K 2756 x 1268 resolution at 450 ppi

CPU: 3.4GHz 4nm MediaTek Dimensity 8500-Ultra octa-core processor

GPU: Mali-G720

RAM: 8GB/12GB LPDDR5X

ROM: 256GB/512GB UFS 4.1

Back Camera: 50MP f/1.5 w/ OIS + 8MP f/2.2 ultra-wide + LED flash

Selfie Camera: 20MP f/2.2

Battery: 6,500mAh w/ USB-C 100W HyperCharge, 27W reverse charging

OS: Android 16 w/ HyperOS 3.0

Connectivity: WiFi 6 (2.4GHz/5GHz), 5G SA/NSA, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.4, OTG, NFC, GPS, dual SIM (nano)

Sensors: Accelerometer, light, orientation, proximity, gyroscope, sound, magnetic

Others: In-Display fingerprint sensor, IP66/68/69/69K dust and water resistance, IR Blaster, stereo speakers, Hi-Res Audio Wired/Wireless, Dolby Atmos, 5,300mm² POCO 3D Dual-layer IceLoop Cooling System, Colors: Black, White, Mint Green

Dimensions: 157.53 x 75.19 x 8.38 mm

Weight: 201.47 g

Price: PHP 18,999 (8GB/256GB), PHP 19,999 (8GB/512GB), PHP 21,999 (12GB/512GB)

As of the moment

The POCO X8 Pro is legit and poised to be one of the top (if not the top) phones at this price point.

It is built like a high-end smartphone, as fast as an upper mid-range smartphone, and the battery is certified long-lasting with fast charging. The primary cameras are slightly better than expected, and I am excited to further explore its much-improved HyperOS 3.0 skin with plenty of AI capabilities.

So far, this is the phone to beat in its class for me. I'll see you guys in the full review.