Pocophone F1 is coming to India on August 22, to take on OnePlus 6

Poco by Xiaomi announced in a tweet that its first phone will debut on August 22. Will the new Xioami phone outshine OnePlus 6 in India?

Poco by Xiaomi to launch its first phone on August 22. (HT Photo)

Poco by Xiaomi is all set to make its debut on August 22. Poco is a new sub-brand from Xiaomi that is aimed at India's growing premium smartphone market, currently dominated by the likes of OnePlus and Samsung. The new Xiaomi sub-brand is spearheaded by the company's Jai Mani.

The first phone from Xiaomi's new sub-brand is believed to be the Pocophone F1, which has already made unofficial appearances ahead of the August 22 official launch in India. An unboxing video, published by Slashleaks, shows the Pocophone F1 will sport a notch on the front and a premium design. The website also gave away a few key specifications details like Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 and a large 4,000mAh battery.

The highlight, however, is the inclusion of liquid cooling technology - commonly used for keeping a check on temperatures of the phone during a prolonged use or longer sessions of gaming. The two specifications are also in line with Poco's promise of delivering "faster experience" on its phones. It is worth noting that Snapdragon 845 is the best processor that Qualcomm offers for mobile platform.

"Poco is all about making a powerful smartphone with the technologies that truly matter. Recently it feels like the pace of innovation in the smartphone industry has slowed down, while prices are creeping up with flagship smartphones now past the $1000 mark. We set out to build something to buck this trend. For the first product, we got to basics and focus entirely on speed. Not just peak performance speed, but actual, real world speed," Xiaomi's Jai Mani wrote in a Facebook post.

He also said that the phones under Poco sub-brand will be "powerful" and offer "not just peak performance speed, but actual, real world, speed." 

More than peak performance, more than speed - the best of smartphone innovation is almost here. Brace yourself for the #MasterOfSpeed. See you on August 22, 2018. #POCOF1 pic.twitter.com/Uwt0ZcB26N

— POCO India (@IndiaPOCO) August 13, 2018

Pocophone F1 vs OnePlus 6
Based on the leaked specifications, Pocophone F1 is all set to take on OnePlus 6. The new Xiaomi premium phone a 5.99-inch Full HD+ display, 6GB of RAM, 4000mAh battery along with Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor. The phone is expected to be available in multiple variants 6GB + 64GB, 6GB + 128GB, and 8GB + 256GB.

In the camera department, Pocophone F1 is said to come with 12-megapixel + 5-megapixel rear cameras, 20-megapixel selfie camera. It will also have a fingerprint sensor on the back.

In comparison, OnePlus 6 is available in India starting ₹34,999. The phone has a 6.28-inch screen with 19:9 aspect ratio. Running on Android 8.1 Oreo, OnePlus 6 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with up to 8GB of RAM.

OnePlus 6 has a dual-rear camera setup that consists of 20-megapixel and 16-megapixel Sony IMX519 sensors. The dual cameras feature OIS, EIS, and ultra slow motion video recording at 480fps. On the front, it sports a 16-megapixel camera for selfies.