Poco C65 Review: A True Budget Champion?

- Updated: 3rd Feb 2024, 15:45 IST
  • 1
    Review Summary
  • 2
    Poco C65 Price In India And Variants
  • 3
    Poco C65 Box Contents
  • 4
    Poco C65 Specs At Glance
  • 5
    Poco C65 Design And Build
  • 6
    Poco C65 Camera
  • 7
    Poco C65 Battery And Charging
  • 8
    Poco C65 Display
  • 9
    Poco C65 Performance
  • 10
    Poco C65 Software And UI
  • 11
    Verdict
Review Summary

The Poco C series is reputed for offering good specifications in the budget segment, and the Poco C65 is the newest addition to this series. Is the Poco C65 a mere rebrand of the Redmi 13C 4G, or does it offer anything unique? Here is my review of the Poco C65 and why it is a decent option in the budget segment.

The phone has a plastic back with a matte finish and typical Poco branding. Its large 5,000mAh battery can easily last a day on average use.

But how does the MediaTek Helio G85 perform, and does the 50-megapixel camera take good photos? To find out, read my detailed review of the Poco C65.

PROS

  • 90Hz Refresh Rate
  • Decent Cameras
  • Long Lasting Battery Life
  • 2 Years Of OS Updates

CONS

  • 720p Display With Teardrop Notch
  • Plenty of Bloatware
  • 10W Charger In The Box
  • Slippery Build
Key Specs
Battery Capacity5000 mAh
Operating SystemAndroid v13
Screen Size6.74 inches
Highlights:
  • 5000 mAh

  • Android v13

  • 6.74 inches

Poco C65 Price In India And Variants

The Poco C65 starts in India at a price of Rs.8,499 for a base variant with 4GB RAM and 128GB storage. Furthermore, the 6GB+128GB and 8GB+256GB models of the phone cost Rs.9,499 and Rs. 10,999, respectively.

Poco C65 Price In India

It will be exclusively available in Matte Black and Pastel Blue colours on Flipkart.

Poco C65 Box Contents

The Poco C65 packs the following items inside the box:

Poco C65 Box Contents

  • Phone
  • 10W Charger
  • Documentation
  • SIM Ejector

Poco C65 Specs At Glance

Before we talk in detail about the device, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

  • Display: 6.74 inch 90Hz IPS LCD
  • Chipset: MediaTek Helio G85
  • RAM & ROM: 4GB 128GB, 6GB 128GB, 8GB 128GB
  • Software: Android v13
  • Rear camera: 50MP + 2MP+0.08MP
  • Selfie camera: 8MP
  • Battery: 5000 mAh
  • Weight: 192 grams
  • Dimensions: 168 x 78 x 8.1 mm

Poco C65 Design And Build

The Poco C65 has a plastic build on the back with a glossy design, which looks good for the price. The Pastel Blue variant has a minimalistic look and does not have the typical black camera island like other Poco phones.

Poco C65 Has A Matte Finish

Also Read: Realme 12 Pro Review: The Best Mid-Range Camera Phone?

Two large camera modules on the top house the triple camera setup accompanied by an LED flash. You also get a Poco branding on the right corner while the rest of the back remains clean.

Poco C65 Design

The matte finish makes the phone slippery, so I highly recommend using a case. It weighs 192 grams and is around 8.1mm thick despite housing a sizeable 5,000mAh battery.

Poco C65 Right

Also Read: Poco X6 Review: Xtreme Performance On A Budget

The Poco C65 has a plastic frame and feels comfortable to hold in the hand. Regarding ports and placements, you get the volume rocker and the power button on the right, which also doubles up as a fingerprint sensor.

Poco C65 Botto

At the top, you get the 3.5mm headphone jack, while the left houses the dual-SIM tray with a microSD card slot. At the bottom, you will be greeted by the USB-C port, speaker grille and microphone.

Poco C65 Camera

The Poco C65 features a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 2-megapixel macro and a 0.08-megapixel “AI lens”.On the front, there is an 8-megapixel selfie shooter.

Poco C65 Camera

Also Read: Poco X6 Pro Review: The OnePlus Killer Is Here!

During the day, the phone takes decent photos with good details and contrast. However, the camera has a tendency to overexpose, which sometimes results in washed-out images.

Poco C65 Daylight 1 Poco C65 Daylight 2 Poco C65 Daylight 3 Poco C65 Daylight 4 Poco C65 Daylight 5 Poco C65 Daylight 6 Poco C65 Daylight 7 Poco C65 Daylight 8 Poco C65 Daylight 9

Also Read: Poco M6 5G Review: Bringing 5G To The Masses

Moreover, the 2-megapixel macro camera and the auxiliary “AI camera” are only good on paper. Poco has not elaborated on the purpose of this so-called “AI camera”, so I guess it only exists for capturing depth information in portrait mode.

Poco C65 Lowlight 1 Poco C65 Lowlight 2 Poco C65 Lowlight 3

Also Read: POCO M6 Pro 5G Review – Best 5G Phone Under 10K!

When it comes to low light, the photos have plenty of noise and do not offer much detail, although the noise mode does reduce noise to an extent. This is where the budget hardware shows its limitations, and it’s best to avoid using the camera at night.

Poco C65 Selfie Sample

The selfies taken with an 8-megapixel front camera are decent, with adequate details. It also supports video recording up to 1080p at 30FPS on both cameras. Overall, the Poco C65 can take decent photos during the day, but the lowlight performance is disappointing.

Poco C65 Battery And Charging

The Poco C65 packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 18W charging. However, Poco only provides a 10W charger in the box, which is disappointing for a phone in this price range.

Poco C65 Battery Life

Also Read: Xiaomi Redmi Note 13 Pro Review: The Perfect Mid-Ranger?

It can easily last a day with normal usage, such as scrolling through social media and taking photos. If you are a light user, you can get two days of battery backup with the device.

Poco C65 Charger

Using the included 10W charger, the device can take over 2 hours to reach 100 per cent, so I highly recommend buying an 18W charger. It is unfortunate that brands like Poco are only offering a 10W charger in the box in 2024.

Poco C65 Display

The Poco C65 sports a 6.74-inch HD+ IPS LCD screen with a 90Hz refresh rate. Furthermore, the screen has a resolution of 1650 x 720 pixels and Gorilla Glass 3 for protection.

Poco C65 Display

Also Read: Motorola Edge 30 Fusion Long-Term Review: Does It Still Have The Edge?

The display has an outdated teardrop notch with huge bezels surrounding it. Furthermore, using 720p resolution on such a large screen results in pixelation, especially when reading text or articles, making it evident that you are using a budget device.

Poco C65 Teardrop Notch

Also Read: Samsung Galaxy S23 Long-Term Review – Still One Of The Best Compact Phones?

I can only hope Poco will offer a Full-HD+ screen in 2024 with punch hole cutout in future phones as competitors like the Infinix Note 12i provide a Full-HD+ AMOLED screen at a similar price.

Poco C65 Has 90Hz Refresh Rate

The screen is bright enough for indoor usage; however, you might face legibility issues under bright sunlight. Thanks to the 90Hz refresh rate, navigating through the user interface remains smooth and fluid.

Poco C65 Content Consumption

The display offers saturated colours and comes with Widevine L1 certification, meaning you can stream 1080p content. Despite the thick bezels surrounding the screen, I liked watching Season 1 of Rocket Boy.

Poco C65 Refresh Rate

Also Read: Oppo Find N2 Flip Long-Term Review: Can It Flip The Competition?

The phone also has TUV Rheinland lowlight certification for a flicker-free experience so that you won’t strain your eyes at night. It packs a single speaker at the bottom with decent output and adequate loudness.

Poco C65 Lockscreen

Moreover, you get a 3.5mm headphone jack, which is always a welcome addition and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner that is fast and accurate. You also get support for face unlock, although you should avoid using it as it isn’t very secure.

Poco C65 Performance

The Poco C65 is powered by the MediaTek Helio G85 chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. Moreover, the phone also supports up to 8 GB of virtual memory and 1TB of expansion via the microSD card slot.

Poco C65 Specifications

During day-to-day usage, the phone runs fine and keeps most apps, such as Instagram, Snapchat, and LinkedIn, open in the background. However, I noticed that the app opening and loading times are slow due to the eMMC 5.1 storage, which has very low read/write speeds.

Also Read: OnePlus 11 Long-Term Review: A True Flagship Killer

Poco should have opted for at least UFS 2.2 storage to offer a decent experience, as the UFS storage type is now antiquated. If you have previously used a mid-range phone, you will immediately notice the longer app loading and opening times.

Poco C65 Gaming

Moving on, the phone can handle casual games like Subway Surfers and Temple Run. Moreover, it can also handle demanding games like Asphalt 9, CODM at Medium and High Frame Rate (60 FPS) and BGMI at HD and High or Smooth and Ultra (40FPS).

Poco C65 Benchmark

I did not notice any major lags or stutters during my gameplay, although the phone did get slightly warm during my usage. Furthermore, when it comes to benchmarks, the device has a single-core score of 434 and a multi-core score of 1238 on Geekbench.

Also Read: Nothing Phone (1) Long-Term Review: Still A Worthy Contender?

In addition, the phone throttled to 94 per cent in the 15-minute CPU throttling test and achieved 99 per cent stability in the 3D Mark Wildlife Extreme Stress Test. It has an AnTuTu V10 score of 215979 and a score of 13559 on the storage test. Overall, the Poco C65 is a decent performer when it comes to day-to-day tasks and casual games.

Poco C65 Software And UI

The Poco C65 runs on MIUI for Poco 14.0.3 based on Android 13. The company has promised two years of OS updates and three years of security patches, which is excellent for a device in this segment.

Poco C65 Android Version

Also Read: Apple iPhone 14 Pro Long-Term Review – Worth to Buy in 2024?

Unfortunately, similar to other budget phones, you get plenty of bloatware and preinstalled apps such as Facebook, Bubble Shooter, Crazy Juicer, Netflix, Opera Browser, Jewel Blast, etc. Thankfully, you can remove them by uninstalling them from the settings.

Poco C65 Bloatware

Also Read: iQOO 11 Long-Term Review: Pure Performance Monster

There are other annoyances, such as the Glance Lock Screen, which changes your lock screen wallpaper to show ads and app recommendations that pop up as soon as you open the app drawer. You can disable them by heading into the settings.

Poco C65 Memory Extension

In addition, the phone offers you the usual MIUI features such as Themes, Screen Recording, Game Turbo, and Video Tool Box. You also get the option to enable memory extension to add up to 8GB of virtual memory.

Verdict

In a sea of similar-looking budget phones, the Poco C65 tries to stand out with its unique design, large display and long-lasting battery life. The 6.74-inch display has a teardrop notch and 720p resolution, which feels outdated in 2024.

The MediaTek Helio G85 is decent for day-to-day tasks, but opening apps can take awfully long due to the eMMC 5.1 storage. The 50-megapixel camera can take decent shots in the day but disappoints at night.

The 5,000mAh battery can easily last a day, but the 10W charger can take a lot of time to charge.MIUI 14 is feature-packed, and the promise of 2 OS updates seems alluring, but the bloatware-ridden experience leaves mixed feelings.

Overall, the Poco C65 is a good budget phone if you can look past the 720p screen, 10W charging and the bloatware. You can also consider other alternatives, such as the Motorola Moto G24 Power, Infinix Note 12i and the Poco M6 5G.



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