Wishing there was more to pick from when it came to buying a phone in Australia? Xiaomi is adding a couple of options for folks in the mid-range.
Heading into the final months of 2024, it can be all too easy to be focused on high-end phones. After all, that is what the majority of the focus is on: a couple of foldable Samsung phones following the flagship Galaxy S24 Ultra earlier in the year, Google’s Pixel 9 range including the high-end Pixel 9 Pro XL, and then the obvious contenders as Apple readies new iPhone 16 models for announcement.
High-end phones are where most of the attention is, but the mid-range market is where some of the more intriguing action is. It’s here you can find not just plenty of options made for compelling prices, but also some newer brands popping up in Australia.
The latest is one we’ve seen before, albeit with limited distribution. Xiaomi’s name has popped up a few times, and is the brand currently connected with Leica.
Australia won’t be seeing the Leica phone just yet, it seems, but Xiaomi’s gaming arm will have a couple of phones in the country shortly, as it launches the Poco F6 and Poco F6 Pro.
The new phones aim to offer some compelling tech choices for mid-range prices, focused on a $699 starting price with large screens, several cameras, and a style that almost feels like last year’s Asus ZenFone model blended together with an iPhone, kinda sorta.
At the $699 price point, the Poco F6 will see a 6.67 inch ANOLED with a 120Hz refresh rate, support for 5G, NFC, and a two-camera system on the back covering a 50 megapixel main and a 8 megapixel ultra-wide. Gamers are largely the focus here, complete with a liquid-cooling system for the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 inside, the same chip we saw in the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra.
A sizeable 5000mAh battery will be a part of the package, as will IP64 water and dust resistance, giving you some durability for what is essentially a mid-ranger phone.
For a few hundred more, the Poco F6 Pro will push the hardware a little more, using a more powerful chip from last year, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, and bringing it together with a better resolution in a 6.67 inch screen.
The Poco F6 Pro is technically the same screens size and refresh rate — 6.67 inch and 120Hz — but it offers more resolution at 3200×1440, while the phone camera system gets one more camera, adding a 2 megapixel macro.
The back of the F6 Pro is a bit of a cheat: it looks like there are four camera, but there are really only three with a flash in the fourth spot.
However it aims to bring a little more durability, offering a combination of metal and glass in $999 phone.
“Our approach with the F6 series is to redefine what consumers can expect from an affordable smartphone, challenging industry norms,” said David Xiao, Managing Director for Xiaomi Australia.
They’ll both run Android and support 5G, with the phones set to be available from Xiaomi’s online store shortly.
