Poco X3 NFC - HOLY MOLY *I'm behind the times*

[QueBert]

So I've been rocking an iPhone SE 2016 since 2017, the home button got wonky last year and the battery holds a charge about as long as a 95 year old mans blatter. I sorta stayed up on phones, mostly flagships with a few upper mid level here and there. The Xiaomi in the $500 range always looked real impressive to me. But HOW the hell's this phone only $225? Prior I thought you had to spend $500'ish to get phone that was close to a flagship from Samsung/Apple. A $200'ish phone can pretty decent lower level, it's a budget phone like a Moto G *whatever*, not great but for the price good. The X3's fantastic, I think I saw a couple new on Ebay for $199.

If this phone was $400 I'd still recommend it, $225 just doesn't make any damn sense though. Android 11's also pretty damn nice, I haven't used a version of it since maybe 7.

 

[Commodus]

So I've been rocking an iPhone SE 2016 since 2017, the home button got wonky last year and the battery holds a charge about as long as a 95 year old mans blatter. I sorta stayed up on phones, mostly flagships with a few upper mid level here and there. The Xiaomi in the $500 range always looked real impressive to me. But HOW the hell's this phone only $225? Prior I thought you had to spend $500'ish to get phone that was close to a flagship from Samsung/Apple. A $200'ish phone can pretty decent lower level, it's a budget phone like a Moto G *whatever*, not great but for the price good. The X3's fantastic, I think I saw a couple new on Ebay for $199.

If this phone was $400 I'd still recommend it, $225 just doesn't make any damn sense though. Android 11's also pretty damn nice, I haven't used a version of it since maybe 7.

Poco has a combination of modest specs (LCD, Snapdragon 732G, mediocre cameras) with the usual razor-thin margins of Chinese phone brands. It's meant to sell to someone with a median income in Shanghai or Mumbai.

I don't mind paying more for brands like Apple or Samsung both because I'm fortunate enough to afford them and because I know I'm paying for more than just the raw hardware. With an iPhone, for example, I know it'll get OS updates for five or more years, the option of service at first-party stores and a general polish and integration I won't get from cost-cutting brands.