If the M8 and M8 Pro look a little familiar, it’s because the new cheap phone pair are essentially Poco-flavoured twists on the Redmi Note 15 series that landed at the end of 2025. But while Xiaomi’s other affordable sub-brand was aiming more upmarket – and ran into some very capable competition – the Poco duo should be even more wallet-friendly.
They might dial things back on the photography front and use mid-range Snapdragon silicon, but keep the sharp AMOLED screens, class-topping water resistance and – for the M8 Pro – a massive battery that’ll easily get you through two days between top-ups.
The Poco M8 Pro is the spitting image for the Redmi Note 15 Pro Plus, with the same 6.83in quad-curved AMOLED display up front and central camera island around back. It’s protected by Gorilla Glass Victus 2 glass, so should largely stay scuff- and scratch-free, and is IP68 rated against dust and water, so can also survive a complete dunking. At 8.31mm thick and weighing just under 206g it’s hardly a heavyweight, despite its sizeable screen.
Cameras are the biggest divider between Poco and Redmi, with the M8 Pro using a 50MP Light Fusion 800 main snapper instead of the Note 15 Pro Plus’ 200MP sensor. It still has optical image stabilisation, though, so should be competitive with other budget handsets. You also get an 8MP ultrawide and a 32MP selfie camera up front.
You get all the goodies you’d expect from a solid mid-ranger, including an under-display fingerprint sensor. An IR blaster also makes the grade. Power comes from a Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 chipset – so exactly what you’ll find on the Redmi – and either 8 or 12GB of RAM and 256GB or 512GB of storage, depending on the model.
Battery life should be a huge draw, with a sizeable 6500mAh cell that can manage 100W wired refuels. It’s clearly the more capable of the two handsets.
It’ll cost $359/£349 for the top-tier 12GB+512GB variant, or $299/£299 for the 8GB+256GB model; both are a decent amount less than the equivalent Redmi, which is great if you don’t think a higher pixel count camera is worth your cash. Early birds can also knock $20/£40 respectively off if they order in the first few weeks after the reveal.
The Poco M8 dials things down a bit more, with a 6.77in curved edge AMOLED – though it’ll still manage 120Hz smooth scrolling and hit a peak 3200 nits brightness, so shouldn’t struggle outdoors. The phone is IP66 rated, so you’ll have to be a bit more careful around dust and water than you would with the M8 Pro.
Performance is a rung further down the ladder, courtesy of a Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset and either 8 or 12GB of RAM. Battery capacity also drops to 5520mAh, and wired charging speeds max out at 45W.
While the M8’s lead camera has the same 50MP resolution as the M8 Pro, it uses a smaller Light Fusion 400 sensor without OIS and is paired to a 2MP depth sensor that I’m not expecting to provide much value. There’s a 20MP selfie cam up front.
Both the Poco M8 Pro and vanilla M8 will land in Silver, Black, and Green colours. The M8 is set to retail for $229/£229 for the 8GB+256GB version or $279/£259 for the 12GB+512GB handset. The $20/£40 early bird discount applies here too – but looking purely at the specs, I’d expect the bigger battery, better camera Pro to be the one to plump for.
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