What can US$ 149 (MYR 599**) get you today? In Malaysia, MYR 600 is what you can expect to pay if you buy about three PlayStation games. Smartphones? You are talking about an entry-level smartphone; something basic maybe.

If you are spending that amount of money on a smartphone, we can tell you a few things. Firstly, you do not expect it to perform like a Samsung Galaxy S device. We will also tell you that it might be a good secondary device for you, if you already have a smartphone like the Samsung Galaxy S device. Beyond not expecting to have a device with the quality of a Samsung Galaxy S device, we would also say that you do not expect much. Sure, you can work with all the basic functions of a smartphone like Whatsapp messaging, making calls, play simple games, go to the web, play music, watch videos on YouTube and Netflix, but do not expect a stellar experience with it.

All of the above may be true, until now. You see, smartphone manufacturers like Samsung and HUAWEI have been focusing mainly on pushing their branding into their own class. They want their brand to be premium in perception. In that case, a smartphone worth MYR 599 might not be great if you reach out to these brands. This is not the case for POCO though.

POCO is a brand that was born to beat the bigger name brands at their own game. They are value players in the field and seems to offer you something more than what you are paying for. That is always true for their higher end devices. Thing is, POCO has never made entry-level smartphones before until they launched the M3 just now.

Before you pass off judgment and give the device a pass though, you should know that POCO has brought their value-for-money philosophy and approach to the device they just launched today. The only difference between this and the high-end device is the low pricing starting at US$ 149 (MYR599**). What the device packs sounds like you are paying for more than it is worth.

First off, the processor, as usual. The POCO M3 comes with a brand-new Qualcomm Snapdragon 662 System on a Chip (SoC) that is supposed to be more powerful than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 665 platform. Which also means that you are getting something that is more comparable to a mid-range smartphone in power than a lowly entry-level. The 11nm Octa-core chip also packs a Qualcomm Adreno 610 GPU to boot and has a dedicated AI engine built-into the chip. While it does not mean that the device will top out any benchmark charts, the SoC is powerful enough to run Android 10 smoothly and work with most games nicely.

With the SoC also comes a 4GB RAM. 4GB RAM does not sound like a lot in today’s standards for smartphones. To be fair, it is not that much. 4GB RAM though is enough for a modern Android device and some multitasking. You can still get away with multiple apps open in the background and browse the web with a few tabs on.

While 4GB of RAM might not help that much with speeds, the UFS 2.2 (up to) storage that measures at 128GB (up to) should help you with data read and write speeds. That also means that you can instantly access most of the apps within the device with no speed issues at all. Sure, it may not be as snappy as the flagship devices, but it should still be quick enough that you might not notice the difference.

The triple camera module still features 48-Megapixel in resolution. The main shooter has a 2-Megapixel macro camera and a 2-Megapixel depth sensor for support and more photography options. Of course, there is a front-facing camera that sits pretty in a Dot Drop notch above the display with 8-Megapixel power.

While there is nothing to shout about in the camera department, the display should be commended. It is a large 6.53-inch Full HD+ display that is only disturbed by the notch for the front-facing camera. You can get it up to 400nits in brightness and it is TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light certified. Best of all though it sits under a Corning Gorilla Glass to protect it from clumsiness and stratches.

All this goodness is powered by a larger-than-ever 6,000mAh battery. A Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra only has a 4,500 mAh battery. The 6,000mAh battery should keep you running for days from a single charge. When the power runs out, quickly get it up and running again with 18W fast charging and the included 22W charger. If you really need to, the 6,000mAh battery can share its charge with other devices, so you are now your friends’ hero too.

Additionally, the POCO M3 comes with Dual Speakers and 3.5mm jack. Your old earphones can get some loving from the device. With Hi-Res Audio certification, your older high-end earphones can get some love. That Also means you can load up Hi-Res audio files into the device too if you want. Maybe you might want to consider getting a 512GB MicroSD card for your Hi-Res audio files though.

The POCO M3 will be available on the 27^th November 2020 onward globally and in Malaysia in two storage configurations: 4GB + 64GB and 4GB + 128GB. For now, in Malaysia, the POCO M3 will only be available in Cull Blue, and Power Black colour options. The POCO Yellow variant will be available at a later date (pending announcement). You can get your hands on one exclusively via Xiaomi Official Store on Lazada for MYR 599 (US$ 149*) and MYR 699 (US$169*) respectively. On sales launch date though, customers can get the devices for MYR 499 (US$129***) and MYR 599 (US$149***) respectively while stocks last. In addition to the MYR 100 discount on the device, buyers will also get a Mi In-ear Basic Piston Earphone, while stocks last. For more information on the POCO M3 you can head out to their website.

*Official Global Pricing
**Official Malaysia Pricing
***Official Black Friday Sale Pricing