At a look
Knowledgeable’s Ranking
Professionals
- Glorious worth
- Nice efficiency
- Beautiful show and audio system
- Large battery and speedy charging
Cons
- Mediocre ultrawide digicam
- Not the longest software program assist
- Bloatware
Our Verdict
The Poco X8 Professional Max gives glorious gaming efficiency, unimaginable battery life, and a premium construct high quality at an astonishingly low value. The cameras aren’t something particular, however in case you’re in search of an reasonably priced, trendy, highly effective telephone with a monster battery, that is the telephone for you.
Value When Reviewed
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Greatest Pricing At this time
Value When Reviewed
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Greatest Costs At this time: Xiaomi Poco X8 Professional Max
Poco’s X-series telephones have all the time supplied top-notch efficiency at discount costs. Sometimes, we see a typical mannequin and a Professional mannequin every year, however with the X8 sequence, issues are totally different. This 12 months, there’s the X8 Professional, and the X8 Professional Max. At present, there doesn’t appear to be a typical X8, however possibly that can arrive later.
That is the primary Poco telephone from Xiaomi to don the very Apple-esque Professional Max moniker, and I’ve been utilizing it as my major telephone for the previous week. On paper, it’s a really spectacular telephone, at a really cheap value.
It boasts a mammoth 8500mAh battery, 100W charging, a flagship-level Dimensity 9500s chipset, and a premium construct with an aluminium body and a glass again. And it is available in at a value cheaper than the Google Pixel 10a, Nothing (4a) Professional and Samsung Galaxy A57.
However what’s it wish to dwell with? Let’s discover out.
Design & Construct
- Aluminium body, glass again
- RGB LED rings across the cameras
- IP69 rated
The Poco X8 Professional Max has pretty understated appears to be like, particularly for a gaming-focused system. At a look, you possibly can nearly mistake it for the bottom mannequin iPhone 17, because it has an identical form and digicam format. However there’s a hidden function that makes this telephone stand out from the group.
It sports activities an aluminium body and glass again, identical to you’d anticipate from a top-tier flagship.
Luke Baker
There are RGB LED rings round every of the digicam lenses, which might be set to light up together with your telephone notifications, pulsate together with media playback, or react to in-game occasions. Though the latter function is barely presently supported by PUBG Cell and Name of Responsibility.
They’re not the brightest or flashiest LEDs we’ve come throughout, however they make sufficient of a press release to show some heads. Additionally they serve to inject some pleasure into an in any other case pretty plain-looking telephone. Flip the telephone sideways and so they give the telephone a cute robotic vibe.
In any other case, the telephone encompasses a matte rear panel with a refined striped design that seems when the sunshine hits it. The digicam island has an aluminium end, which matches the body of the telephone, and the ability button has a refined crimson ring round its edge.
The X8 Professional Max has a surprisingly premium construct, contemplating its value level. It sports activities an aluminium body and glass again, identical to you’d anticipate from a top-tier flagship. It’s a contact of luxurious at this value, the place most handsets are plastic slabs.
It is available in black, blue and white colors with the latter examined right here.
Luke Baker
The telephone options the standard energy button and quantity rocker mixture, with no extra buttons. All you’ll discover here’s a SIM card tray and USB-C port. Some players will probably be sore in regards to the lack of a headphone jack, however I’m definitely not expert sufficient for the latency of wi-fi buds to matter.
The Poco X8 Professional Max boasts the best attainable IP ranking, IP69K, which suggests it’s licensed to resist full immersion in water, in addition to blasts from jets of sizzling water. You may take this factor anyplace with out being too involved.
Luke Baker
An thrilling addition with this mannequin is the brand new ultrasonic under-display fingerprint scanner. It’s a real rarity at this value, and it’s a lot faster and extra dependable than the everyday optical scanner.
Display screen & Audio system
- 6.83-inch 120Hz OLED panel
- 3500 nits, 3840Hz PWM dimming
- Stereo audio system
Because the title may counsel, the Poco X8 Professional Max has related display dimensions to the iPhone 17 Professional Max. It’s barely smaller, but it surely additionally doesn’t have that huge pill-shaped digicam cutout on the high, so I assume it evens out.
It’s a stunning display, with deep blacks and vibrant colors
Luke Baker
It’s an OLED panel with a speedy 120Hz refresh price and 3840Hz PWM dimming, which ought to assist scale back eye fatigue. It’s loads brilliant, boosting as much as 3500 nits in sure situations, and I by no means had hassle seeing it within the daylight.
It’s a stunning display, with deep blacks and vibrant colors that look glorious straight out of the field. Should you fancy tweaking the color copy, although, there are many choices to fiddle with within the settings menu.
Luke Baker
The audio system are additionally very spectacular. There’s an honest quantity of bass and loads of readability, and so they can get tremendous loud.
These audio system simply rival some flagship gadgets, however I’d advise in opposition to maxing out the amount, as they start to distort on the higher finish.
Specs & Efficiency
- MediaTek Dimensity 9500s
- 12GB RAM
- 256/512GB storage
The Poco X8 Professional Max is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 9500s. Which has similarities to the flagship Dimensity 9500 (present in telephones just like the Oppo Discover X9 Professional), but it surely’s a barely cut-back model that may not obtain the identical lofty benchmark scores.
Luke Baker
However, this model is alleged to be extra environment friendly, which ends up in higher stability throughout lengthy gaming classes, decrease temperatures, and higher battery life. It’s nonetheless very a lot a flagship-level chip in a mid-range telephone and a brand new one at that, having launched in January 2026.
My check unit got here with 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, which is the higher-tier choice, whereas the bottom mannequin comes with 256GB of storage. In both case, these are beneficiant capacities that shouldn’t maintain you again an excessive amount of.
there’s loads of energy on faucet
In use, the distinction between the Dimensity 9500s and the full-fat 9500 feels minimal. Swiping across the OS is clean and stutter-free, apps open rapidly, and there’s loads of energy on faucet for photograph and video modifying, gaming, and just about the rest.
Luke Baker
I put a number of hours into Wuthering Waves, a graphically spectacular Android title that’s infamous for being laborious to run. The Poco X8 Professional Max dealt with it with finesse, sustaining a fairly stable 60fps on the best graphics preset. The telephone obtained heat after some time, but it surely by no means turned uncomfortable to carry.
Poco X8 Professional Max benchmarks
Cameras
- 50 Mp f/1.5 major digicam (1/1.95-inch)
- 8Mp f/2.2 ultrawide
- 20Mp f/2.2 selfie digicam
The Poco X8 Professional Max has two cameras on the rear, a decent 50Mp major digicam with a 1/1.95-inch sensor, and a considerably much less spectacular 8Mp ultrawide with a tiny 1/4-inch sensor. Across the entrance, there’s a 20Mp punch gap selfie digicam.
These snappers gained’t appease discerning photographers, however that doesn’t imply that they’ll’t take nice photographs.
Luke Baker
Clearly, Poco is extra centered on the efficiency of this system, reasonably than chasing digicam specs. These snappers gained’t appease discerning photographers, however that doesn’t imply that they’ll’t take nice photographs.
The principle digicam is the star of the present. It produces the best-looking photographs in all lighting situations, however that’s very true at evening. If you need Instagram-worthy photos, it’s your finest wager.
The selfie digicam is first rate, too, and stable portrait mode results add to the attraction. Consider there’s no autofocus, although, so in case you’re taking a gaggle photograph, you’ll be higher off utilizing the rear digicam.
The ultrawide is beneficial when the sunshine is in your aspect, but it surely’s a noticeable step down in high quality in comparison with the opposite lenses, and it has a hard and fast focus, so it’s no good for close-ups. At evening, you’ll need to keep away from this as a lot as attainable, because the tiny sensor creates noisy, blur-prone photographs.
The most important draw back of this digicam system, in comparison with rivals just like the Nothing Telephone (4a), is that there’s no telephoto digicam. Should you’re zooming, you’ll simply be cropping into the 23mm equal major sensor, and consequently, you possibly can solely push to 10x – whereas some rivals zoom ten instances additional.
Relating to video, the Poco X8 Professional Max can shoot at as much as 4K 60fps on the principle digicam, whereas the ultrawide maxes out at 1080p 30fps, and the selfie digicam goes to 1080p 60fps.
Stabilisation is pretty first rate throughout the board, however the decision discrepancy means switching lenses whereas recording isn’t all the time attainable.
Battery Life & Charging
- 8500mAh battery
- 100W wired charging
- 27W reverse wired charging
One of the crucial spectacular features of the Poco X8 Professional Max is the battery. It encompasses a mammoth 8500mAh pack, and it outlasts nearly each different smartphone I’ve examined. I’ve been utilizing it for every week, working some fairly demanding assessments, and I’ve nonetheless solely wanted to cost it twice.
To be extra particular, when utilizing the telephone as I usually would, I charged the telephone at 5pm on Wednesday, and I didn’t have to cost it once more till about midnight on Friday. That’s effectively over two days of use. Spectacular stuff!
A results of 21 hours and 53 minutes in our typical PCMark battery check may be very respectable certainly.
Luke Baker
It doesn’t cease there, both. Whenever you finally have to cost this telephone, you gained’t be ready round for lengthy. It helps as much as 100W speeds, which ought to get you to round 60% charged in simply half an hour, regardless of the big capability.
it outlasts nearly each different smartphone I’ve examined
There’s no charger included within the field, however I used to be happy to be taught which you can get 100W speeds from appropriate PPS chargers, not simply Xiaomi’s first-party options. This meant it was capable of pull 100W from my Sharge HyperTower energy financial institution, for instance.
With this technique, regardless of the large cell, I noticed it cost 59% in half-hour.
One other neat function is the power to reverse-charge different gadgets at as much as 27W (with a wire). It’s nice for topping up your earbuds, and with a battery this massive, it’s a function you may really begin utilizing.
There’s no wi-fi charging obtainable, however that’s nothing uncommon on a mid-range handset like this one. Look to the Pixel 10a if this can be a dealbreaker.
Software program & App
- HyperOS 3, primarily based on Android 16
- Complete gaming options
- 4 years of OS updates, 6 years of safety patches
The Poco X8 Professional Max runs HyperOS 3, Xiaomi’s customized software program constructed on high of Android 16. Should you’ve used a current Xiaomi or Poco telephone, you’ll have a good suggestion of what to anticipate.
Whereas these decisions may not be probably the most authentic, they give the impression of being nice
Luke Baker
The newest model has extra iOS-inspired components than ever earlier than. HyperOS has its personal model of Dynamic Island, referred to as Hyper Island, and new lock display choices embrace depth results and the ever-popular huge clocks.
Whereas these decisions may not be probably the most authentic, they give the impression of being nice, and the Hyper Island is genuinely helpful. So, I’m all for it.
For probably the most half, my expertise of Hyper OS on the Poco X8 Professional Max was nearly equivalent to Xiaomi’s flagship gadgets, just like the Xiaomi 17. The one main distinction is the quantity of bloatware that comes pre-loaded.
There’s a good bit of junk to wash up once you first arrange the Poco X8 Professional Max, together with folders stuffed with beneficial apps and video games on the homescreen. It doesn’t take too lengthy to wash all of it up, and it’s nothing uncommon at this value level, but it surely’s nonetheless an annoyance.
Most significantly, I discovered the software program to be clean, secure, and straightforward to dwell with. It’s tremendous customisable, too, so in case you don’t like the way in which one thing appears to be like, you possibly can nearly definitely change it.
Luke Baker
Poco guarantees 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of safety patches for this telephone. It’s an honest providing, outshining lots of equally priced telephones, but it surely doesn’t match the likes of Samsung and Google, which provide seven years of OS upgrades on their A-series telephones.
Value & Availability
The Poco X8 Professional Max is priced from £469 within the UK, with the 512GB mannequin rising to £519. That’s the priciest X-series mannequin we’ve seen from Poco up to now, but it surely’s not the entire story.
At present, the Poco X8 Professional Max might be had for simply £359/€429 on Xiaomi’s web site. In the meantime, the 512GB variant will value you simply £399/€469. How lengthy these early-bird huge reductions will final stays to be seen.
It’s in the stores now within the UK and Europe, in addition to most different areas globally, however as typical, the US doesn’t get a glance in. You’ll find it at Amazon a
The pricing places it in competitors with telephones like Nothing Telephone (4a) and the Samsung Galaxy A37, however the X8 Professional Max has benefits over both of these (and a few flagships, too). The bottom mannequin provides you 256GB of storage, reasonably than 128GB, and it’s far more highly effective, too.
Try our record of the most effective mid-range telephones proper now.
Do you have to purchase the Poco X8 Professional Max?
The Poco X8 Professional Max is tremendously good worth. Should you’re in search of a tool that may sport with the most effective of them, at a value that gained’t break the financial institution, look no additional.
I’m actually impressed with the construct high quality and the LEDs across the cameras give it character. The glass again and aluminium sides make this system really feel like a flagship telephone, when in actuality, it’s lower than half the worth. The battery life is astounding, too. It’s simply a two-day system, and it expenses tremendous fast once you finally handle to run it down.
It’s actually solely the cameras that fail to impress. They’re not terrible, however the weak ultrawide digicam and the shortage of a telephoto imply that this telephone lags a bit behind its rivals.
If images isn’t an enormous precedence, however gaming is, you’ll love this telephone. It’s a robust performer at a value that’s laborious to beat.
Specs
- HyperOS 3, primarily based on Android 16
- 6.83-inch, 1280 x 2772, OLED, 120Hz
- Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor
- Mediatek Dimensity 9500s
- 12GB RAM
- 256/512GB storage
- 50Mp major digicam
- 8Mp ultrawide
- 20Mp selfie digicam
- As much as 4K @ 60fps rear video
- Stereo audio system (Dolby Atmos)
- Twin-SIM + eSIM
- Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6/7
- Bluetooth 5.4
- 8500mAh battery
- 100W wired charging
- No wi-fi charging
- 162.9 x 77.9 x 8.2mm
- IP69 licensed
- 218g
- Colors: Blue, White, Black