Last month, Poco added a new entry-level smartphone to its C series. Priced at Rs 7,999, Poco C75 is one of the most affordable 5G smartphones in India. Since then it has also spawned a Xiaomi counterpart in Redmi 14C. The Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset powers the C75. The smartphone comes in a single 4GB RAM + 64GB storage variant. Additionally, it has a refreshing design, a large display, and a 50MP primary shooter. For a device priced under Rs 8,000, these specs offer a lot of value. The important question is whether these specs translate into a solid everyday performance. We used the smartphone for a week to find the answer. Here is our in-depth review of the Poco C75 5G.
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Poco C75 5G Review: Design and Display
Before we talk about the smartphone, let’s look at what you get inside the box.
- Smartphone
- 10W power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- SIM ejector
- Quick start guide
The absence of a plastic case inside the box is a letdown, but given the device’s affordable price, we can let it slide.
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Poco C75 5G is available in 3 colour schemes – Aqua Bliss, Enchanted Green, and Silver Stardust. All three colour variants have a marble flow design on the back panel. This marble pattern is tasteful and radiates a glow when the smartphone is held against the light. The top section of the plastic back has a giant circular panel that houses the primary camera, auxiliary lens, and LED flash in individual cutouts. The area around this panel is finished in a solid colour without the marble pattern. On aesthetics alone, the C75 stands out from the rest of the smartphones in the segment.
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The plastic frame’s bottom edge houses the primary microphone, USB cable, and speaker grille. The hybrid SIM slot is positioned on the left edge, while the volume rocker and side button are on the right side of the frame. Up top lies the elusive 3.5mm headphone jack. The fingerprint sensor is mounted on the side button and is very snappy.
The 6.88-inch IPS LCD panel is surrounded by sizeable bezels that get thicker around the chin. The selfie camera is housed in a waterdrop notch, which feels quite dated. The display has a 120Hz refresh rate but most apps are limited to 60Hz. It can reach 600 nits in High Brightness Mode. The LCD panel holds up well in outdoor conditions but its brightness is easily overpowered under harsh sunlight.
The viewing experience on the LCD panel is quite satisfactory. It offers adequate viewing angles and packs a good level of detail. While it lacks the deep blacks of AMOLED panels, this display produces rich and punchy colours. The solitary bottom-firing speaker produces a loud output but lacks a lush low-end.
Poco C75 5G Review: Performance and Cameras
Powering the Poco C75 5G is the Snapdragon 4s Gen 2 chipset. The smartphone is available in a single 4GB RAM (LPDDR4X) + 64 storage (UFS 2.2) variant. The device’s storage can be expanded to 1TB using a micro SD card. We put the smartphone through the Geekbench 6 test and it returned 845 points in the single-core test and 1,956 points in the multi-core test.
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Poco C75 5G performs well in everyday use, but it suffers from the usual flaws of the segment. The browsing experience is not as seamless as you will find on midrange smartphones. The touch response of the display leaves a little more to be desired. The apps take a fraction of a second longer to load and multitasking often leads to unwanted delays. Having said that, routine tasks like video calling, social media browsing, and media streaming are handled well by the device.
The gaming experience on entry-level smartphones is pretty limited due to constant jitters and frame drops. The C75 suffers from similar issues. Its limited storage capacity of 64GB isn’t ideal for bulky games like Call of Duty Mobile and BGMI. Games like Candy Crush Saga and Subway Surfers are more up its alley.
Our only big gripe with this smartphone is that its 5G support is only limited to Jio. This is bad news for AirTel and Vi users as they will have to contend with 4G speeds on the device. Poco says that once AirTel and Vi transfer to Stand Alone 5G networks, they will be supported by the C75.
The Poco C75 5G’s OS duties are handled by the Android 14-based Xiaomi HyperOS. Poco has promised 2 years of major OS upgrades and 4 years of security patches for this phone. However, the current-gen Android 15 will use up one of the two promised OS upgrades. The HyperOS experience on the C75 is consistent with what we’ve seen on Xiaomi and Poco devices. The software is well-optimised and snappy.
You get a good range of customisation options for the home screen, app drawer, and lock screen. The iPhone-inspired magazine-style lock screen layouts make the device more vibrant and fun. On the privacy front, the HyperOS offers a handy app locker. We also like that the device uses native a native dialer app instead of resorting to Google’s alternative. There are a lot of bloatware apps on the device, which is something you should expect from an entry-level phone. Thankfully, these apps can be easily uninstalled.
During the review period, we were happy with the mileage we got out of Poco C75 5G’s 5,160mAh battery. Our daily usage consisted of calling, instant messaging, browsing social media, streaming, and gaming. We were left with a 15-20% charge on the device at the end of each day. The smartphone supports 18W but comes with a 10W adapter inside the box. Using a more powerful adapter, we were able to fully charge the device in 90 minutes.
Poco C75 5G’s rear camera array houses a 50MP Sony IMX852 sensor and an auxiliary lens. You can only access the primary shooter from the native camera app. This camera puts up a good display in outdoor daylight conditions. The pictures showcase vivid colours and pack a good amount of details. The final results are balanced and do not look overprocessed.
The camera app has a portrait mode for close-up shots, but it produces average results. The shallow depth of field we expect from portraits is nowhere to be found. The camera performance takes a hit in limited lighting conditions as the smartphone struggles to brighten the subject. The images are grainy and soft. The selfies taken with the 5MP front-facing camera are on the softer side but they showcase rich colours. We like that the selfie camera does not go overboard with skin smoothening and tone correction.
Admittedly, midrange smartphones in the Rs 15,000 price bracket produce sharper results with more clarity, but for a smartphone that costs half that amount, the C75 does not disappoint.
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Verdict
The Poco C75 5G is a good purchase for first-time smartphone buyers. Its massive display is great for media streaming and watching YouTube videos. The everyday performance is reliable and the smartphone handles tasks like WhatsApp calling and texting pretty well. The camera performance in outdoor daylight conditions is satisfactory too. However, the one thing that you need to keep in mind before buying this smartphone is that its 5G support is limited to Jio only.
Poco C75 5G: Pros
- Excellent design
- Big display
- Good battery life
Poco C75 5G: Cons
- Does not support 5G on AirTel and Vi
