This phone looks promising on paper… but is it already outdated for 2026?

Poco has launched its new budget smartphone—C81 Pro—in the global market, with specs similar to those we saw earlier this week. Actually, the Poco C81 Pro has the same specs as the Poco C81 that was launched in India last week. Though its phone has specs similar to the previous one, there are major drawbacks I will discuss later. For now, let's learn about the new Poco C81 Pro, including its expected price in Nepal, specifications, and availability.
Poco C81 Pro Overview
Slim Build and Large display panel
Starting off, the new Poco C81 Pro from Xiaomi comes with an 8.15mm thickness that should be comfortable enough to hold in the hand. This phone is available in the “Green”, “Black”, and “Gold” finishes. On the back, it has a vertically placed oval camera island with golden strips around the border of the island and a lens alongside the seperately paced LED flash. Here, the Blue finish features an exclusive logo pattern engraved on the back of the phone. And the overall design of its camera module and curved edges looks very similar to the Poco C85X's.

As for the display, Poco C81 Pro opts for the 6.9-inch LCD panel with 1600 x 720 pixels. This resolution is not enough for a phone with this large screen size. It will not deliver those great colors and visual experience when watching YouTube videos or other video content. While it has a 120Hz refresh rate, scrolling through this screen should be smooth enough.
Moving on, Xiaomi claims to support sunlight mode. Along with this, they also said its screen reaches 800nits HBM, which should be decent enough to use this phone outdoors. Furthermore, they claim to offer TUV Rheinland certification, which sounds great for extended phone use. The standout feature of this phone is its wet touch technology 2.0, which makes it easy to use with wet, soapy, and oily fingers with precision.
4G SoC with a pullback version of the software
Under the hood, Poco C81 Pro uses the UNISOC T7250 4G SoC built on a 12nm processor. It is quite disappointing that this is in 2026. With this chip, you can only scroll social media and do light tasks. With this chip, they have paired 4GB of LPDDR4X RAM that can be expanded to 8GB, and a variable UFS 2.2 storage option ranging from 64GB to 256GB.

On the software front, it runs on Xiaomi HyperOS 3 based on Android 15, which is one version older. Though they are claiming that this phone will remain “like-new” for 48 months. It has a completely different reality in the long run: the phone will not become a brick, as updates will keep coming, but heavier apps will naturally slow down over time. As Xiaomi has promised 4 major OS updates, we might not have to wait long for Android 16 on this phone.
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Camera and Battery
Moving on, the Poco C81 Pro pairs a single 13MP AI smart f/2.2 camera with an auxiliary lens on the back. Xiaomi claims that this new camera module can capture 13% more light, delivering better low-light performance when taking pictures and videos. The front of this phone features an 8MP f/2.0 sensor with a water-drop design for more natural selfies and video calls.

Regarding power, this phone has a 6000mAh battery that supports 15W wired charging for quick top-ups. For wireless connectivity, it supports Wi-FI 5 and Bluetooth 5.2.
Poco C81 Pro Specifications:
- Design, build: 171.56 x 79.47 x 8.15 mm, 208 gm
- Display: 6.9-inch LCD screen, 1600 x 720 pixels, up to 120Hz refresh rate, 800nits (HBM)
- Chipset: UNISOC T7250 (12nm)
- Memory: 4GB LPDDR4X RAM (Extend up to 8GB), 64/128/256 GB UFS 2.2 storage
- Software & UI: Xiaomi HyperOS 3 on top of Android 15, 4 major Android upgrades
- Rear Camera: AI smart Dual (13MP main, Auxiliary lens)
- Front Camera: 8MP (Water drop notch)
- Security: Fingerprint sensor (Side-mounted)
- Connectivity: Dual-SIM (Nano), WiFi 5 (Dual-band), Bluetooth 5.2, USB-C, 4G LTE
- Battery: 6000mAh with 15W wired charging
Poco C81 Pro Price in Nepal and Availability
In the global market, the 4/64GB variant of Poco C81 Pro is priced at USD 99, and the 4/128GB is priced at USD 109. Similarly, the top-end 4/256GB model is priced at USD 129. If this launches here, we expect the Poco C81 Pro price in Nepal to start at NPR 14,999.
| Poco C81 Pro | Price in the USA (Official) | Price in Nepal (Converted) |
| 4/64GB | USD 99 | NPR 14,999 |
| 4/128GB | USD 109 | NPR 16,999 |
| 4/256GB | USD 129 | NPR 19,999 |
- Meanwhile, you may like our review of the Galaxy A37.
Article Last updated: April 29, 2026







