POCO has launched yet another budget phone called POCO M2 in India, just a day after launching the POCO X3 NFC. The new POCO offering, however, is targeted at the entry-level smartphone segment and comes with some powerful hardware for its asking price. But this is not an entirely new device per se, and is more of a re-sleeved Redmi 9 Prime with a slightly different design on the rear panel and more RAM. Controversial branding decisions aside, the POCO M2 appears to be quite a capable package for a starting price of just Rs. 10,999 (~ $150). 

The POCO M2 offers a 6.53-inch full-HD+ (1,080×2,340 pixels) display with a waterdrop notch and TUV-Rheinland certification. POCO has equipped its new smartphone with MediaTek’s gaming-centric Helio G80 chip that tics alongside 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of onboard storage that can further be expanded via a dedicated MicroSD card slot. You’ll find a large 5,000mAh battery inside, and it also supports 18W fast charging.

Coming to the imaging hardware, the POCO M2 features a 13MP primary camera, sitting alongside an 8MP ultra-wide-angle snapper, a 5MP macro shooter, and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies and video calls, it offers an 8MP front camera. POCO says the camera hardware can automatically detect over 30 scenes and accordingly apply color algorithms. More notably, the POCO M2 runs a tweaked version of MIUI 11 with the Poco Launcher 2.0 launcher on top that is claimed to show no ads at all. It also brings a ton of customization options and a dark mode as well.

The POCO M2 is priced at Rs. 10,999 for the 6GB+64GB variant, while the 6GB+128GB model will set buyers back by Rs. 12,499. For color options, you get to choose between Brick Red, Pitch Black and Slate Blue. The budget POCO device goes on sale starting September 15 in India via Flipkart, but details about its international availability are not known yet.