The Pros and Cons of POCO C85

I was honestly surprised by how far budget phones have come. These days, even phones that cost just around USD 100 already offer cool features like a 120 Hz refresh rate or even NFC. One of them is the POCO C85.

This phone caught my attention, especially because it has a 6000 mAh battery. That’s quite big compared to the older POCO C75, which only had 5160 mAh. But of course, the POCO C85 has its good sides and its downsides. Let me share them with you.

Pros of POCO C85

For a phone in the USD 100 price range, the POCO C85 comes with some pretty good features.

1. Large Screen, 120 Hz Refresh Rate, and TÜV Rheinland Certifications

This phone has a 6.9-inch screen. It uses an IPS LCD panel with an HD+ resolution of 720 x 1600 pixels. Nothing too fancy, but honestly, at this price, it’s expected.

What makes it more interesting is what the screen can actually do. First, it has a 120 Hz refresh rate, which makes scrolling feel much smoother. You’ll also notice better movement when playing games that support high frame rates.

The screen also comes with three TÜV Rheinland certifications, such as Low Blue Light, Flicker Free, and Circadian Friendly. TÜV Rheinland is an international testing body that gives special labels to screens that are safer and more comfortable for the eyes.

The Low Blue Light certification means this phone can reduce the amount of blue light, which can cause tired eyes and even mess with your sleep if you use your phone at night. I think this is super useful, especially now that we all spend so much time staring at screens.

The Flicker Free part means the screen doesn’t have those tiny flickers that you can’t always see, but can cause headaches or eye strain over time.

The Circadian Friendly label is also cool. It means the screen adjusts its brightness and colors to match your surroundings and the time of day. This helps your body stay in sync with its natural sleep and wake cycle.

So, all of these features are meant to help protect your eyes and support a more balanced daily life, even when you use your phone a lot.

2. Reliable 50 MP Main Camera for Everyday Use

Even though the camera module has two round shapes, the phone actually only uses one real camera, a 50 MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture. This camera already has Phase Detection Autofocus (PDAF), which helps it focus quickly and more accurately when taking pictures.

To be honest, I’m not a big fan of phone designs that make it look like there are two or three cameras when in fact, only one of them works. It feels a bit misleading, but maybe some people like the design because it just looks cooler.

Now back to the camera performance. The main camera works pretty well, especially with the help of AI and something called the Xiaomi Imaging Engine. These features help the camera respond faster, so you can capture important moments without delay.

That said, the camera is not always consistent. Sometimes the results are not great in low light or tricky lighting situations. But that’s actually quite normal for phones in this price range. I’d say around 7 out of 10 photos still turn out really good for daily use.

For selfies, the POCO C85 comes with an 8 MP front camera (f/2.0). There’s a neat feature here, when you turn on night mode, the screen lights up brightly like a mini ring light to help improve the lighting on your face.

As for videos, the quality is just okay. Both the front and back cameras can record at up to 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second. But don’t expect fancy features like video stabilization on this phone, which is pretty understandable for the price.

3. Decent Performance for Daily Use, Plus Long-Term Updates

In terms of performance, the POCO C85 runs on the Helio G81 Ultra chipset. It uses a 12 nm process and has an octa-core setup that tries to balance between speed and battery efficiency.

The chipset includes two Cortex-A75 cores at 2.0 GHz to handle heavier tasks, and six Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz for lighter daily use. For graphics, it uses the Mali-G52 MP2 GPU with a speed of 950 MHz.

From various tests, the POCO C85 gets an AnTuTu v10 score around 260 thousand. Kimovil says the score is 262 thousand, while the Dhiarcom YouTube channel got 259 thousand. These results show that this phone is not made for heavy gaming, but it can still handle light games like Mobile Legends, Free Fire, or eFootball without much trouble.

The phone comes with Android 15 and uses HyperOS 2, which gives access to the latest features, including some that use AI.

What really caught my attention is the update support. POCO promises that this phone will get 4 OS updates and security updates for 6 years. For a phone at this price, that is quite impressive.

4. Comes with NFC and Useful Features

In terms of connectivity, the POCO C85 offers a solid package for its price range. It supports dual-band Wi-Fi, which means you can connect to both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks for a more stable internet connection. It also has Bluetooth 5.4, so connecting to wireless devices like earbuds or speakers is smooth and efficient.

One of the best features is NFC (Near Field Communication). This is super useful for doing things like topping up e-money, making digital payments, or even tapping into buildings using an access card.

The phone also includes basic sensors such as an accelerometer, proximity sensor, and compass. For security, it has a fingerprint scanner placed on the side of the phone, right next to the power button.

I really like this placement because it feels natural and easy to reach with your thumb when you're holding the phone.

5. 6000mAh Battery and Fast Charging

The battery is one of the parts where the POCO C85 feels much better. The capacity is now 6000mAh, which is a big step up from the 5160mAh of the older model.

With this large battery, I could go through a whole day without worrying too much about running out of power. It feels reliable for different activities, whether I use the phone for work, social media, or just watching videos.

I also like that POCO didn't stop at giving a big battery. They also made charging faster. The POCO C85 supports 33-watt fast charging, while the POCO C75 only had 18 watts. For me, this is very helpful because I don't have to wait too long when the battery runs low.

6. Curved Side Design and IP64

The POCO C85 is available in three colors; Black, Green, and Purple. All of them look nice. The back has a gradient finish that reflects light, so the phone looks lively when you move it around.

Holding the phone also feels good because the body is thin with curved sides. It looks modern but also strong enough for daily use. Another thing that makes me feel safe is the IP64 certification. It means the phone is fully protected from dust and can handle water splashes.

I also notice the camera part. The circular bump keeps the lenses safe when I put the phone on the table. It holds two lenses and, in my opinion, the design looks a bit futuristic.

Cons of POCO C85

Since the POCO C85 is a budget phone, it is normal that it comes with some trade-offs. A few weaknesses still carry over from the older model, and these are things you might want to think about before buying.

1. Only one real camera

Even though the camera module has two circles, the POCO C85 actually only uses one main camera. At this price point, it is still fine as long as the photos look good. But it would have been more exciting if there was a second lens, like an ultrawide. Phones in the same price range usually skip that, so it is not a big surprise.

The video part is also quite simple. Recording is limited to 1080p at 30 FPS, and there is no image stabilisation at all. Because of that, your videos will look shaky if you move around while filming.

2. No stereo speaker

The POCO C85 still uses a single speaker. The sound is not as rich or strong as stereo, and it can be blocked easily if your finger covers the speaker hole. Once you get used to stereo speakers on other phones, switching back to mono feels like a downgrade.

The good news is that you still have options. The phone keeps the 3.5mm headphone jack, so you can use wired earphones or a headset. You can also connect TWS or other wireless earbuds through Bluetooth 5.4 for a better audio experience.

3. Internal Storage Still Uses eMMC

The POCO C85 gives you plenty of storage, up to 256 GB, and you can still add more with a microSD card. But one thing that feels a bit behind is the use of eMMC memory instead of UFS.

eMMC storage is usually slower when you copy, move, or extract files, so it can feel less smooth if you do those tasks often. The upside is that eMMC is cheaper to produce, which helps keep the phone’s price more affordable for users.

Conclusion

With a big 6000mAh battery, the POCO C85 can easily last a full day without making me worry about charging. The 33W fast charging also makes the waiting time shorter, which I find very handy.

The performance is good enough for daily needs, and having a microSD slot is always a plus if you want extra space. Even though it still uses eMMC storage, the 120 Hz display feels smooth when scrolling or watching videos.

Still, there are some things to keep in mind. The single speaker does not sound as full as stereo, and the simple camera setup is not the best choice if you want to create lots of content. But overall, the POCO C85 might still be worth a look if you want a reliable budget phone.