A few weeks ago I bought the cheapest REDMI in 2026 — the REDMI A5 for 5,500 rubles. The experiment was quite telling: a smartphone without NFC, running Android Go, and with slow eMMC memory. It works, but it’s annoying. After that, I got curious: what does an extra thousand rubles get you? I picked up the POCO C81 Pro smartphone for 6,430 rubles, and here’s what I got.
Got a top POCO for a bargain price
Why I Bought the POCO C81 Pro
I’ll be honest: after the REDMI A5 I wanted to understand whether there’s a boundary between “tolerable” and “normal” in the budget segment. Turns out — there is, and it’s roughly where that thousand-ruble difference lies.
For this money, I couldn’t find a cooler smartphone
The cheapest POCO of 2026 is formally a global version of the Redmi A7 Pro. Same dimensions, same glass, same diagonal. But inside — a different story.
POCO C81 Pro Specifications
The POCO C81 Pro specifications look modest. And yet they’re noticeably better than the closest competitors at this price point, as you can see for yourself.
| Specifications | POCO C81 Pro |
|---|---|
| Display | 6.9 inches, IPS (1600×720), 120 Hz, 650 nits |
| Main camera | 13 MP |
| Front camera | 8 MP |
| Processor | Unisoc T7250, 439,885 AnTuTu points |
| Memory | 4/64, 4/128, or 4/256 GB |
| Battery | 6000 mAh |
| Charging | 15 W |
Two things fundamentally differentiate the POCO C81 Pro phone from the REDMI A5. First — UFS 2.2 storage instead of eMMC 5.1. This means noticeably faster app launches and the absence of that annoying “smartphone is thinking” lag that plagued me on the REDMI A5. Second — HyperOS 3 instead of Android Go. Normal gestures, normal animations, normal settings. After Android Go, this feels like a different world.
The smartphone runs smoothly and doesn’t lag
The POCO C81 Pro scores 439,885 points in AnTuTu — almost twice as much as the REDMI A5. For context: this isn’t a flagship or even a mid-ranger, but for basic tasks it’s more than enough. You can even play some games on it.
POCO C81 Pro Smartphone Review
A POCO C81 Pro review is impossible without an honest conversation about the display. 6.9 inches, IPS, 1600×720 resolution (that’s HD+, not Full HD). At this diagonal, pixels are noticeable when reading small text. You have to accept this as a given.
The screen quality is mediocre, but at least it’s a big display
However, the 120 Hz here works differently than on the REDMI A5. There, due to slow memory, the smoothness was barely noticeable. Here — scrolling through feeds is pleasant, the interface responds lively. Not a flagship, but noticeably better than 60 Hz for the same money. The design is standard for a budget phone: plastic body, teardrop notch for the front camera, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The latter in 2026 is a rarity even in mid-range phones, yet it’s here.
Why NFC in a 6-Thousand-Ruble Smartphone Matters
This is the main reason it’s worth paying an extra thousand rubles compared to the REDMI A5. The REDMI A5 doesn’t have NFC, and that annoyed me. Every time at a store, I had to either open the banking app and pay via SBP, or pull out a card. After using a smartphone with NFC, that feels like a step backward.
The POCO C81 Pro gives you contactless payments for 6,430 rubles. Mir Pay works, Russian banking apps support the smartphone without issues. For a cheap smartphone in 2026 — that’s not a given, and that’s exactly why it’s so valuable.
I pay with it via NFC
HyperOS, NFC, proper memory — everything you need for comfortable communication, if you need a backup option.
POCO C81 Pro Battery — Two Days Without Charging
6000 mAh versus 5200 mAh on the REDMI A5 — an 800 mAh difference on paper. In practice, combined with the energy-efficient processor and HD display, this truly means two days of moderate use: messengers, calls, browser, a bit of video.
The 15 W charging is slow (from zero to one hundred percent takes over two hours). In 2026, when mid-range phones charge in 35-40 minutes, this feels like a trip back in time. But a charger is included in the box, and if you charge overnight, there’s no discomfort at all.
Is the POCO C81 Pro Worth Buying
The POCO C81 Pro price is 6,430 rubles for the 4/64 GB version. This is an affordable POCO that does exactly what you’d expect from it. And a little bit more.
