After POCO C31, why POCO C3 still exists?

Xiaomi spin-off brand Poco launched the entry-level phone Poco C31 in India on Thursday at a starting price of Rs 8,499. The Poco C31 is essentially a rebranded Poco C3 from last year with a fingerprint reader. Rest of the specs and design are being carried forward as is.

“One of the reasons why the Poco C3 exists is because it is 2020 and things have changed. Macroeconomics are not the same anymore,” Poco India country director, Anuj Sharma had told Financial Express Online on the side-lines of Poco C3 India launch. “Phones are becoming more and more essential. People are spending a lot of time online to research about them.”

The goal was to “expand the Poco family” and have “sustainable business model.”

The Poco C31 builds on that, possibly to bring more value to customers ahead of the festive season although, there are not a lot of upgrades to really talk about here.

The phone has the same dual-tone polycarbonate body-that’s available in Royal Blue and Shadow Gray colourways-with the only difference being the addition of a fingerprint reader on the back. Like the Poco C3, the Poco C31 also boasts of P2i nano-coating which makes it splash-resistant.

You still get a 6.53-inch 720p LCD display with a waterdrop-style notch housing a 5MP selfie camera. There is a triple camera setup on the rear with a 13MP main, and two 2MP cameras, one for depth and another for macros.

Under the hood, it has a MediaTek Helio G35 chip paired with up to 4GB RAM and up to 64GB storage which is expandable via a dedicated micro-SD card slot. Software is MIUI for Poco.

Rounding off the package is a 5,000mAh battery.

Price of POCO C31 —

The Poco C31 price in India starts at Rs 8,499 for a version with 3GB RAM and 32GB storage. A model with 4GB RAM and 64GB storage will set you back by Rs 9,499.