Poco M2 Pro vs Redmi Note 9 Pro vs Realme 6: Which Is the Best Phone Under Rs. 15,000?

Poco created a lot of fanfare and hype around its new M2 Pro smartphone, but it turned out to be little more than a rebranded Redmi Note 9 Pro. I wouldn't call this a bad thing, as there's now a second way to get your hands on a Redmi Note 9 Pro if you miss Xiaomi's flash sales. Considering that Poco's last launch was the X2, which raised expectations for a sub-Rs. 20,000 smartphone, I was hoping it would do the same at a lower price too.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. The Poco M2 Pro (Review) has some stiff competition under Rs. 15,000, the biggest being the Redmi Note 9 Pro (Review) and the Realme 6 (Review). In our earlier comparison between the latter two phones, I found the Realme 6 to be the better pick of the two. Now, with Poco entering the scene, has the status quo changed?

Poco M2 Pro vs Redmi Note 9 Pro vs Realme 6 prices and variants: Very similar

The Poco M2 Pro uses the exact same body as the Redmi Note 9 Pro, and both are built equally well, keeping them on an equal footing. The design still looks fresh and interesting, compared to the slightly dull Realme 6. Both Poco and Redmi smartphones also have Gorilla Glass on their backs, giving them a premium feel, compared to the laminated back of the Realme 6. However, the latter is slightly less wide and tall, and is lighter too, making it a little more comfortable to handle.

All three phones have full-HD+ displays, with hole-punch cutouts and Gorilla Glass protection. They are also rated to be splash resistant. You get a single speaker, a USB Type-C port, and a headphone jack on all phones. The Poco M2 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro also feature an infrared emitter, which can come in handy if you misplace any of your appliances' remotes. You get side-mounted capacitive fingerprint sensors on all three phones, and they all do a good job of quickly authenticating you.

While the displays on all three smartphones produce lively colours and can get quite bright, the Realme 6 has an advantage over the two with its 90Hz refresh rate. It's still the only phone under Rs. 15,000 to offer this feature. It makes scrolling through menus feel a bit more snappy and lets you game at a higher framerate in supported titles.

I think the Poco M2 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro are better overall when it comes to design, but the Realme 6 still has the upper hand with its snappier display. `

Poco M2 Pro vs Redmi Note 9 Pro vs Realme 6 performance: Very good

The Poco M2 Pro and the Redmi Note 9 Pro use Qualcomm's Snapdragon 720G SoC, which is powerful for this segment. The Realme 6 uses MediaTek's gaming-oriented Helio G90T SoC. Both perform similarly in benchmarks and are equally capable of handling multitasking and heavy gaming. I noticed that the Realme 6 got a little hotter than the Poco and Redmi with long gaming sessions, but not enough to make me stop playing.

Poco M2 Pro vs Redmi Note 9 Pro vs Realme 6 cameras: A close call

The Poco M2 Pro and Redmi Note 9 Pro appear to have the same camera setup. This includes a rear primary 48-megapixel sensor, an 8-megapixel sensor with a wide-angle lens, a 5-megapixel macro camera with autofocus, and a 2-megapixel depth camera. Both have 16-megapixel selfie cameras. The main difference between the two phones is a software feature – right now, is that the M2 Pro supports Night mode for the selfie camera, while the Note 9 Pro does not.

The Realme 6 has a similar setup, but with slightly different sensors. The biggest change is the primary camera, which is a 64-megapixel Samsung GW1 sensor. All three phones support video recording at up to 4K 30fps, and all three offer the usual suite of shooting modes. The Redmi Note 9 Pro and Poco M2 Pro can record video using their macro cameras, and the results are surprisingly good. You can't do this with the Realme 6, however, it does support Night mode for the wide-angle camera, which is missing from the Poco and Redmi.

Verdict: Poco, Redmi, or Realme?

Let's narrow this down a bit. Going by my review and now this comparison of the Poco M2 Pro, I think it's safe to conclude that it's essentially the same as the Redmi Note 9 Pro, but in a different wrapper and with a quicker charger in the box. Both phones are also priced exactly the same, starting at Rs. 13,999 for 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. There doesn't seem to be any reason to buy the Redmi Note 9 Pro now, as the Poco M2 Pro offers better value.

In my opinion, the Realme 6 is still the phone to beat, as the base model with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage costs Rs. 14,999. It might lack the more premium looks of the Poco and Redmi devices, but it's easier to handle, has a slightly better main camera, and its 90Hz display is still unrivalled in this segment.