POCO M8 5G Teased in India With “Designed to Slay” Tagline, Launch Expected in January 2026

POCO has now officially begun teasering its new budget 5G smartphone in India, rumored to be the POCO M8 5G, and initial teases indicate that the brand might be ready to shake the budget smartphone market once again. A dedicated teaser page is already live on the Flipkart website, flaunting the aggressive tease slogan 'Designed to Slay', which leaves little doubt that the new device is also going to be performance-oriented. Although POCO hasn’t yet confirmed the new device, teasers containing the POCO M7 Plus 5G, along with several leaks related to the M8 lineup, pretty much indicate the next device to be the POCO M8 5G.

From the teaser and the latest leak, it is evident that POCO is going for its traditional design approach along with some tweaks. The POCO M8 5G will reportedly encompass the brand’s dual-toned design at the rear, but this time around, they are ditching the circular camera design they used in the POCO M7 in favor of a brand-new design in the form of a squircle camera island. The dual camera will be placed at the rear panel, and the phone is expected to arrive in three variants based on color options to meet the demands of users who tend to choose phones depending on their preferences for bold and sleek designs.

In terms of display, the POCO M8 5G is expected to feature a very impressive display, with a huge 6.77 inches of display size and an FHD+ resolution along with OLED display technology, which will be a major improvement in this series of devices. The refresh rate of this display has also been expected to be 120Hz, which will result in a very smooth user experience and promising gaming performance and content display, which may be quite impressive in this budget series of devices, as most of them feature LCD display technology.

Feature: Display of POCO M8 5G may be one of its Stand-Out Features

As far as the internal specifications are concerned, it is expected to be equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 chipset. When it comes to performance, this processor is supposed to provide smooth performance during the course of the day while conserving battery life. This makes it compatible with heavy applications, gaming, and extensive usage. The POCO M8 5G may come in variants with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage, which will be quite impressive for a machine falling under the affordable category.

Battery life has never really been a concern with the M-Series of devices from POCO, and the forthcoming M8 5G appears to be no exception. The phone will reportedly be backed by a 5,520mAh battery and supported with 45W fast charging. This should easily suffice to even support usage beyond a full day, with active usage. Also, going by the reports, the phone could have an IP65 rating, which will protect the device against dust and water splashes. This will be another first in budget devices.

As far as expectations regarding the pricing, the new POCO M8 5G is expected to comfortably fit into the same aggressively priced segment as before. For perspective, the POCO M7 was launched at a price point around ₹10,500, and the POCO M7 Pro was launched at a price point of ₹14,999 in the Indian market. If the POCO is able to price the M8 5G aggressively and pack it with an OLED screen, a strong Snapdragon processor, and quick charging, it might turn out to be a very appealing choice for budget shoppers.

As reflected from everything that has come out so far, the POCO M8 5G seems to be more about all-around daily performance, solid battery life, and a smooth display experience rather than fancy gimmicks. This fits the bill quite nicely for the Indian market, where value-for-money continues to be the bottom line. But since it is yet to officially launch, prospective buyers are better off waiting until its specifications, pricing, and launch offers are well in place before taking their purchasing call.

According to the latest available reports, the POCO M8 5G will launch in India in January 2026, and even more announcements can be expected in the coming weeks. There seems to be a variant of the phone, the POCO M8 Pro 5G, being planned as well, but that could launch a bit later in February or March of 2026. Given the aggressive pricing and feature-rich smartphones from the brand in the past, the launch of the M8 line of phones could disrupt the budget 5G smartphones in the Indian market once again.