Poco Teases Collaboration with Airtel for Launch of ‘Most Affordable 5G Device’ in India

Poco’s Past Collaboration with Airtel on Poco C51: Exclusive Variant Release

Poco India Head, Himanshu Tandon, recently dropped hints about the imminent release of an affordable 5G smartphone in India. Taking to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday (March 5), Tandon announced Poco’s continued collaboration with Airtel for the launch of a new handset.

This partnership follows the introduction of an Airtel-exclusive variant of the Poco C51 in July last year, which came bundled with an Airtel Prepaid connection and exclusive benefits from the telecom provider. The Poco C51 variant operates on the MediaTek Helio G36 SoC and boasts a robust 5,000mAh battery to power through tasks.

Tandon’s tweet teased the upcoming Poco smartphone as part of the ongoing partnership with Airtel, suggesting a joint venture named “Poco X Airtel” on the horizon. The device is touted to be positioned as the most economical 5G smartphone ever to hit the Indian market.

In response to inquiries, Tandon clarified that the impending device will not merely be an “Airtel version” of an existing model, hinting at the introduction of a completely new smartphone. Amid speculations, Tandon quashed rumors suggesting it could be an Airtel edition of the Poco M6 5G, affirming that this was not the case.

Initially launched in April last year at a price of Rs. 8,499 for the base variant, the Poco C51 made waves with its budget-friendly offering. Later in July, the Airtel-exclusive version of the device hit the shelves at a discounted price of Rs. 5,999, enticing consumers with an Airtel Prepaid connection bundled with 50GB of complimentary mobile data, further expanding Poco’s market presence in the budget segment.

The Poco C51 features a 6.52-inch HD+ (720×1,600 pixels) display with 120Hz touch sampling rate. It is powered by an octa-core MediaTek Helio G36 SoC, coupled with 4GB of RAM. The inbuilt RAM can be virtually expanded up to 7GB by using 3GB of unused storage.

It features a dual rear camera unit comprising a primary 8-megapixel primary sensor and a secondary depth sensor. The Poco C51 includes a 5-megapixel sensor at the front. It packs 64GB of onboard storage and is backed by a 5,000mAh battery.