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Reddit comments influenced the design and specs of Xiaomi's POCOphone F1
- A Xiaomi product manager said that Reddit comments were used for design inspiration on the POCOphone F1.
- In particular, the device’s large battery and fast processor were chosen in direct response to Reddit comments.
- Unfortunately, Xiaomi confirms that there are no current plans to bring the POCOphone F1 to the United States.
The Verge just published an interview it conducted with Jai Mani, the lead product manager for Xiaomi in India. The interview mostly focuses on the brand new Pocophone F1 (or POCO F1, depending on your region) and how Xiaomi developed the new, incredibly cheap device.
For those of you just tuning in, the POCOphone F1 starts at around $300 and features top-of-the-line flagship-style specs, such as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845, a 4,000mAh battery, an Adreno 630 GPU, at least 6GB of RAM, and a 2,246 x 1,080 display.
However, it keeps the price so low by having a plastic back, no NFC chip, tinny speakers, and other compromises. Check out our full review of the device here.
According to Jai Mani, the first thing the Xiaomi team did when they were developing the POCOphone F1 was head to Reddit. There, the team read what Android enthusiasts want the most from their devices. In particular, the high-end processor and the large battery were put into the F1 directly because of Redditor comments.
Mani also explained why the device has such a cheap-feeling plastic body. Mani says that most people will put the device into a case so having a fancy glass back or some other expensive material won’t really matter.
However, Mani did not explain the poor oleophobic coating job that results in tons of fingerprint smudges on the display. Presumably, this was done because most users will have a screen protector on, as well.
Mani also addressed the fact that there are no plans to bring the POCOphone F1 to the United States. According to the interview, Xiaomi is still actively thinking about entering the U.S. market but is concerned that there isn’t enough of a demand for price-conscious offerings like the F1. Xiaomi doesn’t know if consumers will take to devices that don’t have the word “Samsung” or “Apple” in their name.
The POCOphone F1 will launch in India and several other countries this month.
NEXT: Pocophone F1 launched in India for Rs. 21,000 ($300): Here’s what you need to know