Helping a friend to get a new phone - POCO C65

A couple of days ago one of my coworkers asked me to help him find a new phone since his old smartphone had taken a serious fall and as a result his screen was no longer working properly, and while I'm not a tech expert or anything, I honestly quite enjoy researching what options are available in each price range to see which one is the right choice, which is particularly interesting in today's market considering there are so many models and brands available, all similar on the surface but with unique features as you look deeper into them.

Taken from Xiaomi's official site

While having a small budget can feel like a disadvantage ($130), I feel like this ironically makes the challenge more interesting, since otherwise we would just go for the high-end phone with the most attractive look (AND the OS that suits the user's needs).

The options were plentiful, and even brands that we usually associate with mid-range or high-end phones like Samsung offer alternatives for less than $150, the same goes for other companies like Motorola, ZTE, and of course: Xiaomi.

Personally, when it comes to low-end smartphones the solution is relatively simple: look for decent but realistic specs, which guarantee that a good portion of the cost of the device will go towards the quality of its materials. And, generally because of this, I tend to ignore other brands (which I won't mention in this podt) that boast of offering a lot of RAM and more than decent processors, but in exchange have a poor build quality.

Since I have had several satisfactory experiences with various Xiaomi phones in the past (including the one I currently own), it seemed to me that I was going to find the best option within the Asian brand, so I decided to take the models that were within that price range to compare them with each other and see which one would be the best.

That's how I ended up getting the Redmi 14C, the Redmi 13, and the one we finally got: the POCO C65.

Taken from Instagram.

Although they all had radically different designs on the back, it's worth noting that in terms of hardware they were all extremely similar: 8GB of RAM, 256GB of ROM, low-end Mediatek processors, and cameras of around 50 megapixels.

The Redmi 13 was definitely the one with the best processor, and, although we initially found one available at a good price ($135), it took us too long to make a decision and it was enough for it to sell out. Something unfortunate considering that the others I got later were at $150-160.

On the other hand, regarding the Redmi 14C, although I feel that they are very decent phones at a low cost, and it had only been released a couple of months ago, I actually prefer the extra power that is usually associated with the devices of the "POCO" Line, which usually puts performance above all else.

I really like the design of the phone and in person it feels very good to the touch, it has flat edges and has a finish between Matte and corrugated on the back, a fingerprint sensor on the power button and a noticeable but not very intrusive notch.

Its screen has a refresh rate of 90hz and the latest version of MIUI (14.0), although it is expected that in the future it will be included in hyperOS.

At least with good lightning his camera takes good photos

It has many junk apps from the factory but everything can be easily cleaned, apart from that, the 256gb of ROM is more than enough for a person who only uses their SmartPhone for essential tasks.

What I do miss is the inclusion of a case, something that Xiaomi has accustomed us to in other models within all ranges. Even so, I really liked the packaging and I appreciate the inclusion of a charger.

If you have a limited budget, I totally recommend it. Obviously, it is far from being the best phone in the world, but it does what it promises.