Poco started life in 2018 as Xiaomi’s sub brand for mid range phones. Most people knew it as the label for power on a budget. Now the brand clearly wants a new tag. At an event in Bali, Poco has launched its first premium flagship pair, the F8 Ultra and the F8 Pro, and it is leaning on sound and design to stand out in a busy market.

Both phones are the result of a new partnership with Bose. The F8 series comes with stereo speakers that Bose has helped design and tune, and Poco is pushing this tie up hard. The F8 Ultra goes one step further. It adds a small subwoofer inside the phone, which is still rare even in the top tier segment. The idea is clear. If you watch a lot of shows, play games or listen to music on your phone, you should get deeper bass and a fuller sound without picking up an external speaker.

On the hardware side, the Poco F8 Ultra is the hero. It has a 6.9 inch OLED screen and runs on Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the latest flagship chip from the company. Poco has added its own VisionBoost D8 chipset on top, which handles features such as AI Super Resolution. The phone also uses a new HyperRGB display tech, where red, green and blue subpixels are all used fully to sharpen text and images. At the back, you get a triple 50 megapixel camera setup and support for wireless charging, which pulls it closer to other high end phones in this tier.

Battery is another big focus and the F8 Ultra has a 6500 mAh unit, the largest battery ever on a Poco F series device. On paper, that should help it get through long gaming sessions and hours of streaming without forcing you to hunt for a charger by evening. It is clearly aimed at users who are tired of their phones dipping into the red by late afternoon.

Poco F8 Ultra in two colours. (Poco)

Design is where Poco tries something more playful. The most eye catching option is the Denim version of the F8 Ultra. At first look, it seems like the back is wrapped in denim fabric, but it is actually a special Xiaomi nanotech material that only looks like jeans. You get the visual drama of denim, without the wear and tear issues of real cloth on a phone you handle all day. It also gives Poco a hero finish that is easy to spot in photos and short videos.

The Poco F8 Pro sits just below the Ultra but still wants to feel like a full flagship. It comes with a 6.59 inch screen and a softer micro curved design, where the edges gently blend into the back panel. Inside, it uses last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite platform, which is still strong enough for daily use and gaming, but leaves the very top performance claim to the Ultra. The Pro has a 6210 mAh battery, and Poco says it can last for up to 16 hours of continued use, again keeping the spotlight on stamina.

There are a few core traits both phones share. They carry IP68 ratings for dust and water resistance, which is now expected in this bracket. They both run Xiaomi HyperOS 3, so the software experience should feel familiar to anyone who has used recent Xiaomi or Poco phones. And both benefit from Bose tuned stereo speakers, even if only the Ultra gets the extra subwoofer on board.

Pricing shows how Poco is trying to balance its value brand roots with a push into premium devices. Globally, the F8 Pro starts at USD 579 for the 12 GB + 256 GB version and goes up to USD 629 for the 12 GB + 512 GB model. The F8 Ultra begins at USD 729 for the 12 GB + 256 GB variant and rises to USD 799 for the 16 GB + 512 GB version. Early bird offers bring prices down to USD 529 / USD 579 for the F8 Pro and USD 679 / USD 729 for the F8 Ultra. At present there is no confirmed official price for markets such as India, and availability may vary by region.

For Poco, this launch is a turning point. The company is pitching the F8 Ultra as its new flagship benchmark and the F8 Pro as a way to bring that experience to more users. With the Bose audio partnership, the Denim finish, bigger batteries and a clear performance push, Poco is signalling that it wants to play in the premium tier while still undercutting rivals on price. For anyone who knew Poco only for raw power on a budget, this F8 pair shows the brand is moving up without leaving that promise behind.