The Xiaomi Poco C85 has officially launched in South Africa, targeting budget-conscious shoppers and those looking for an affordable backup device with a starting price of ZAR 2,500.
Because final pricing depends on local store promotions, regional shipping fees, and individual stock availability, the exact amount on your receipt may vary slightly depending on your location and the retailer you choose.
Xiaomi has distributed the Poco C85 across a wide variety of South African outlets, making it highly accessible through online platforms, tech warehouses, mobile networks, and everyday clothing or value stores.
Because this phone sits at an highly competitive entry-level price point, it is widely stocked at major national value chains—perfect for quick, over-the-counter cash purchases:
PEP & Ackermans: These chains offer an unmatched geographic footprint across South Africa. They are excellent options for picking up regional stock variants quickly, even if you live far outside major metropolitan hubs.
Mr Price: Available via Mr Price Cellular counters, matching budget-friendly smartphone hardware with everyday lifestyle shopping.
If you prefer shopping online, comparing live prices, or buying through large-scale retail warehouses, check out these options:
Takealot: South Africa’s largest e-commerce site, offering straightforward doorstep delivery or convenient collection from regional pickup points.
Game & Makro: Massive retail destinations that frequently run promotions on entry-level tech, offer store card financing, or bundle devices with value-add extras like starter SIM cards.
HiFi Corp & Hi Online: Dedicated tech hubs where you can see the device on the floor to check its screen size and design before buying.
If you want to link the phone to a specific prepaid starter pack or look into budget-friendly contract options, you can find it through:
MTN: Offering the device on affordable entry-level contract plans or as a prepaid option bundled with promotional network data.
Cellucity, 4U, and Chatz: Independent cellular specialists equipped to help you process upgrades, new SIM registrations, or prepaid bundles across local networks.
Foschini: Accessible through the TFG retail group, giving you the flexibility to purchase the device using a TFG store account.
Battery & Storage Tip: Devices in the Poco “C” series are typically engineered as reliable daily drivers, usually prioritizing long-lasting battery life over heavy processing power. At this price point, it is smart to check the internal storage capacity (e.g., 32GB or 64GB). If you take a lot of photos or use multiple apps, consider picking up a cheap microSD card alongside the phone to easily expand your storage space.
| Brand | Xiaomi |
| Model | Xiaomi Poco C85 |
| Announced | 09 December, 2025 |
| Released | 16 December, 2025 |
| Status | Available |
| Price | ZAR 2,500 |
| Type Design Type called form factor refers to a mobile phone's size, shape, and style as well as the layout and position of major components of phone. There are three major form factors seen in mobile phones => bar phones, folding phones and sliding phones. | Bar |
| Dimensions | 173.2 x 81.1 x 8 mm (6.82 x 3.19 x 0.31 in) |
| Weight | 211 g (7.44 oz) |
| Protection | IP64 dust tight and water resistant (water splashes) |
| Colors | Mystic Purple, Spring Green, Power Black |
| 2G Network | |
| 3G Network | |
| 4G Network | |
| 5G Network | |
| SIM SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) is a small card that contains mobile network subscriber's account information. This allows the phone using the card to attach to a mobile network. The SIM card is most commonly associated with GSM and UMTS mobile networks. Moving a SIM card from one phone to another allows a subscriber to switch mobile phones without having to contact their mobile network carrier. SIM cards can also be used by a phone to store limited amounts of data, such as phone numbers and text messages. | Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM |
| Display Type Display Technology => A number of display technologies and types used in mobile phones => TFT (Thin Film Transistor), IPS (In-Place Switching), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode), Super AMOLED (an even advanced version of AMOLED), Resistive Touchscreen (Resistive touchscreens contain two layer of conductive material with a very small gap between them which acts as a resistance), Capacitive Touchsceen (Capacitive touchscreen technology consists of a layer of glass coated with a transparent conductor) | IPS LCD, 120Hz, 810 nits (HBM) |
| Size | 6.9 inches, 114.9 cm2 (~81.8% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 720 x 1600 pixels, 20:9 ratio (~254 ppi density) |
| Audio Playback | |
| Video Playback | |
| FM Radio | Yes |
| Ring Tones | |
| Loudspeaker |
| Main Camera Camera is able to capture photographs and usually videos, The most important characteristics of a camera are the resolution (measured in megapixels), lens focus type (fixed or automatic), higher megapixel cameras are known to capture higher quality photos, but not always a good measurement of the photos quality. |
50 MP, f/1.8, 26mm (wide), 1/2.76", 0.64µm, PDAF Auxiliary lens |
| Camera Features | HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30fps |
| Selfie Camera | 8 MP, f/2.0, (wide), 1/4.0", 1.12µm |
| Camera Features | HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30fps |
| Operating System OS => Every computer system run on a base software called Operating System (OS). Operating System controls all basic operations of the computer (such as smartphone, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices). The Operating System allows the user to install and run third party applications (apps), apps are used to add new functionality to the device. | Android 15 |
| User Interface UI or user interface of a device is the look and feel of the on-screen menu system. How it works, its color scheme, how it responds to button presses, all of these things are part of the user interface. | HyperOS 2 |
| Chipset Chipset is a group of integrated circuits designed to perform one or a more dedicated functions, often with real time computing constraints, Popular smartphones are equipped with more advanced embedded chipsets that can do many different tasks depending on their programming. | Mediatek Dimensity 6300 (6 nm) |
| CPU CPU (Central Processing Unit) mostly known as processors, CPU processes instructions in order to carry out certain functions that make your device operate properly. Processors are often described as the brain of computers, smartphones and tablets, Smartphones and tablets rely on processors to carry out their every task, Processors are an incredibly important factor in selecting any type of computing device, including your smartphone. | Octa-core (2x2.4 GHz Cortex-A76 & 6x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55) |
| GPU GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) is a single-chip processor designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display, This includes things such as lighting effects, object transformations, and 3D motion. | Mali-G57 MC2 |
| RAM (Memory) RAM (Random Access Memory) is a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes that allows information to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computer systems, smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices. | 4GB-8GB |
| Internal Storage Internal Storage is a data storage space (flash memory) mostly used in smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices where operating system, apps, music, photos, videos, files and other user data Is stored. | 128GB |
| Card Slot Memory Card Slot is a special slot for inserting a memory card. Memory cards allow you to expand the phone's built-in memory, A memory card (sometimes called a flash memory card or a storage card) is a small storage medium used to store data such as text, pictures, audio, and video, for use on small, portable or remote computing devices such as mobile phones, mp3 players, digital cameras. | microSDXC (dedicated slot) |
| Sensors Sensors are electronic components that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment. The specific input could be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure and location, The output is generally a signal that is converted to use in computing systems, a location sensor, such as a GPS receiver is able to detect current location of your electronic device. |
Fingerprint (side-mounted), accelerometer, proximity, compass Virtual proximity sensing |
| Bluetooth Bluetooth is a wireless communications technology for exchanging data between mobile phones, headsets, computers and other network devices over short distances without wires, Bluetooth technology was primarily designed to support simple wireless networking of personal consumer devices. | 5.4, A2DP, LE |
| Wi-fi Wi-Fi is a popular wireless networking technology using radio waves to provide high-speed network connections that allows devices to communicate without cords or cables, Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming the preferred mode of internet connectivity all over the world. | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, dual-band |
| Wi-fi Hotspot | |
| USB | USB Type-C 2.0, OTG |
| Positioning GPS The Global Positioning System is a satellite-based radio navigation system, GPS permits users to determine their position, velocity and the time 24 hours a day, in all weather, anywhere in the world, In order to locate your position, your device or GPS receiver must have a clear view of the sky. | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, BDS |
| NFC NFC (Near field communication) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish peer-to-peer radio communications with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, usually no more than a few inches. |
| Battery Type Battery Type => Cell phones run on various kinds of batteries depending on the manufacturer, phone size or shape and features. There are basically four types of cell phone batteries => Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium. | 6000 mAh |
| Charging Wireless Charging (Inductive Charging) uses an electromagnetic field to transfer energy between two objects. This is usually done with a charging station. Energy is sent through an inductive coupling to an electrical device, which can then use that energy to charge batteries or run the device. |
33W wired, PD, 50% in 28 min 10W reverse wired |
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only.