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POCO X8 Pro Series: Price, availability in the Philippines

Early bird sale begins March 17

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POCO X8 Pro Max

POCO has officially launched the POCO X8 Pro Series in the Philippines, introducing the POCO X8 Pro Max, POCO X8 Pro, and the special POCO X8 Pro – Iron Man Edition.

Price and availability

The new lineup will be available through Shopee, Lazada, and TikTok Shop nationwide, with an Early Bird Sale running from March 17 to March 26, 2026.

Pricing for the series starts at PHP 15,499 for the POCO X8 Pro during the early bird promo. Meanwhile, the POCO X8 Pro Max starts at PHP 18,999, while the POCO X8 Pro – Iron Man Edition (12GB + 512GB) is also priced at PHP 18,999. Buyers during the promo period can also receive an additional PHP 500 voucher discount.

In the Philippines, the POCO X8 Pro Max will be available in White, Black, and Blue, in 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB configurations. The POCO X8 Pro comes in Black, White, and Mint Green, with 8GB + 256GB, 8GB + 512GB, and 12GB + 512GB variants.

Performance-focused X Pro series

The POCO X8 Pro Series marks the brand’s shift from the traditional X Series to the new X Pro Series, designed to deliver flagship-level performance and endurance at competitive price points.

Leading the lineup is the POCO X8 Pro Max, which globally debuts with the Dimensity 9500s flagship chipset built on a 3nm process. The chip features a 4+4 all-big-core CPU design with clock speeds up to 3.73GHz, delivering an AnTuTu score of more than 3 million.

The POCO X8 Pro is powered by the Dimensity 8500-Ultra mobile platform, offering improved GPU performance and greater power efficiency compared to its predecessor.

Both phones also support hardware-level ray tracing and POCO’s WildBoost Optimization, which helps maintain smoother frame rates and reduce power consumption during intensive gaming.

Large batteries and fast charging

Battery capacity is another highlight of the lineup.

The POCO X8 Pro Max features an 8,500mAh battery, the largest ever used in a POCO smartphone, which the company says can deliver up to two days of battery life on a single charge.

Meanwhile, the POCO X8 Pro uses a 6,500mAh silicon-carbon battery designed to offer strong endurance while keeping the device relatively compact.

Both devices support 100W HyperCharge as well as 27W reverse charging, allowing users to charge other devices when needed.

Displays, cameras, and software

The POCO X8 Pro Max features a 6.83-inch display, while the POCO X8 Pro has a 6.59-inch panel. Both screens can reach up to 3,500 nits peak brightness for improved outdoor visibility.

On the camera side, both devices feature a 50MP main camera and a 20MP front camera. The Pro Max uses the Light Fusion 600 sensor, while the standard model uses a Sony IMX882 sensor.

The phones run on Xiaomi HyperOS 3, with features such as Xiaomi HyperConnect, HyperIsland, Google Gemini, and Circle to Search integrated into the system.

POCO is also continuing its collaboration with Marvel through the POCO X8 Pro – Iron Man Edition, which features a black-and-gold design inspired by Tony Stark’s armor along with a customized Iron Man-themed interface.

Finance

HONOR, Fidesmo partner for contactless payments across Europe, Middle East

Enabling contactless payments on the HONOR Watch 6

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HONOR and Fidesmo have partnered to launch contactless payments across Europe and the Middle East on the HONOR Watch 6.

Powered by Fidesmo Pay, the integration enables users to connect an existing Mastercard or Visa card to their watch and complete contactless transactions directly from the wearable device.

This brings Fidesmo’s network of over 900 banks and financial institutions to HONOR’s customers. Users can connect an existing card to the HONOR Watch 6 instantly through the HONOR Health App, which installs a unique token directly onto the watch.

Acting as a secure reference to the payment method, this token allows customers to pay without storing their actual payment details on the device. Once installed, users can tap the watch at any
contactless terminal to pay, just as they would with a card or phone.

HONOR joins a group of device partners that already includes Swatch, Polar, and Mondaine as Fidesmo continues to build momentum across categories.

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Entertainment

Max vs 100 will feature Max Verstappen race against 100 go-karters

The live event will stream at midnight on September 17.

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As a child, one of my favorite thought experiments is to imagine who would win in a fight between my favorite characters at the time and a number of other random beings. For example, will Superman prevail against 100 Magnetos? Those are the ways I kept my young mind occupied. Now, as a former child, I still do the same thing but with more realistic people, like imagining if Steph Curry can win against 100 high schoolers. This week, ESPN and Disney+ are making one of those imaginary fights real: Formula 1 legend Max Verstappen versus 100 go-karters.

In an upcoming live event streaming exclusively on Disney+, Max vs 100 will pit the four-time world champion against 100 go-karters from everywhere in pop culture. This gaggle of 100 will include popular content creators such as Twitch streamer ExtraEmily, car photographer Larry Chen, and NBA shooting coach Chris Matthews.

All 101 drivers will race around one of the most iconic tracks in Formula 1 history, Silverstone in England. The track will be reconfigured to match the special race.

Of course, this is more than just a parade of go-karts. Max Verstappen will start at the back of the grid, meaning he has to overtake all 100 racers to win. Now, the Dutch driver is no stranger to winning from the back. In 2024, he won the Sao Paulo Grand Prix despite starting from P17 (out of 20 racers). Max vs 100, though familiar for the driver, presents a different challenge. Can he overtake 100 times to win the race?

Max vs 100 will stream live through Disney+ on September 17, 12:00am PHT.

SEE ALSO: Disney+ is moving to a global app experience

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Apps

Apple’s best feature to cure motion sickness is finally on Android

Google copies a good page from Apple’s playbook.

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As an Android user, I’ve been jealous of iPhone users for a while now, but it’s not for the reason you might think. See, I’m ridiculously prone to motion sickness when I’m not driving. So, when I discovered that Apple has a software-based cure called Vehicle Motion Cues, I wanted it immediately. Now, Android does have third-party apps that do the same thing, but they’re not as good as a fully native version. Well, those dark, nauseating days are about to come to an end. Android 17 is finally getting a similar tool called Motion assist.

Before that, let’s rewind for a bit. What do these features do? How can they cure motion sickness?

Whenever you open Vehicle Motion Cues or Motion assist, the interface spawns a series of dots on the screen. These dots respond to movement. For example, if the vehicle turns to the left, the dots also go to the left, mimicking the movement. Without cues like this, the stationary nature of the screen clashes with our brain’s perception of movement. The disparity creates that feeling of nausea. Basically, our eyes are desperately trying to focus on the static screen, but our brains are telling us that we should be seeing motion. Having moving dots reorients our brain and places the phone inside our perception of movement.

Now, you can enable the same feature on your Android 17 device through Settings > All services > Motion assist under Personal & device safety. You can also set it so that the feature turns on automatically when the phone detects that you’re in a moving vehicle. Finally, you can also tweak the shape, color, and opacity of these dots.

Android 17’s Motion assist is rolling out now to compatible devices.

SEE ALSO: These are the best Android 17 features (if you hate AI)

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