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Xiaomi's most exciting phone of 2018, the POCOphone F1, is up for pre-order in the US

But it's coming with a catch, and that catch begins with an L and ends with an E. There's a T somewhere in the middle, too.
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Published onOctober 17, 2018

B&H store page for the Xiaomi POCOphone F1.
B&H

TL;DR
  • B&H has made the Xiaomi POCOphone F1 available for pre-order in the U.S.
  • The low-cost, high-power smartphone went on sale in other territories in September. 
  • It starts at $369.99, but you’ll miss out on LTE frequency bands on the U.S. model. 

The Xiaomi POCOphone F1 arrived earlier in September and it was a pleasant surprise. The F1 isn’t part of any previous Xiaomi series and it brought Qualcomm’s latest and greatest chipset to the masses with a low entry price. It’s a bit of beast, to be honest, but it’s been hard to come by in the U.S. (like practically all of Xiaomi’s smartphones).

However, thanks to B&H (via PhoneArena), U.S. customers will soon be able to get their hands on one. However, it’s coming with some caveats.

This is the POCOphone F1 as we know it, complete with dual rear cameras, Snapdragon 845 chipset, and a low price tag; it’s even arriving with a manufacturer warranty. The catch is that you’ll miss out on the 8GB RAM model in the U.S. — only the 6GB variant is available — as well as some important frequency bands; LTE speeds are off the table.

Pocophone F1
Pocophone F1

Some folks will probably be happy with Wi-Fi and only occasional 3G usage when out and about, while benefitting from the handset’s other great characteristics (read our full Pocophone F1 review at the link for more on those). The lack of 4G/LTE will be a dealbreaker for others, though.

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A teaser render of the Xiaomi Mi Mix 3.

Speaking of that great price, the 64GB model starts at $369, while you’ll pay $399 for the 128GB version. This puts the phone in a similar price bracket to the POCOphone F1 model launched in India (around $50-$70 more expensive), which isn’t bad considering the prices always change depending on the market. B&H could also basically charge whatever it wants for the phone, as it’s not exactly widely available in North America.

The POCOphone F1 supports GSM carriers (like AT&T and T-Mobile) and is arriving in Steel Blue and Graphite Black. B&H says the phones are “coming soon” but we don’t have a confirmed shipping date. We’ll let you know when we have more. 

If you’re interested, hit the button below, and let us know what you think of the offer in the comments.