iQoo 9 Pro: Review

 HIGHLIGHTS

• The iQoo 9 Pro is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC.
• It sports a curved-edge AMOLED display that runs at 120Hz.
• Gimbal stabilisation is available on the 50-megapixel main back camera.

As I said in my review, the iQoo 7 Legend is still a fantastic premium smartphone with a high-quality photography experience and great performance. The sole disadvantage is that the battery life is below average, despite the fact that charging is quick. iQoo has just released three new smartphones as part of its premium 9 series. There are three new models: the iQoo 9 SE, the iQoo 9, and the iQoo 9 Pro. The iQoo 9 SE is the successor to the iQoo 7, while the iQoo 9 Legend is the successor to the iQoo 7 Legend.

The iQoo 9 Pro is the series' new flagship, with numerous improvements over the iQoo 7 Legend. Its battery capacity has increased, but more crucially, its cameras have advanced significantly in terms of hardware. I got my hands on this smartphone, and here are my initial thoughts.

IQoo has extended its collaboration with BMW Motorsport, which has provided the iQoo 9 Pro and iQoo 9 with a racing-inspired 'Legend' finish, similar to the style of the iQoo 7 Legend. There are some subtle changes, such as a polished strip running across the otherwise matte rear panel, which changes the overall feel of the back panel. On the 9 Pro, the camera module takes up one-third of the rear panel yet protrudes only slightly. A high-quality TPU case with the same Legend finish and BMW Motorsport-inspired stripes is included in the box. The top has an infrared emitter and the bottom has a USB Type-C port, however there is no 3.5mm headphone jack.

The iQoo 9 Pro has a 6.78-inch curved-edge AMOLED display with a resolution of 1,440x3,200 pixels (2K). It is an LTPO panel with an adjustable refresh rate of up to 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 300Hz.

In India, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC debuts in the iQoo 9 Pro. It has a maximum CPU clock speed of 3.0GHz and is created using a 4nm production technology. iQoo says that it outperforms the Snapdragon 888 SoC, which was utilised in a number of popular premium smartphones last year. iQoo has also added what it calls an Independent Display Chip (IDC), which it says provides various advantages in gaming and photography. Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, and the conventional satellite navigation systems are among the communication protocols. The phone also has dual-5G standby and supports fourteen 5G bands.

The cameras are the most improved when compared to the iQoo 7 Legend. The iQoo 9 Pro, like the Vivo X70 Pro+, offers a 50-megapixel primary camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS) and gimbal stabilisation (Review). A 50-megapixel ultra-wide-angle camera with a 150-degree field of view and autofocus is also available, as is a 16-megapixel telephoto camera with 2.5X optical zoom and OIS. A 16-megapixel front-facing camera takes selfies.

The iQoo 9 Pro features a 4,700mAh battery, which is an improvement over the 4,000mAh capacity of the iQoo 7 Legend. The phone's wired charging speed has been increased to 120W, and it also supports 50W wireless charging using the company's own station, which you must purchase separately. Funtouch OS 12, which is based on Android 12, is used to power the smartphone.