Review Summary
Expert Rating 3.5/5
iQOO has created a reputation for itself by offering high-performance phones at reasonable prices. I ended up promoting the iQOO 7 (review) series from last year to all of my BGMI gaming mates, and the feedback I received was overwhelmingly favourable. However, the iQOO brand looks to be transitioning from its enthusiast-focused beginnings to the more expensive category, same to way OnePlus did previously.
VERDICT
The iQOO 9 has a lot going for it, including excellent performance, a good display, a stylish design, and outstanding charging speeds. However, the device's gaming-centric features are a little clunky, and areas like battery life and low-light camera performance might be improved.
Design and display
The iQOO 9 does not scrimp on build quality and, owing to its relationship with BMW, it also looks rather beautiful. The M Power red, black, and blue racing stripes run down the back of the phone and are part of the smooth, white matte surface. The iQOO logo is clearly displayed towards the bottom of the gadget. The back corners of this smartphone, like other luxury smartphones, bend slightly and meet the frame to give a better grip. The power button has a rough feel and has a distinguishing blue colour, and the volume rocker above it is also tactile. The silver colour of the rails contrasts nicely with the pearlescent white tone of the back panel.
iQOO has omitted the 3.5mm headphone connector, which I believe is essential for gamers during hard BGMI sessions, however stereo sound is supported owing to the earpiece acting as a secondary speaker. Aside from that, there is a USB C connector and a dual-SIM slot at the bottom. The iQOO 9 is relatively hefty at 200g, but it feels much lighter in the hand than imagined. There's also the triple-camera array on the top-right, which isn't as big as the phone's 'Pro' brother, but its impression on the surface is clear.
On the front of the gadget is a 6.58-inch 10-bit AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz and FHD+ resolution. On paper, the screen specs are quite normal for a phone in this price range, and I like that the display borders are flat rather than curved like the iQOO 9 Pro (review). For gamers, the phone has a touch sampling rate of 300Hz and a 1000Hz of what the firm calls Instant touch. The device supports the basic colour profile customisation options, enabling you to switch between regular, professional, and bright profiles.
There are additional toggles for eye protection and dark mode, as well as the ability to alter the default refresh rate. Because the panel is not LTPO like the Pro model, you can only choose between 60Hz and 120Hz using a smart switch. For a color-rich experience on OTT platforms, iQOO has offered HDR10+ and WideVine L1 certification. The screen brightness settings have not been indicated, however I tested the gadget in full sunlight and had no issues. There is a miniscule cut-out on the top for the punch-hole, and the bezels that surround the display are incredibly thin. The entire display quality for viewing information is superb, and the whole experience is more than sufficient.
Cameras
In terms of optics, the iQOO 9 has a 48MP IMX 598 Gimbal camera as its primary sensor, as well as a 13MP ultra-wide lens and a 13MP depth shooter with 2X optical zoom. I compared the photography capabilities of the iQOO 9 to those of the OnePlus 9RT (review) and decided that the former is less proficient in low-light and some daytime conditions. In general, the big main sensor on the iQOO lacks dynamic range and employs a bit more overprocessing than I would want. The image's sharpness is concentrated in the centre and softens toward the frame's boundaries. Color saturation is strong, which may appeal to some people. iQOO also includes a few filters included within the camera app, however they are rather basic.
Other features, like as the Astro mode, help to improve the photo-taking experience. Given the city's filthy sky, this didn't work so well for me. In real-time, double exposure superimposes a second image on the original frame, but it fails miserably. However, the Lengthy Exposure setting performs far better than I had anticipated in producing an image of automobiles racing by you in a long trail of light (as an example). The 48MP sensor captures pixel-binned photographs by default, but there's also a UHD option for full-resolution shots with more details and a wider crop-in area.
The iQOO 9 isn't very spectacular in low-light situations, and it's simple to see why. As a reviewer, I like more natural tones that make the final image appear more realistic. However, the evening images on the iQOO 9 are oversaturated to the point that it appears as if an Instagram filter has been applied to the lens. When compared to the images taken by the OnePlus 9RT, the handling of exposure settings is similarly lacking in my opinion. The highlights are not clearly defined, and the detailing in the darkest areas of the picture is lacking. Furthermore, the specialised night mode addresses relatively few, if any, difficulties.
The Realme 9 Pro+ (review), which costs nearly half as much as the iQOO 9, has far superior low-light capabilities. The Gimbal camera does have a few advantages for videography fans, including an Ultra stabilisation mode that limits the maximum resolution to 1080p while providing remarkable steadiness.
The ultra-wide sensor has a 120-degree field of vision, and the images it captures have some distortion around the edges. The lens also has macro capabilities, which allows for high-resolution close-ups that a dedicated 2MP lens, such as the one found in the OnePlus 9RT, cannot. Portrait mode is also pretty impressive, due to the 13MP depth sensor, which provides faultless edge recognition even in low-light conditions and a very clean background blur. You may also use the same lens to take 2X telephoto images, which are better than regular digital zoom. Finally, there's the selfie camera, which takes 16MP photos that are detailed, well-exposed, and have some skin tone changing.
Performance and software
So, how does the iQOO 9 do in terms of performance? Well, I've used multiple Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 smartphones in the last year, and my opinion on the chipset's processing power hasn't altered. The Snapdragon 888, being a flagship-grade, top-of-the-line processor based on a tiny 5nm production technology, meets all criteria for power-packed smartphone usage. The iQOO 9 is powered by a slightly faster Snapdragon 888+ processor, with the primary Kryo 680 CPU running at 3.0GHz as opposed to 2.84GHz on the normal 888.If you use the device for typical day-to-day work, you won't have any problems, regardless of how many Chrome tabs you have open, how many heavy applications are running in the background, or how you navigate the UI in general. However, I discovered that the overclocked processor tends to heat up a little under prolonged stress, a problem that has been reported on a few Snapdragon 888 phones. The iQOO 9 scored 844,073 on Antutu V9.3.1 but gained roughly 6.1 degrees in temperature. When the CPU Throttle test was run on 50 threads for 30 minutes, the device throttled to roughly 79 percent of its peak performance, which is respectable but far from excellent.
iQOO has included various game-specific features on their gadget, such as a specialised Intelligent Chip for gaming. This specialised piece of silicone does a variety of things, including optimising colours and frame rates on GPU-intensive games using MEMC, a technique previously seen on OPPO and OnePlus phones with varied results. I tested BGMI on the iQOO 9, and the game plays at Extreme frame rate plus HDR graphics quality, which is about the greatest you can get on a smartphone right now. While the game played as well as it could, the gadget became rather hot after approximately an hour of constant gaming, despite the fact that iQOO claims to have installed a huge vapour chamber within.
Game frame interpolation also made the gaming experience jittery, with the fps counter shifting fast, resulting in missed frames. It's worth mentioning that when the graphics are set to the lowest at Smooth, BGMI immediately provides you a 90fps option, so you don't have to resort to these interpolation tactics to improve frame rates. The haptics of the twin X-axis linear motor dubbed "4D Game Vibration" were more or less constant while firing, but not so much when being struck by bullets in the game. There are pressure-sensitive screen customization possibilities, but they are not a replacement for the discrete shoulder triggers used in iQOO's original phones.
The phone offers 8GB or 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, as well as 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. The in-display fingerprint scanner isn't as fast as the one found on the Pro version, but it does the job. The iQOO 9 boasts Hi-Res audio certification for compatible wireless headphones, and the two speakers aren't bad, though I wish they had a little more depth to them. The phone's 5G capabilities have yet to be tested, but I hope that by 2023, India will have the telecom infrastructure in place. For the time being, the phone's 4G LTE speeds are sufficient for mobile data demands, and the earpiece and microphone quality are on pace with what I'm used to.
The iQOO is powered by Vivo's FuntouchOS 12, which is based on Android 12. From being an iOS clone to a cleaner and more intuitive software experience, the UI has gone a long way. Bloatware is a concern, and I doubt it will go away very soon. iQOO uses its software capabilities to borrow from the phone's internal storage to increase the RAM by up to 4GB. Personally, I believe that 16GB of RAM is a bit excessive, but larger numbers are typically beneficial for marketing.
In general, the themed approach to UI gets a few points from me. The app drawer is enabled by default, and the integration of Google Feed with a right swipe on the home screen is the icing on the cake. The icons are big, and the drop-down notification panel is well-spaced for easy access.
Battery
The iQOO 9's battery life isn't very impressive. With a rather modest 4,350mAh cell within the gadget, I barely made it through the day without reaching for the charger. This is especially aggravating when you put the iQOO 9 through its paces on BGMI and see the battery deplete by 27% in roughly an hour. Combine that with a few hours on Netflix or YouTube, as well as Instagram browsing, and the battery is nearly empty by the evening.
Fortunately, the iQOO 9 supports 120W charging, which claims to charge the battery from 0% to 100% in 19 minutes. I charged it from 10% to 100% in 16 minutes, so there is some validity to the claim. It remains to be seen how much wear and tear it will bring to the battery health in the future, however iQOO has told me that it tested the phone through 1,000 charge cycles and the battery health did not dip below 80%.
Final verdict
In terms of gaming, the iQOO 9 has a few gimmicky features that can occasionally detract from the overall experience, and the pretty average battery life is another source of concern. Nonetheless, the super-fast 120W charging technique should be considered. The camera's underperformance in comparison to the competition might be a deal-breaker for many.
The ASUS ROG Phone 5S, which has far superior specifications for gamers and is priced more at Rs 49,999, is the best pick for mobile gamers if money is not a concern. It boasts a 144Hz AMOLED display, a 6,000mAh battery, shoulder triggers, faster 360Hz touch sampling, and a world-class audio setup. If you want a superior camera and software experience while still maintaining performance, the OnePlus 9RT is a good option. Having said that, the iQOO 9 is a good phone with a lovely design, powerful performance, and a pleasing display, and it is worth a second look for these reasons.
3.5 out of 5 stars from the editor
Pros:
- Outstanding performance
- Excellent show
- Charging rates of up to 120W
Cons:
- Cameras may be improved.
- Some game features are gimmicky.
- Inadequate battery life
