iQOO 9 Pro Review
We expected two mid-range phones and one affordable flagship smartphone when iQOO first announced the debut of the iQOO 9 Pro-Series. Instead, iQOO unveiled a high-end gaming-focused flagship with Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon CPU and industry-leading 120W fast-charging technology. The iQOO 9 Pro, which starts at Rs. 64,990, puts the brand in direct competition with known smartphone companies in India such as Samsung, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Apple, and Oppo.
Advantage
+ Fast-Charging Capacity: 120W
+ Exceptional Design
+ AMOLED Display with 2K Resolution
+ Exceptional gaming performance
+ Camera Hardware That Looks Good
+ Features That Are Particularly Beneficial to Games
Disadvantage
– There is no proper IP rating (Only IP52)
– Better Thermals Aren’t Available
– In 2022, the 2-year Android upgrade promise appears to be less
And, because iQOO is a newcomer to this pricing range, the company chose to make up for its lack of brand recognition by acing the spec-sheet. A stunning 10-bit 2K AMOLED display with fluid 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, gimbal-stabilized triple-lens camera configuration, and Android 12 out-of-the-box round out the iQOO 9 Pro’s features. Will it be enough to make a name for itself in the high-end market?
We discovered this by putting the iQOO 9 Pro 12GB to the test.
iQOO 9 Pro Design
The iQOO 9 Pro is stunning, particularly in the ‘Legend’ color scheme. On a flagship phone, it boasts one of the best-designed rear panels.
The large camera module is mounted on a smudge-resistant white anti-glare glass. The matte-finish textured foundation has a carbon-like feel that gives a luxury touch. The iconic BMW M stripes and the chrome lining on the camera lenses complete the design.
Metal Frame with Fine Curves
A robust aluminum frame binds the two sides together and, thanks to its fine matte texture, improves grip. The hardware buttons are constructed of the same material as the software buttons and provide a superb clicky response. We also like what iQOO has done with the top and bottom frames. The handset’s frame spreads with a delicate curve around the extreme top and bottom, giving it a distinct aesthetic feature.
Overall, the iQOO 9 Pro has a very pleasant feeling in the hand. It features a high-end appearance and a solid build quality. The IQOO 9 PRO is also available in a Dark Cruise model, which features a bulletproof aramid fiber material manufactured by DuPont.
It’s a Big Letdown If there Isn’t an Appropriate IP Rating
It’s hard to imagine that the Rs. 65,000 luxury phone lacks an IP rating, making them susceptible to dust and water damage. iQOO only gave its flagship phone a bare minimum IP52 splash resistance grade, which is a huge letdown, especially considering the handset’s premium pricing. If you’re paying Rs. 65,000 in 2022, you’re entitled to a good IP rating. Isn’t it iQOO, isn’t it?
Performance of iQOO 9 Pro Display
A 6.78-inch 120Hz LTPO 2.0 display is included on the iQOO 9 Pro. Samsung provides the curved 2K E5 AMOLED panel, which is accompanied by stereo speakers. The combination makes the iQOO 9 Pro a great multimedia device, particularly for streaming videos, as the large screen combined with the good color reproduction of a 10-bit panel (up to 1 billion colors) creates an immersive experience.
Thanks to a good 518ppi pixel density and 1,440 x 3,200 px resolution, the high-quality video material seems exceptionally vibrant and immersive. The panel’s performance under direct sunlight was likewise impressive. On a bright sunny day, we didn’t have any visibility concerns thanks to the reported peak brightness of 1500 nits.
UI Navigation & Smooth Scrolling
Moving on, the panel’s 120Hz adaptive refresh rate and 300Hz Touch Sampling rate make UI navigation, scrolling, and gameplay buttery smooth. We recommend setting the handset’s screen colors to ‘Professional mode’ because it produces the most accurate colors. The sRGB color profile is represented by this mode.
Audio Performance of IQOO 9 PRO
If iQOO had included a dedicated second speaker unit, the audio quality would have been much better. The earpiece serves as the auxiliary element in the present dual speaker configuration. The overall sound quality is decent, but at this price point, it could have been more immersive. Even if you don’t have headphones, you can still enjoy videos and games; nevertheless, some products provide superior overall sound at a similar or cheaper price.
The speakers on the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra, for example, sound richer and more immersive. We’re excited to see what Xiaomi has in store for the Mi 12 Ultra.
iQOO 9 Pro Hardware Specification
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 mobile processor, along with fast LPDDR 5 RAM and UFS 3.1 storage, power the iQOO 9 Pro+. The phone comes in two versions: 8GB RAM with 256GB internal storage and 12GB RAM with 256GB internal storage.
When compared to the SD888 chipset, the new chipset promises up to a 20% performance boost. The power efficiency should be up to 30% higher than the previous model.
iQOO 9 Pro Performance
The iQOO 9 Pro is lightning quickly and provides consistent performance as long as it is not overheated. The strong hardware performs admirably in all areas, including everyday phone chores as well as more demanding operations like 4K video recording/editing, playing the most graphically demanding game titles, and technically whatever an Android phone can do in 2022. Apps load quickly and switching between them is seamless.
In ‘Monster’ mode, the phone allows you to use the hardware at its peak performance, which, of course, gives you the best performance at the cost of some heating. The ‘Balanced’ mode is suggested for everyday use because it maintains the device’s core temperature.
With a single press on the quick settings screen, the monster mode can be enabled or disabled. It’s worth noting that the iQOO 9 Pro lacks the 90fps setting in BGMI, which is a disappointment. Aside from that, the new Snapdragon chipset’s networking performance, including Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, appears to be superior. The on-screen fingerprint reader is also lightning fast, unlocking the phone in a matter of seconds.
Helpful Game-Centric Tools
The iQOO 9 Pro boasts a dedicated graphics unit that improves the overall visual experience by converting SDR games to HDR. You also get a slew of game-specific features like 4D vibration, which comes in useful while playing games like BGMI and Asphalt 9.
E-Sports mode improves the hardware and reduces alerts on the phone. The game space overlay, a very useful tool for dedicated players, can be used to control such applications.
Is there any Overheating Issue in iQOO 9 Pro?
While playing games, filming 4K movies, and performing other power-intensive chores, you will undoubtedly notice some heat radiating from the handset’s back panel. Longer data usage also causes the phone to heat up. For example, while downloading resource files for titles like Genshin Impact and BGMI, the metallic frame and rear panel warmed up. After 35-40 minutes of continuous gameplay, frame dips were noted on occasion.
While performing several benchmarks, we recorded even higher temperature readings. While conducting number-crunching CPU benchmarks, the phone’s core temperature reached 48 degrees Celsius. The back panel and the metallic frame became too hot to grip, therefore the heat signatures were largely recorded there. We had to turn off the phone for at least 10 minutes to allow it to cool down before using it again. This 4nm chipset is quite hot! We’ve arrived at the benchmark scores.
iQOO Software Performance
The iQOO 9 Pro comes with Android 12 out of the box, as one would expect from a top-of-the-line premium smartphone. The FunTouch OS 12 skin is a customized skin that works well and includes a good number of utilities and customization options. iQOO, on the other hand, should do something about the bloatware that comes preloaded on the pricey handset. The custom skin is significantly less user-friendly than Samsung OneUI.
Most crucially, there will only be two major Android software updates for the smartphone. Brands like Samsung, on the other hand, guarantee four years of software updates. The two-year software upgrade cycle feels like a significant letdown for someone who spends more than Rs. 65,000.
iQOO 9 Pro Camera Hardware
The iQOO 9 Pro incorporates certain major features from Vivo’s camera-centric smartphones. A 50MP gimbal-stabilized Samsung (S5K) GN5 1/1.57. A 50MP sensor with a fisheye lens for wide-angle photography and a 16MP Samsung-produced 1/3.1″ telephoto sensor with 2.5x optical zoom capability is also included.
The iQOO 9 Pro has a 16MP fixed-focus Samsung S5K3P9 1/3.1″ camera for selfies ” sensor The camera app appears to be a little clumsy and may use some tweaking. If you look closely, you’ll discover that the entire camera system relies on Samsung sensors. This is how it fared in our tests.
iQOO 9 Pro Battery Life & Charging Fast Speed
The iQOO 9 Pro is powered by a 4,700 mAh battery cell that didn’t blow us away but never failed us. With moderate to heavy usage, the phone usually lasted for a day, largely consisting of calling, Twitter, making some reels on Instagram, taking notes, playing two to three BGMI Death Arena sessions, and some camera use. The charger was only required at the end of the day since the battery power had been reduced by more than 15%.
We played several demanding games for a long time because there’s a lot of emphasis on gaming here, and the battery life suffered as a result. Thankfully, the handset is compatible with India’s fastest fast-charging technology, the 120W Flash Charge. It takes roughly 21 minutes to charge the phone’s 4,700 mAh battery from zero to 100 percent. Furthermore, the phone enables wireless charging at a rate of 50W, which is faster than some of the wired fast-charging technology found in flagship handsets.
Conclusion
The first flagship handset from iQOO is a promising device that will not let you down with its overall features and performance. The iQOO 9 Pro, like any other flagship gadget from BBK Electronics, offers a lot of technology at a reasonable price when compared to Samsung or Apple handsets. It’s a good phone for gamers and photographers/bloggers who use their cellphones to film and edit videos.
However, given that it is a relatively new brand in India, investing close to Rs. 70,000 may cause some to reconsider the long-term benefits. In such instances, the Samsung Galaxy S22, Apple iPhone 13, or the upcoming OnePlus 10 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 12 Ultra are all viable options.