Within a short span of its debut in India, iQOO has steadily grown as a brand and is also increasing its product portfolio. It offers some of the best value-for-money ultra-premium phones that cost much less than rival brands in its class.
However, iQOO had a not-so-line-up in the mid-range segment, but the latest Neo7 series has the potential to change this narrative.
Display, design and build quality
iQOO Neo7 looks pretty lovely in the sunlight. Though the rear panel is made of polycarbonate-based material, it exudes a premium hand-feel experience and also it has a glittery mineral-like effect. At the top-left corner, there is a rectangular camera module, which houses three sensors and LED flash.
And, most importantly manages to do a great job of repelling fingerprint smudges. But, if you happen to have buttery fingers and are prone to dropping things often, fear accidentally damaging the phone; the company offers a transparent back cover. It is made of soft silicone-like material and can survive accidental dropping from a waist height.
Also, on the front, iQOO pre-fits another layer of protection on the screen to avoid scratches from articles such as pens, and coins in the pocket.
On the top, it has IR infrared blaster, which comes in handy to control smart devices at home. On the sides, it has a volume rocker and power on the right side and on the opposite, it has none.
At the base, you will find a Type-C port along with a mic, speaker and dual-SIM tray, which offers space for two nano SIMs and there is no separate slot for a microSD car as such. Users will get two storage options-- 128GB and 256GB-- with no scope for expansion.
As far as the display is concerned, it sports a really good 6.78-inch full HD+(2400×1080p) AMOLED screen, supports HDR10+, and 120Hz refresh rate, a very big upgrade over the predecessor.
With up to 120Hz refresh rate support, the browsing internet and playing games is delightful. And, with the Eye Protection feature on, the display turns warmer and ensures there is less emission of harmful blue light and the user can read e-books or browse the internet for long hours with less stress on the eyes.
It also supports a peak brightness of 1300 nits, which is more than enough to read content on the screen easily even under direct sunlight.
And, the in-screen fingerprint sensor does its job fine with a less false rejection rate. Just a tip, keep your finger dry while using it. It has a tendency to fail with sweaty or oily fingers. This is not a complaint about the device; keeping the hands clean is the owner's job.
Performance
iQOO Neo7 is powered by a 6nm class MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset, which can clock peak CPU speed up to 3.1GHz. It is backed by Mali-G610 MC6 GPU, 8GB/12GB RAM, and 128GB/256GB storage.
The phone is a beast among its class. It runs smoothly with day-to-day usage and even playing Asphalt 9: Legends, the device was able to perform without any niggle. Even though it gets warm after a long session (more than 30 minutes of gaming), it never went beyond my comfort level.
And with RAM Extension 3.0 features, users can double 8GB RAM up to 16GB and 12GB to up to 20GB, provided there is enough space in the storage. This again helps the phone run smoothly and allows users to keep 36 apps running in the background without any issue of lag-ness.
It runs Android 13-based Funtouch OS 13 same as we see in the Vivo phones. The user interface is simple and supports Google's 'material you' design, which allows users to customise the colour of the apps and the look of the home screen to match the wallpaper. However, the only qualm is there are a lot of duplicate and non-essential apps that I never use.
But, I am happy that iQOO is offering a base model with 128GB and a top-end variant with 256GB; there is a lot of space for owners to install their favourite apps and also store thousands of photos and videos of their loved ones captured through the phone's camera or forwarded through messenger apps.
With a 5,000mAh battery, iQOO has a done job with optimisation of the hardware and software, most importantly better power utilisation of apps, so that the device can last longer through the day.
Under normal usage of web browsing, chatting, scrolling on social media platforms, consuming short videos on Instagram for a couple of hours or playing games for the same duration, the phone can easily last until you retire to bed at night.
The most important value-added feature of the phone is the magical 120W FlashCharge charger. If you are an extreme user and manage to drain the phone by the evening, the device can be charged from zero to 50 per cent in around 10 minutes and can even reach a maximum 100 per cent capacity in around 25-30 minutes. This definitely helps in keeping your battery anxiety at bay.
Photography
iQOO Neo7 boasts a triple camera module-- main 64MP (f/1.79, OIS: Optical Image Stabilisation) backed by 2MP (f/2.4) depth and 2MP (f/2.4) macro sensors with LED flash on the back.
It takes pretty good photos in the sunlight. The colours appear punchy and visually good. Most importantly, it does a fine job of capturing the finer details of the subject, as you see in the fallen leaf on the pavement.
Also, the night mode pictures too are on par with rival brands in its class.
The portrait mode photos too are great and the camera does a fine job of offering a near-natural bokeh blur effect in the background.
Though there is an array of fun tools, filters and editing tools, and doodle options to enhance the quality of the photos, it lacks features such as an object eraser, which is now found in Pixel 6a and Samsung's latest A series phones.
Also, there is no ultra-wide angle lens. However, the normal mode is good enough to capture a group photo with scenic landscapes or iconic landmarks or statues in the background.
It can record decent quality stable 4K videos on par with most of the peers in the sub-Rs 30,000 price range.
On the front, it houses a 16MP (f/2.45) camera on the front for selfies and video chatting. It offers a wide range of filters and superficial tools to enhance the subject's appearance in terms of shape, colour complex, eyes and nose, to make the face look photogenic and worthy to be shared on social media platforms or keep as a display picture of the account.
Final thoughts
iQOO Neo7 is a fine upper mid-range phone. It ticks all the key aspects such as visually pleasing design, durability (offers case with retail box), good performance, reliable camera in most light conditions and it can even deliver a full day's of battery life under normal usage and the super fast 120W charging is a big value addition to the phone.
Considering all those aspects, iQOO Neo7 is a pretty good buy and a worthy competitor to Xiaomi's Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, OnePlud Nord 2T, Google Pixel 6a, Nothing Phone(1) and Samsung's latest Galaxy A34 series.
iQOO Neo 7 comes in two colours-- frost blue and interstellar black. It will be available in two configurations- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage and 12GB RAM + 256GB storage-- for Rs 29,999 and Rs 33,999, respectively.
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