The iQOO Neo 7 Pro 5G is probably one of the most underrated mid-range smartphones of 2023, and we really hope the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G launches this year. The Neo 9 Pro 5G is a well-rounded smartphone with a playful red and white design, a great 144Hz display, some flagship-level cameras, and effortless performance. Considering its price, it’s almost surprising how good this smartphone is.In fact, as I write this review, the review widget that appears at the top of this article[短所]I had to spend some time figuring out what to enter in the column. Having said that, do you think iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G is the perfect phone? No. But when I say it’s pretty close to perfection, I’m keeping in mind the cost-to-value ratio of the device, and this phone delivers just that.
I used the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G as my main device for a few weeks and thoroughly enjoyed my testing period. I don’t usually take photos, but every time I use the Neo 9 Pro, I’m surprised by its camera performance and find myself reaching for my phone. I realized that my experience with cell phones has accumulated to the point where I shouldn’t waste any more time on them. So, without further ado, let’s start the detailed review of iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G: Design and display
iQOO has done a great job in designing the Neo 9 Pro 5G. I love the sporty and playful design of smartphones. The variation on the Hero design is a red and white combination, with a thin white strip on the left side of the back of the phone, above which the dual his cameras are aligned vertically, and just below that is the Neo branding. The rest of the panel is red with a dummy black dot that looks like a small sensor, but it’s just a black dot that doesn’t do anything. There is an LED flash next to it. There is an iQOO logo at the bottom of the rear panel. In keeping with the color scheme, the bezel of the phone is also red and made of metal. That said, design sensibilities are very subjective, and for those who don’t want too much going on with their device, there’s also an all-black version (though it does come with a vegan leather back). ).
But what’s even better about this phone is its form factor. Before taking a closer look at the back panel of the phone, I noticed how sleek and light this phone is. The red version is slightly thicker than the black one. The red version has a thickness of 8.34 mm, while the black version has a thickness of 7.99 mm. However, the Fiery Red weighs less at 190 g compared to the Conqueror Black’s 196 g.
What’s more, the phone also feels very nice in the hand, at least on the red and white version, thanks to the vegan leather on the back panel. Even though it has a 6.7-inch display, it is easy to hold.
But like I said, phones aren’t perfect. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G’s design is one of the best, but I noticed that the white strip gets dirty easily. After just a week of using the device, I noticed some gray stains on the device. Luckily, iQOO offers a simple solution to that in a retail box, a transparent case.
As for the display, iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G has a bright and low-latency display. I’ve been using this as my main device for a few weeks now, and during this time I’ve used many apps and watched a ton of videos on it. For testing, I played a few games sporadically. During this time, the display showed promising performance. The phone’s display brightness can reach up to 3,000 nits. The display remains visible even in direct sunlight. I really enjoyed watching shows and movies on this device. Also, the 144Hz refresh rate makes the display very fast and responsive. And that also applies to the in-display fingerprint sensor. Additionally, the display also features wet touch technology, which, as the name suggests, allows it to register touches even when your hands are wet.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G: Camera
I didn’t expect to enjoy the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G camera so much. Again, it’s not perfect. There is a gap in that. But since the price starts from Rs 35,999, I have a model with 12 GB RAM whose actual price starts from Rs 36,999, but as my Gen Z colleagues say, the phone’s The camera is great. Or maybe that’s what they say? Either way, it’s a good camera.
While I thoroughly enjoyed the phone’s portrait mode, I also tested low-light, night, selfies, and 30x zoom (since it’s all the rage these days). Zooming above 10x isn’t this phone’s strong suit, but it does a good job when it comes to low-light and night shots, and even selfies.
This is a 30x image of iQOO CEO Nipun Marya, but there is no detail in this image. In fact, it almost looks like it was generated by an AI.
But from the same distance, this 10x image looks better, but still lacks detail.
This Arkham City style building image is very well captured. However, it is important to note that even though this image was clicked at night, there was a significant amount of lighting around this building.
When there is little or no light on a subject, you can see the details of the struggle. Even with AI post-processing, you may notice noise in your images. Even in dimly lit interiors, Portrait mode produces slightly higher contrast images, as if to compensate for the lack of detail. If you zoom in on the image, you’ll notice a lack of sharpness and an uneven blur of the subject’s background. However, this phone really shines when it comes to taking portraits in bright environments. During the day, this phone takes some very good portrait shots. You can see the amount of detail you can capture in the image below. The photos look nice and vibrant, although the colors are a bit oversaturated.
Another cat photo taken in portrait mode can retain so many details.
The selfie camera, on the other hand, is great, but it forces a filter on the image. The first selfie I took was almost unrecognizable, as the default settings turn on several layers of filters for selfies. However, even if you disable all filters, your phone still applies some filters. This selfie was taken with all filters disabled, but it still gives a nice texture and removes some of the blemishes on the skin.
That said, despite the gaps in performance here and there, we think the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G camera is impressive for daily use and mostly social media use.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G: Performance and battery
iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G opts for the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, which itself sets an excellent benchmark for camera performance. As I mentioned before, I’ve been using my smartphone as my main device for several weeks. That means I use all my work and social media apps on my phone. In day-to-day use, I myself fall into the moderate to heavy usage category, and I don’t see any signs of lag or stuttering on the phone. It’s fast, responsive, and works well with multitaskers.
For testing, I also played games like Asphalt 9 and COD: Mobile on the device, and the device performed well even on the highest settings. He didn’t notice any heating issues while playing Asfalt 9, but after 20 minutes of playing COD: Mobile, he was experiencing a very slight fever, but not enough to prevent him from holding the device. There was no. I think the material of the back panel also helps in that regard.
After all the testing and multitasking, the phone’s slightly over 5,100 mAh battery lasted easily for a day, but just barely got past that. However, it supports 120W fast charging, which makes the day’s battery feel longer for some reason, and you can charge half the battery in about 15 minutes.
The phone’s UI is not a powerful suite. It comes with many pre-installed apps. Fortunately, they are all uninstallable. However, for the most part, the UI is easy to use and highly customizable. It also has crisp operability and provides a comfortable experience.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G: Verdict
The 12 GB RAM version we’ve been testing is great. There are a lot of adjectives in the review, but that’s what’s great about the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G. With snappy performance, a decent camera, great battery life, and a very responsive display, gamers will be happy. The price of the smartphone starts at Rs 35,999 and the version we have costs Rs 39,999, which drops to Rs 36,999 with banks and launch offers. We think this is quite a bargain for this smartphone. If you’re within this budget and aren’t specifically looking for a camera-first smartphone for daily use, social media image clicking, and gaming, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro 5G is a great choice.
