iQOO (Vivo’s sub-brand) has launched three new flagship smartphones in India on 23rd February.
The new phones were launched in China last month, and these are now available to buy. The three phones are iQOO 9, iQOO 9 Pro, and iQOO 9 SE.
The iQOO 9 seems like the best option for most buyers … read the details to find out more.
Key Highlight for IQOO9 Series
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Processor / SD 888
- Up to 12 GB LPDDR5 Ram
- Unique Vapour Cooling
- Intelligent Display Chip
- Dual X Linear Motor
- Better Camera System – Gimbal Stabalization
- 120 Watts Fast Charging Support
The iQOO 9 SE is the most affordable, and the 9 Pro is the premium mobile in the series.
Price and Storage/Ram Variants:
iQOO 9 PRO – 8 GB RAM and 256 GB Storage – Price Rs. 64,990, 12 GB Ram and 256 GB storage – Price Rs. 69,990.
iQOO 9 – 8 GB RAM and 128 GB Storage – Price Rs. 42,990, 12 GB Ram and 256 GB storage – Price Rs. 46,990.
iQOO 9 SE – 8 GB RAM and 128 GB Storage – Price Rs. 33,990, 12 GB Ram and 256 GB storage – Price Rs. 37,990.
IQOO has a partnership with BMW to offer a unique BMW-styled version for the iQOO 9 and the 9 Pro.
Last year in April, iQOO launched the iQOO 7 for Rs. 31,990 and the iQOO 7 Legend for Rs. 39,990 – the prices are increased by about 10% this year for the respective models.
Discounts & Offers – iQOO 9 Series
There are discount offers available on Amazon using an ICICI credit card. Additionally, you will get an additional exchange discount when you swap your old smartphone. I will link to Amazon to check out the current offers.
The brand has also launched the iQOO Gamepad for Rs. 2999 to enhance your mobile gaming experience. Also, they have launched a 50Watts Wireless Flash Charger for Rs. 4,499.
Let’s look at the key specs and features for all the phones launched in India.
iQOO 9 PRO – Specs, Features, Pros and Cons (Buying Advice)
The iQOO9 Pro is the flagship smartphone from the brand and features a large 6.78-inch QHD+ (3200 x 1440) Curved E5 AMOLED display with a 120 Hz refresh rate HDR10+ support. It has a low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) 2.0 technology that offers adaptive refresh rates.
Powering the device is the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC processor. The company claims they use a large heat sink (vapor chamber cooling) to keep the temperatures low when gaming. There is 12 GB of LPDDR5 Ram to ensure blazing fast multitasking and gaming experience.
All three smartphones run on Android 12 and the Funtouch OS 12 (similar to Vivo).
Furthermore, an Intelligent Display Chip can convert the SDR (Standard Definition) Videos to HDR for an immersive experience.
Another significant addition is an improved Dual-X Linear Motor for better haptic feedback when gaming.
The smartphone comes with a blazing fast 3D Ultra-sonic in-display fingerprint scanner.
The smartphone offers a triple rear camera setup, and the primary 50-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL GN5 sensor offers incredible imaging. The secondary sensor is a 50MP 150-degree wide-angle shooter. The third camera has a 16 MP Telephoto lens for portrait shots (2.5X Zoom). The front selfie camera has a 16 MP lens with an f/2.4 aperture. The phone offers incredible cameras and may appeal to shutterbugs.
Lastly, the 5G phone has a 4700 mAH capacity battery and 120 Watts Fast Charging support. Additionally, it comes with a 50 Watts Wireless charging.
The iQOO 9 Pro comes with 5G support with 12 bands. However, the phone misses the IP68 rating, which I think is a bummer considering the steep price tag. Samsung and Apple offer water and dust protection for expensive phones.
Also, Apple and Samsung are offering OS updates for many years, and iQOO may have to step up the software game to entice premium buyers.
Considering the price, the iQOO 9 Pro is an excellent smartphone, and buyers looking to buy Samsung S22+, iPhone 13, or the Vivo V70 Pro+ can check it out.
iQOO 9 – Specs, Features, Pros and Cons (Buying Advice)
The iQOO 9 price starts at Rs. 42,990, competes with the Oneplus 9RT and the Samsung S21 Fe 5G.
The smartphone uses the last year’s flagship processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 888+ SoC, Adreno 660 GPU, 8/12 GB LPDDR5 RAM, and a fast UFS 3.1 storage.
The phone boots Android 12 along with the Funtouch OS 12. The device has a large 6.56-inch FHD+ AMOLED display (10 Bit), a punch-hole selfie camera, and a 120Hz refresh rate.
There is a triple rear camera setup for imaging. The primary camera has a 48 MP Sony IMX 598 sensor with Gimbal Stabilization. The secondary camera is a 13 MP Wide-angle shooter, and the third is a 13 MP portrait shooter. For selfies it has the same 16 MP sensor available on iQOO 9 Pro.
Other top features include – 5G, WIFI 6, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-axis linear motor for better haptics, and a USB Type C Port.
The smartphone has a 4300 mAH capacity battery, and it comes with 120 Watts fast charging support.
The iQOO 9 looks like the best phone in the iQOO 9 series, considering it has an excellent display, fast charging, decent cameras, and the latest software. You don’t need to break a bank for buying this device. The pricing looks fair, and with some discounts, you may be able to buy it for under 40K. The screen size is adequate, not too huge like the Pro version, and I believe it fits most buyer’s needs better.
iQOO 9 SE
Last but not least, the iQOO 9 SE is the most affordable smartphone in the series and comes with a starting price of Rs. 33,990.
The smartphone has a 6.62-inch Full HD+ (2400*1080) pixels display with a 120 Hz refresh rate. It runs on the latest Google Os – Android 12 along with Funtouch OS 12.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 Octa-Core processor and the Adreno 660 GPU are powering the device. As aforementioned, it comes with 12 Gigs of LPDDR5 ram and up to 256 GB of internal storage.
We have got a 48 MP Sony IMX 598 sensor for photography that comes with OIS (optical image stabilization) for better stabilization and low light imaging. It has a 13 MP wide-angle camera and a not-so-useful 2 MP depth sensor. It lacks a dedicated portrait lens present on the more expensive siblings. The phone has a 16 MP selfie camera as found on the other two premium devices.
Lastly, the 5G smartphone comes with a 4500 mAH capacity battery and has a 65 Watts Fast charger to fuel it rapidly.
Overall, the iQOO 9 SE has some compromises when it comes to the camera or the faster-charging tech. For day-to-day usage, the SD 888 is as good as any other chipset and you won’t even feel much difference even in gaming. However, the design looks basic and I would still prefer the iQOO 9 over the SE variant if budget is not a big constraint.
