iQOO 9 review - Sbenny’s Blog

introduction

This year, iQOO really surprised us with three exciting offerings: iQOO 9 SE, iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro. We’ve already met the flagship Pro and affordable SE model, so it’s only natural to end our 9 Series tour with the ‘headliner: the iQOO 9.

iQOO 9 review iQOO 9 Pro, iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 SE

The iQOO 9 is a gaming-oriented smartphone, which also surprises with an excellent camera kit and insane 120W charging. And considering that the iQOO 9 is considerably cheaper than the iQOO 9 Pro, we immediately suggest that this is probably the all-rounder many are looking for right now.

We know our words sound exaggerated, but there is a lot to love about the iQOO 9. It has a 6.56-inch AMOLED with 1 billion colors, 120Hz refresh rate, and HDR10 + certification. On the top of the panel is a 300Hz sensitive Monster Touch panel – this means pressure sensitive blocks for various quick actions during high-risk games.

Then we have Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888+ 5G chipset with a large vapor chamber cooling solution. This is still one of the most powerful chips on the market and will handle any game smoothly.

iQOO 9 review

The camera is also really interesting. There’s a 48MP primary with gimbal stabilization, followed by a 13MP telephoto lens and a 13MP ultrawide shooter. All cameras have autofocus, which means the ultrawide can also offer macro photography on the go.

And before we jump into full tech mode on the spec sheet, we can’t help but get excited about the 120W fast charging on the iQOO 9. It’s available out of the box as the charger comes with the phone.

The specifications of vivo iQOO 9 at a glance:

Body: 159.1×75.1×8.6 mm, 200 g; aluminum structure, glass back; IP52 resistance to dust and splashes.
Screen: 6.56 “AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10 +, 1200 nits (peak), 1080x2376px resolution, 19.8: 9 aspect ratio, 398ppi.
Chipset: Qualcomm SM8350 Snapdragon 888+ 5G (5 nm): Octa-core (1×2.99 GHz Kryo 680 and 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 and 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680); Adreno 660.
Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
Operating system / software: Android 12, Funtouch 12.
Rear camera: Wide (main): 48 MP, f / 1.8, 25 mm, 1 / 2.0 “, 0.8 µm, PDAF, OIS gimbal; Telephoto lens: 13 MP, f / 2.5, 50mm, PDAF, 2x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 13 MP, f / 2.2, 16 mm, 120˚.
Front Camera: 16 MP, f / 2.5, (wide angle), 1 / 3.1 “, 1.0µm.
Video capture: Rear camera: 4K at 30fps, 1080p at 30fps; Front camera: 1080p @ 30fps.
Drums: 4350 mAh; Fast charging 120W, 50% in 6 min, 100% in 18 min (advertised).
Various: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC.

The iQOO 9 is IP52 rated for resistance to dust and light splashes. This is the simplest certification a phone can have nowadays, and while it’s better than nothing, we still think any midrange and beyond should be waterproof.

And this is our only concern. Well, that is software support for the Funtouch OS. iQOO and vivo aren’t exactly the names that come to mind when it comes to software longevity. I’m happy to say that iQOO has promised two major Android version updates (13 and 14) and three years of security patches. Well, alright.

One last thing we want to talk about is alive. As you can see, we are not mentioning vivo before iQOO 9, and this is because iQOO has become a separate entity that operates independently. Vivo is still making its phones and providing the Funtouch OS launcher, but iQOO is making all the necessary designs and features and presumably has full control over everything.

Unpack the iQOO 9

The iQOO 9 is housed in an elegant black box with the BMW Motorsport branding. iQOO is an official partner of BMW Motorsport and iQOO 9 and iQOO 9 Pro both have Legend editions with BWM Motorsport stripes. It seems that even if you don’t opt for the Legend version, you still get the insignia on the box.

So, inside the iQOO 9 package, you will find tons of accessories. The most notable are the 120W brick and the USB-C cable needed to make the charging work.

iQOO 9 review