iQOO, initially established as a sub-brand of Vivo, has made significant advancements within the performance-oriented consumer demographic in recent years. The iQOO Neo 7 Pro, the latest addition to its product lineup, garnered notable success in the preceding year, particularly during the 2023 festive period, thereby enhancing the brand’s standing within the market. To build on that success, iQOO has launched the iQOO Neo 9 Pro in India. The phone has received several upgrades, starting with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC, to the Android 14 operating system. Will the iQOO Neo 9 Pro be able to deliver? Let’s find out in our iQOO Neo 9 Pro review.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro Review Snapshot
Editor’s rating: 4.1/5
Design
Display
Software
Performance
Camera
Battery
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Pros
- Good Everyday performance
- Can handle gaming
- Excellent screen
- Reliable battery life
- Fast charging
Cons
- Performance of Ultrawide camera
- Limited color choices
iQOO Neo 9 Pro Price & Availability
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro is available in two storage configurations-
- 8GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 35,999
- 8GB + 256GB storage – Rs 37,999
- 12GB RAM+256GB storage- Rs. 39,999
It can be bought via the iQOO e-store and Amazon.in. It is currently available in Concorer Black and Fiery Red.
iQOO NEO 9 Pro Review: Design
This year brings a significant design overhaul to the iQOO Neo series. The Fiery Red variant of the iQOO Neo 9 Pro showcases a sporty aesthetic with its dual-tone back panel. Featuring a vegan leather finish, approximately 60-65 percent of the rear panel is covered in vibrant red, while the remaining 35-40 percent boasts an off-white hue.
Both colors offer distinct textures, enhancing the overall visual appeal. However, over time, the flashy design lost its charm for me. For those who prefer a more understated look, the Black color variant is also available, offering a sleek and appealing design.
Moving to the back, you’ll notice a prominent dual-camera setup positioned in the top left corner, encircled by a glossy metallic ring. Subtle branding elements, such as “Neo” and “Power to Win,” are delicately embossed on the white vegan leather material beneath the rear camera, accompanied by the iQOO logo. At the top of the screen, the selfie camera is discreetly housed within a hole punch cutout. The display boasts slim 1.54mm side bezels and comes with a pre-applied thin plastic scratch protector for added protection.
The exterior shell of the phone is primarily constructed from plastic, ensuring a lightweight feel despite housing a large battery. This lightweight design is particularly appealing for gamers, as it allows for extended gaming sessions without causing strain on the wrists.
IQOO Neo 9 Pro Review: Display
iQOO Neo9 Pro packs a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a 144Hz refresh rate. iQOO is really upping the ante here, as they have sourced a 1.5K LTPO panel that adjusts refresh rate dynamically based on what you’re doing on screen. The screen is as responsive as you can get on a phone under Rs 50,000. This means every swipe or scroll feels incredibly smooth.
When it comes to color accuracy and brightness, the iQOO Neo9 Pro doesn’t disappoint. The colors are on point, though they may appear marginally more vibrant compared to the OnePlus 12R. Nonetheless, the iQOO Neo9 Pro delivers a satisfactory viewing experience. While iQOO claims a peak brightness of 3000 nits, we cannot attest to that claim; however, we can confidently say that the screen remains visible in most outdoor conditions. Applications, including Netflix, are thoughtfully optimized, enabling HDR playback. Plus, those dual speakers pump out some loud and balanced sound, though the bass could use a little boost.
And if you are a gamer, the Neo9 Pro’s flat screen gives you better touch response compared to the OnePlus 12R’s curved display.
The in-display fingerprint sensor operates smoothly, and the inclusion of Wet Display Touch Technology ensures responsive screen functionality even when the user’s hands are wet or perspiring.
iQOO NEo 9 Pro Review: Performance
Performance is another area where the iQOO Neo 9 Pro shines. It packs a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, hooked up with up to 12GB of RAM. And get this, there’s even a second chip called the “Q1 Supercomputing Chip” that jumps in to help out the main Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 whenever there’s a CPU-intensive task or the system requires additional resources to ensure sustained performance. It also packs the biggest vapor cooling setup ever seen in the iQOO Neo lineup, which means less CPU or GPU throttling while gaming.
Out of the box, the Neo 9 Pro runs on vivo’s Funtouch OS 14, based on Android 14. Apart from system apps, there’s Netflix, Spotify, Snapchat, Facebook, and PhonePe, which can be classified as bloatware or useful apps as per your use case. iQOO has finally done away with the Hot Apps and Hot Games folders, providing a bit of relief from clutter.
The V-store and Vivo browser still exist, which have a tendency to fill up your phone with unwanted notifications, which can be quite a nuisance. I would suggest you disable them or remove all the system permissions for these apps. iQOO promises three years of OS updates along with an extra year of security updates for this phone.
When it comes to everyday performance, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro handles a wide range of tasks with ease. Whether it’s managing work emails, chatting on WhatsApp, or editing and exporting high-resolution videos, this phone proves to be up to the challenge.
In terms of gaming, I put it through its paces with Fortnite, running smoothly on the “Epic” graphics preset without any lag or stutter, even after extended play sessions of about 30 minutes. Additionally, the demanding Genshin Impact performed admirably on the “High” setting, with minimal impact on overall performance.
When it comes to synthetic benchmark scores, the iQOO Neo9 Pro outperforms its toughest competitor, the OnePlus 12R, as well as smartphones priced nearly twice as much. With an impressive score of 16,14,674 points, the Neo9 Pro leaves rivals like the OnePlus 12R, OnePlus 11, and Galaxy S23 Ultra in the dust. Additionally, in Geekbench 6 tests, iQOO’s latest offering achieves remarkable single-core and multi-core scores of 2,081 and 5,780 points, respectively, once again surpassing the competition.
iQOO NEo 9 Pro Camera Review
When it comes to the camera setup, iQOO has made some significant changes compared to the iQOO Neo7 Pro. Unlike the previous model, the iQOO Neo9 Pro features a dual rear camera configuration, omitting the useless 2MP macro camera.
The primary camera sensor has been upgraded, and now it packs a 50-megapixel Sony IMX920 sensor, identical to the one found in the Vivo X100. The primary rear camera has an f/1.88 aperture and supports optical image stabilization (OIS). Additionally, the setup includes an 8-megapixel OV08D10 sensor with an f/2.2 aperture, offering versatile shooting capabilities.
The images taken with the primary 50-megapixel camera showcase exceptional detail. Outdoors, detail is abundant, and colors appear balanced on the screen. Users have the option to choose from three effects—Vivid, Textured, and Natural. Opting for Vivid yields vibrant images, while Textured mode produces sharper images with a slightly subdued tone. In my testing, the Natural mode consistently produced the most pleasing results. The 2x in-sensor zoom is also effective, as there’s minimal loss of detail or sharpness and no discernible color shifting.
The low-light performance of this camera does well by delivering well-balanced images with good color reproduction and details. Having said that, it’s not perfect, as there is a slight loss of details and color bending towards the edges.
Overall, the camera is no longer a weak point for Neo phones. It can easily beat the Oppo Reno11 Pro and can challenge the OnePlus 12r in a camera shootout.
iQOO NEo 9 Pro Review: Battery and Charging
When it comes to battery life, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro is right up there amongst the best in its class. It packs a sizable 5,160mAh battery. While a larger battery doesn’t always translate to better backup, in the case of the Neo9 Pro, it certainly does. With my moderate day-to-day use, the phone lasted for more than 24 hours on a single charge. That’s not all; with the bundled 120W SuperVOOC charger, you can fully recharge the phone in just 26 minutes. While wireless charging isn’t available on this handset, it’s a common omission among smartphones in this price range.
iQOO NEo 9 Pro Review Verdict: Should you buy it?
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro stands tall in the sub-Rs 40k segment, especially if gaming and performance are your primary priorities. Sporting a capable processor in the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and a dependable primary camera, it covers most usage scenarios with ease. The inclusion of fast 120W charging, with the charger included in the box, further adds to its appeal.
The OnePlus 12R is the primary challenger to the iQOO Neo 9 Pro in the sub-40K segment. While the former has the edge in terms of a clean experience, the Neo 9 Pro edges ahead with its better performance and 120W charging capability. Overall, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro appears to be a better value-for-money package than the OnePlus 12R. Having said that, I would urge you to check out our OnePlus 12R review before making up your mind.
Reasons to buy
- Good Everyday performance
- Can handle gaming
- Excellent screen
- Reliable battery life
- Fast charging
Reasons to not buy
- Performance of Ultrawide camera
- Limited color choices
