iQOO Z7 5G Review: A compact & powerful partner for day-to-day needs

iQOO Z7 5G Review Summary:

Editor’s rating: 3.7/5

In 2023, iQOO really upped its game and launched multiple smartphones in quick succession targeting customers different in price segments. After targeting the under Rs 30,000 segment with iQOO Neo 7 the brand has turned its attention to under Rs 20K segment with iQOO Z series. iQOO launched iQOO Z6 5G last year which was value for money smartphone and retailed at Rs. 15,499, Taking the trend forward, the brand has now launched iQOO Z7 5G which seems to follow the same mantra, but with even more enthusiasm.

iQOO Z7 5G comes with MediaTek Dimensity 920 chipset, AMOLED panel, compact design, 64MP camera, 44W fast charging, Android 13 OS, and much more. While on paper, it looks like a solid device, but is that so in terms of usage as well? Let’s find out.

Jump To..

• Unboxing
• Price and availability
• Design
• Display
• Performance
• Camera
• Battery
• Should you buy iQOO Z7 5G?

iQOO Z7 5G: Price & Availability In India

The iQOO Z7 5G comes in the following storage configurations-

• 6GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 18,999
• 8GB RAM+128GB storage- Rs. 19,999

It comes in Pacific Night and Norway Blue color variants and is now available on the Amazon India website. There are some bank offers as well with HDFC and SBI banks that bring down the price to Rs. 17,499. Also, the price of its predecessor iQOO Z6 have been slashed after iQOO Z7 was launched.

iQOO Z7 5G Specs

Specs	iQOO Z7 5G
Software	Android 13
Display	6.28-inch AMOLED, 90HZ refresh rate
SoC	MediaTek
RAM	up to 8GB
Storage	up to 128GB
Rear cameras	64MP+2MP
Front Camera	16MP
Battery	4500mAh
Charging	44W
Thickness	7.8mm
Weight	173 grams
Connectivity	5G, 4G LTE, Bluetooth 5.2, dual-band WiFi 6, 3.5mm headphone jack, microSD card & more

iQOO Z7 5G: Unboxing

iQOO Z7 5G came with a cool ‘Z’ shaped media box for us. The box not only looked unique but was loaded with goodies like Coffee, Popcorn, and a Scented diary to paste memories. Otherwise, the retail device comes in a regular cardboard box with iQOO branding. It consists of-

• iQOO Z7 5G handset
• Adapter
• USB Type-A to Type-C cable
• Protective case
• SIM tool
• Quick guide

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iQOO Z7 5G Review: Design

iQOO loves making smartphones with a light reflective kind of design and the brand has done the same thing with iQOO Z7 5G as well. Out of the two colors and I received the Pacific Night variant which looked classy and attractive. When light falls on its back panel, the device looks stunning as it shimmers, but in a totally different way. Moreover, the back panel is made of good-quality plastic and has a matte finish thus keeping smudges and fingerprints a bay. The iQOO Z7 is priced at under 20k price points, but the smartphone never feels cheap in hand.

More than the looks, I liked the compactness and lightness of the device. The iQOO Z7 5G has a thickness of 7.8mm and weighs just 173 grams, and the effect is visible when you hold the device in hand as it feels light and comfortable. I recently used Samsung’s flagship device for review, so after that one iQOO Z7 5G felt feather-light in my hand.

Talking about the functionality, the iQOO Z7 5G has volume rockers and a power button on the right edge while the left side is idle. The bottom edge houses a USB Type-C port, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a speaker grille while the top edge has the SIM tray.

The back panel of the smartphone has iQOO branding at the bottom and a rectangular camera module at the top left side. The two lenses are inside the module and the module protrudes slightly. There is an LED flash as well that is made to look different to show some disparity. The front has a 6.38-inch display panel and a selfie camera in the middle on top of the screen. The design is solid and the in-hand feel is top-notch as well.

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iQOO Z7 5G Review: Display

AMOLED panels have slowly started making their way into the sub-20,000 price segment and this has been followed by iQOO Z7 5G as well. iQOO Z7 sports a 6.38-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel with a high 1080×2400 pixel resolution. As a result, the quality of visuals on the screen is good. They are vibrant, crisp, and sharp making the content viewing experience even more immersive. Though the display is slightly smaller in size that goes in tandem with the compact design of the smartphone, so it works.

What is really a turn-off is the thick bezels at the bottom of the screen. These make the smartphone look old-fashioned and reduce the size of the viewable screen even more. 90Hz refresh rate is low as well as many of its competitors offer a 120Hz refresh rate. Moreover, the effect is visible while scrolling, gaming, and reading text on the screen as it is not as smooth as in a 120Hz panel. The smartphone supports Widevine L1 for watching content in 1080p and HDR content for Netflix is also supported. 1300 nits peak brightness is good as well.

The display is protected by Schott Xensation and also incorporates an in-display fingerprint sensor. The only issue with the display is the thick bezels and 90Hz refresh rate.

iQOO Z7 5G Review: Camera

The iQOO Z7 5G sports a dual camera setup at the back. It includes a 64MP Samsung GW3 sensor that supports OIS and a 2MP secondary bokeh camera. The waterdrop notch at the front has a 16MP selfie lens. The Camera UI is pretty much user-friendly and similar to its predecessors, while the camera setup comes with options like Night mode, Portrait Mode, Live Photo, Double Exposure, Timelapse, Panorama, dual view, and more.

Talking about the 64MP main camera, captured great photos during the daytime. The pictures were full of details and the colors looked natural. Photos clicked in good lighting conditions were decent and had some character. Although the clicks do look oversharp at times that can be ignored if you are not someone who is very particular about his photography. When clicking a moving subject, the camera does struggle with shutter lag.

The 2MP portrait lens works just about ok and doesn’t really serve much of a purpose apart from closeup shots.

Selfies clicked with the 16MP camera were ok when clicked solo, but when it came to group selfies, it struggled a bit. Otherwise, the images were detailed, and the skin tone was natural.

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iQOO Z7 5G Review: Performance

The iQOO Z7 5G is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC which is an octa-core processor built on TSMC’s 6nm fabrication process. The chipset makes the device run fast as the apps load quickly and switching between apps is seamless. 8GB LPDDR4X RAM makes sure that multiple apps can run in the background without any glitches while 128GB onboard storage gives ample space to store data.

The iQOO Z7 has dual SIM slots both supporting 5G connectivity. Other connectivity options include WiFi 6, Bluetooth, USB Type-C support, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and more. Talking about gaming, heavy titles like Call of Duty can run smoothly, but at low graphics and max frame rates. Battery drainage is also decent but the device does heat up around the camera module when long gaming sessions are carried out or benchmark tests are run. Here are the results of some benchmark tests run on iQOO Z7 5G-

In terms of software, iQOO Z7 runs Funtouch OS 13 based on Android 13 out of the box. There are various options for customizations and several tweaks for the lock screen, fingerprint sensor, and more. iQOO has promised 2 major android updates and 3 security patches for iQOO Z7 5G. The smartphone comes with loads and loads of bloatware. Apps like Spotify, Snapchat, Sharechat, Phonepe, Netflix, Moj, Linkedin, Josh, Hot Games, and Byjus come pre-installed and although we understand the need to put these apps to keep the price at par with the competition, it gets very annoying when these useless apps keep popping notifications all day. Another issue is that not all of these pre-installed apps can be uninstalled by the user, so whether you like it or not, you’ll have to tolerate some of these irritating applications.

In the audio department, the iQOO Z7 5G doesn’t score very high. It has a single speaker setup and that too doesn’t have good sound quality. The speakers lack clarity and bass and though loudness is adequate, the music listening experience sounds bland. The speaker is one such area where iQOO could have seriously worked for iQOO Z7 5G.

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iQOO Z7 5G Review: Battery

To gain something, you have to let go of something else. This saying has been proved right by iQOO Z7 5G as the smartphone has faced a downgrade in terms of battery capacity when compared to iQOO Z6. iQOO Z7 5G packs a 4500mAh battery under the hood and this has been done to keep the device slim and lightweight. A 4500mAh battery lasted about 7-8 hours with moderate usage so the numbers are not so bad, but they are nowhere in comparison to competitors.

What iQOO has lost with battery capacity, they have tried to make up for it with an increased charging speed. iQOO Z7 5G comes with a 44W charger inside the box that takes about 1 hour and 15 minutes to charge from 0 to 100%. All in all, users who enjoy pushing the device to its limits might be disappointed with the battery and charging speed of this one.

iQOO Z7 5G Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

iQOO Z7 5G is a good smartphone that offers an excellent package with affordable pricing. The smartphone has specs like a 64MP camera, AMOLED panel, compact design, proven chipset, and more in the under 20k price range. There are slight niggles like bloatware, underwhelming audio, and a smaller battery, still it is a far better package compared to one Moto G73 which also retails for the same price. iQOO Z7 5G will definitely be an option worth considering if one is looking for a good value for money device under Rs. 20,000.