iQOO Z5 review: Brings some upgrades but a missed opportunity overall

For the price it is available at, the gaming smartphone could have offered something more--the kind of value its predecessor iQoo Z3 provided, for instance

Gaming smartphones have usually been on the higher side price-wise, but things are changing now.

It's not too long ago that iQOO came up with Z3, its mid-range gaming smartphone for those who wanted powerful performance without spending too much on a phone.

Priced competitively at Rs 23,990, iQOO Z5 is neither too expensive nor too cheap for a gaming smartphone.

That said, one of the key highlights of this phone is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 778G processor, which makes the deal a bit lucrative.

The question is, can iQOO Z5 live up to the expectation of those looking for a smooth gaming experience? Let's find out in this review.

iQOO Z5: Build quality and design

 

Looks can be deceptive, and in iQOO Z5's they are. No doubt the phone looks pretty and premium, but iQOO has cut corners in quality. It doesn't feel sturdy at all when you hold the device.

Though slippery, the finish on the rear panel keeps smudges and fingerprints at bay. At 193 gm, it is not lightweight but doesn't feel heavy either.

It is available in Mystic Space and Arctic Dawn.

There is a capacitive fingerprint sensor and a volume rocker on its right-hand edge.

 

Besides fingerprint, the phone also has facial recognition which works swiftly.

There is a 3.5 mm jack on top which makes things easy for those without Bluetooth earphones. On the bottom, it has a Type-C port for charging, a SIM tray (dual SIM), and a speaker grille.

Talking about speakers, iQOO Z5 has dual speakers which are quite enough.

iQOO Z5: Display

 

The iQOO Z5 features a 6.67-inch, FHD+ LCD panel with a 120Hz refresh rate and 480 nits of peak brightness. There are slim bezels with a thick chin around the display yet it looks neat and large. I feel an AMOLED display would have brightened up things.

The display has HDR 10 certification so you can enjoy high-quality content on streaming platforms.

It's noteworthy unlike iQOO Z3, the Z5’s display isn’t impressive. However, the touch response is good.

iQOO Z5: Cameras

 

The iQOO Z5 features a triple camera setup, including a 64MP lens, an 8MP ultrawide angle lens, and a 2MP macro shooter. For selfies, the device has a 16MP selfie camera upfront.

I really liked the selfie camera but the rear cameras aren't really up to the mark.

The images look sharp but lack details. At the same time, saturation is not convincing either.

 

I have seen Vivo's, V20, and V20 Pro doing a great job with the lens around this price range and I was expecting something better here.

The regular camera performance is decent enough outdoors but its limitations start appearing in challenging conditions.

I felt the pictures lack depth and details, especially in dim or low light cases.

The wide-angle camera works fine but yet again, you can notice the noise at the edges.

 

But the selfie camera is quite impressive, the images come out really well. The skin tone doesn't look too artificial and there is decent blurring, too.

It can record videos in 4K (30fps) and the videos come out really well.

Overall, the camera could have been better here considering it's a mid-range device.

iQOO Z5: Performance

The iQOO Z5 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 778G which is a capable chipset. On top of that, it has UFS 3.1 storage and LPDDR5 memory as well.

 

It can easily handle a game as heavy as Call of Duty Mobile even at High graphics and Max frame rate.

Gaming is a breeze on this device. I played Call of Duty Mobile for hours on this phone, at no point did I feel any lag or stutters. just like other iQOO phones, this one also has  Ultra Game mode which provides performance enhancements so you get a fine gaming experience.

There is ‘4D game vibration', which unfortunately did not lift up the gaming experience.

The vibrations are a bit of a distraction at times so I had to disable it.

Besides, you can go on with your daily usage and this device can handle it easily.

 

The iQOO Z5 features Funtouch OS v12 based on Android 11. There is bloatware but the software feels fine overall.

The user interface is not tough to get used to, it takes about 3-4 days and you get pretty comfortable with the device.

iQOO Z5: Battery

There is plenty of juice on a single charge for the device to last a day easily. It packs in a 5,000mAh battery which can be charged with the 44W charger it comes with. Expect the phone to charge fully in a little over an hour.

Verdict:

The iQoo Z5 is available in two variants -- 8GB RAM and 128GB storage option is priced at Rs 23,990. And the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant is priced at Rs 26,990.

Looking at the price, I was expecting something more from the device, the kind of value its predecessor iQoo Z3 provided. There are meaningful upgrades in iQoo Z5 but the price tag seems too heavy for this phone as its gaming credentials may not help the device survive in a competitive market.