iQOO Neo 9 Pro review: Performance-focuses smartphone with fiery red design

iQOO is typically associated with performance-centric smartphones. This year, however, the Chinese smartphone brand is striving to bolster its portfolio with devices that emphasise imaging and design aspects as well. A prime example is the recently unveiled iQOO Neo 9 Pro, a midrange smartphone priced at Rs 35,999 onwards, featuring a unique dual-tone design with vegan leather on the back panel and a dual-camera system headlined by a 50-megapixel main sensor.

Design

The iQOO Neo 9 Pro presents a striking appearance in its bold fiery red colourway (as reviewed). Adorned with a soft vegan leather coating on the back cover in a red and white colour scheme, the dual-tone design adds character, albeit with a noticeable plastic-like texture in the white area. Complementing the rear profile is a two-piece camera island with each unit bordered by a shiny metallic ring.

Beyond its aesthetic allure, the phone boasts a slim and lightweight build, facilitating ease of handling and comfort during usage. The vegan leather back instills confidence with its secure grip, although it is susceptible to colour deterioration and damage. Notably, the slightly protruding rear cameras cause the phone to wobble on flat surfaces.

Display and audio

The iQOO Neo 9 Pro features a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 144Hz adaptive refresh rate. Delivering a bright and vivid panel with responsive touch capabilities, the display provides a smooth user experience, even though it tends to hover between 1Hz-120Hz in the default refresh rate mode, never quite reaching the peak 144Hz. This, however, does not significantly impact the overall smoothness of the user experience.

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iQOO has integrated several value-added features to enhance the display experience, including a visual enhancement tool, MEMC, and super resolution. These features, facilitated by the Supercomputing Q1 chip, enable smoother frame rates and enhanced graphics in select games and apps, notably YouTube and Netflix. Additionally, the phone delivers a satisfactory audio experience through its stereo speakers, albeit lacking fullness and balance.

Camera

The iQOO Neo 9 Pro has a dual-camera system on the rear, comprising a 50-megapixel main sensor (Sony IMX920) with optical image stabilisation and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro offers competent camera capabilities. While the primary sensor delivers consistent performance across various lighting conditions, capturing fine details and exhibiting decent dynamic range and contrast, the captured colours may appear washed out, although easily rectifiable with the built-in photo-editing tool.

The ultra-wide-angle camera performs well with accurate colours and a wide field-of-view suitable for cityscape and landscape shots, albeit struggling in low-light conditions. The front camera, while adequate for everyday use, may exhibit difficulties in separating the background, resulting in artifacts, particularly along subject contours.

In summary, while the camera system represents an improvement over previous generations of the Neo series, it falls short of competing brands like Realme and Xiaomi in the same segment.

Performance

Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro offers midrange smartphone performance comparable to premium flagships. Capable of handling routine tasks and power-intensive workloads such as video editing and gaming with ease, the device effectively manages thermal control, ensuring sustained performance without discomfort during prolonged usage.

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Complementing the swift performance is the Android 14-based Funtouch OS 14, which, while not the most refined custom interface, presents significant improvements over previous iterations. However, users transitioning from brands outside Vivo and iQOO may find the interface somewhat confusing due to bloatware and asymmetrically scaled interface elements.

Battery and charging

With a 5,160 mAh battery, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro delivers a commendable on-battery time exceeding a day with normal usage, supported by a screen-on time of seven to eight hours. Power-hungry tasks naturally deplete the battery more rapidly, but the included 120W charger replenishes the battery to full capacity in approximately 40 minutes, ensuring minimal downtime.

Verdict

The iQOO Neo 9 Pro emerges as a commendable performance-centric smartphone, albeit falling short of being an all-rounder due to its subpar imaging system and not perfect user interface. These are areas where its sibling, the OnePlus 12r, shines, albeit at a slightly higher cost. Nonetheless, for those prioritising gaming and performance over imaging and user experience, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro warrants consideration.