The iQOO Neo 10R is a standout gaming phone with a 144Hz display, powerful performance, and long battery life. The camera is decent, but the software has bloatware.
iQOO Neo 10R Review: India is experiencing a surge in mobile gaming. What was once frowned upon by our Indian parents, has now become a career path for many young Indians. According to a report by SME Street, the online gaming industry in India is expected to reach $5 billion by 2025, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 30%. This also explains why we need more performance phones now than ever. Speaking of which, the iQOO Neo 10R has been launched in India for Rs 26,999, promising a robust performance in the segment. As you may already know, many young Indians aspire to buy a flagship phone for gaming but end up getting a mid-range or a budget one due to financial constraints.
So, can the iQOO Neo 10R deliver the performance a gamer needs for extensive gaming sessions? Moreover, apart from performance, how well does the smartphone perform in other parameters? Well, I believe those details are exactly what you are here for – so let’s begin!
A performance-centric look and feel, but what about durability?
There are two colours of this smartphone – Raging Blue and MoonKnight Titanium. I have the Raging Blue variant and to be honest, this one looks so much better. It has a dual-toned design, merging with a pattern reminiscent of the finish line on racing tracks. It has a squarish camera module, something similar to what we have seen on the iQOO 12, but with a dual camera setup.
Fortunately, you also get an IR blaster on the iQOO Neo 10R and you can use your phone as a remote for your TV, AC, and other home appliances. Moreover, the grip and feel of this smartphone are also nice, which is very important for gaming. But wait…we mostly hold our phones horizontally while gaming. And when I do that, the camera bump often gets in the way as your finger uncomfortably rests on the camera module. But with the Neo 10R, the grip was completely fine.
What could have been slightly better here is the durability. To safeguard against dust and water, this phone features an IP65 rating, which is still decent. You are, however, more likely to damage your phone due to a hard drop rather than dust or water. And to shield you against such drops, you are only getting Schott Xensation protection which falls short of options like Gorilla Glass Victus that are also available in the budget.
iQOO Neo 10R Display
The iQOO Neo 10R comes with a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel, which supports up to 144Hz refresh rate. But the catch here is that only three games support a 144Hz high refresh rate on this smartphone. Otherwise, the display runs at a 120Hz refresh rate at all times.
If I talk about how bright this display is, we recorded 2000 nits of peak brightness in manual mode, and under direct sunlight, it seems bright enough.
In our display test using professional grade Calman and Spectracal Colourimeter, the Neo 10R got an average delta E of 0.9 in the professional colour profile, which is exceptional, and the screen can reproduce close to 100% of the sRGB colour space. This means that you can expect greater colour accuracy while watching videos, movies and TV shows on YouTube or OTT apps. Furthermore, the display supports over 1000Hz touch sampling rate in the gaming mode, which makes the gaming experience ever so smooth.
iQOO Neo 10R’s performance is not even a question
The iQOO Neo 10R is powered by the Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, which is paired with 8GB and 12GB RAM. The iQOO Neo 10R performed really well in all our tests.
Starting with AnTuTu, this smartphone scored 15,27,083 points, which is a really good score for a sub-Rs 30,000 smartphone. The only other smartphone under Rs 30,000 that came close was the Poco X7 Pro, with 15,38,176 points.
Similarly, with Geekbench, the close fight was between the iQOO Neo 10R and Poco X7 Pro, and the scores are pretty interesting.
Apart from scoring well in benchmarks, the iQOO Neo 10R also stood up tall when it came to stress tests. During a 15-minute CPU Throttling test, the iQOO Neo 10R throttled very little, which means the smartphone is stable and the thermal management is also good.
This will ensure minimal frame drop while gaming. Speaking of which, during extensive sessions of BGMI, this phone managed to maintain an average frame rate between 88 and 90 fps, which is impressive.
The power of this smartphone is definitely something that should be appreciated. Games such as BGMI, Genshin Impact, and more take a lot of storage, and if you’re buying the Neo 10R for gaming purposes only, you might want to opt for the 256GB storage variant instead of the base variant which comes with 128GB of native storage.
Thoughts on FunTouchOS 15
While the iQOO Neo 10R offers an advanced and smooth feel on the software front, it lacks in offering a clean UI. The FunTouchOS 15 on the iQOO Neo 10R is loaded with several pre-installed apps. While some of these such as Facebook, Amazon, and Instagram, should be useful, I also noticed a handful of bloatware gaming apps that most users will likely need to uninstall.
How good is the iQOO Neo 10R camera?
The main focus of the iQOO Neo 10R is the performance, and even the brand is not highlighting its camera as much. So, I did not have great expectations in this regard, but here’s what I found!
The 50-megapixel main camera on the iQOO Neo 10R clicks sharp pictures. We could notice fine details in this picture of the miniature Spider-Man. There is no optical zoom on this smartphone, but still, pictures clicked with 2x digital zoom turned out pretty appealing.
Apart from details, it also captures vibrant colours and sometimes they even feel a tad over-saturated. At the end of the day, if you look at this from a performance-phone perspective, the primary camera is pretty good.
While using the portrait mode, I noticed two things: under good lighting, the portrait shots turned out decent. However, if you take portraits at sunset, the pictures become overly smooth, and the edge detection often gets messed up.
Still, I had fun using the camera of the iQOO Neo 10R until I switched to the ultrawide frame. The ultrawide shots lose details and the pictures turn out grainy if the lighting is less than ideal. But isn’t that to be expected of all mid-range phones?
And lastly, under moderate light, the iQOO Neo 10R captures crisp and vibrant pictures. It also manages light decently and there’s very little light bleeding. Some pictures might feel too vibrant but overall picture quality is excellent on the iQOO Neo 10R.
What a battery backup!
The iQOO Neo 10R is packed with a massive 6400mAh battery and supports 80-watt fast charging. The battery backup of this smartphone really surprised me and in the PCMark Battery Life test, the Neo 10R lasted for 22 hours and 49 minutes and still had 20% remaining in the tank.
Moreover, in a 15-minute COD match, it consumed just 5% battery and just 4% battery drained while streaming HDR content on Netflix for 30 minutes. The bottom line is that along with extreme performance, this smartphone also offers an excellent battery backup. On a single charge, you can use this smartphone for up to 2-3 days of moderate use. Speaking of charging, I charged this smartphone from 0-100% in 67 minutes, which is not a bad number for a 6400mAh battery.
So, how is the iQOO Neo 10R?
One thing I’ll say without mincing my words – the iQOO Neo 10R is an impressive phone for gaming enthusiasts. It offers a 144Hz panel, top-notch power, a long-lasting battery life, and stable performance – everything you need for extreme mobile gaming.
Apart from that, the camera of this smartphone is decent for the price you are paying. The only downside is the bloatware in its software, which can be deleted. However, make sure to put it in a sturdy case.
iQOO Neo 10R Key Specs, Price and Launch Date
| Release Date: | 11 Mar, 2025 |
| Market Status: | Launched |
Key Specifications
Storage
256 GB
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Battery capacity (mAh)
6400
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Rear Camera Megapixel
50 + 8
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Screen size (in inches)
6.78
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Mustafa Khan
Mustafa is a young tech journalist who tells it like it is, cutting through buzzwords to deliver straightforward smartphone reviews. He’s the office go-to for insider tips and quick demos, and his video content doesn’t waste anyone’s time. When he’s off the clock, he geeks out over cars, photography, and hunting down the best spot for Indian food. View Full Profile
