The iQOO Neo9 Pro is the most powerful mid-range smartphone that I have tested so far. Not only does it make the competition fell short on power, it also puts the flagships to shame with the outrageous performance numbers this phone was able to put out.
So iQOO is back with the successor of last year’s Best Mid Range smartphone winner for our Zero1 awards, the iQOO Neo9 Pro. With the iQOO Neo7 Pro being one of my favourite launches last year across categories and segments, the expectation is high from the Neo9 Pro. Now, before the launch, we got to know and experience the device in advance and there is a lot that’s new with the iQOO Neo9 Pro. From the performance, to the design, to the cameras, to even the battery, there are major changes across the board, but one thing remains the same – iQOO’s unwavered focus on offering the best performance.
So my friends, how does the iQOO Neo9 Pro perform? How do we like the new design? Has the new camera and battery actually contributed to a better backup and image output? In this detailed review, I will take a look at all the aspects and tell you what I like about the smartphone, what I don’t like about the iQOO Neo9 Pro, and if you should spend your Rs 35,999 on this new mid-range performance beast. Let’s go.
iQOO Neo9 Pro review: Design
So this year we get the most drastic design change on the iQOO Neo range. The iQOO Neo9 Pro comes with this dual-tone back panel with a red and white colour scheme. The red part covers about 60 percent of the back panel, while the white or light grey part covers the left side or the rest of the 40 percent of the back panel.
Now, to the touch, this feels great. The iQOO Neo9 Pro is also very lightweight, which has been criticised as having a rather cheap feel to it, but I find it good since this phone is for the gamers. The lighter the smartphone, the more comfortable your gaming experience, so good. The red and white combination, on the other hand, I’m not a big fan of. While it looks cool the moment you set eyes on the iQOO Neo9 Pro, after using the smartphone for a couple of days, I was kind of done with the red and white colour scheme. Plus, the TPU silicone case given with the smartphone takes away from the in-hand feel that the leather and fabric combination offer, so that’s that.
Up front, things are simple and familiar. We get a flat hole-punch display implementation and the bezels on this are super thin and even throughout. Good. The display orientation is also pretty decent. This is more on the tall side and feels a bit more narrow as compared to the predecessor, the iQOO Neo7 Pro.
Overall, this is a good attempt from the brand to try out a new design for the iQOO Neo9 Pro. This is a design that will appeal to the young audience that iQOO is targeting. And for boring millennials like myself, there is also the plain matte black colourway with the frosted glass back panel so there is something for everyone.
iQOO Neo9 Pro review: Display
Coming to the display, the iQOO Neo9 Pro has a nice 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. Again, this time iQOO is setting a new standard, like the brand is known for doing at least in the performance area. The iQOO Neo9 Pro is the first mid-range smartphone to come with an LTPO panel! Yes, the 144Hz refresh rate is adjustable using LTPO technology, meaning that the display will dynamically adjust the refresh rate according to the content on screen. And while I’m at it, the 144Hz refresh rate is also superb. The highest we have gotten in mid-range smartphones so far, 144Hz makes this display an absolutely slick panel to swipe, scroll, and switch apps. This, apart from the advantage in playing games. Brilliant.
Coming to the colour accuracy and brightness, here also the iQOO Neo9 Pro comes through quite effortlessly. The display is super accurate. I put it through the Calman ColourChecker analysis and the iQOO Neo9 Pro showcased an average DeltaE of 0.5, meaning that the colour representation is extremely close to what our eyes see in the real world. For perspective, an average DeltaE of under 3 is considered very accurate for smartphones, so 0.5 is a superb result.
This display is also super bright. Under direct sunlight, the smartphone showcased a maximum luminance of 1,567 nits which is just superb and one of the highest we have tested in similar-priced smartphones recently. On the lower end, the iQOO Neo9 Pro display drops down to 7 nits luminance as tested indoors.
So overall, this is a brilliant display for the price. We are getting everything – an LTPO panel, 144Hz refresh rate, extremely accurate colours, and brilliant brightness. The display is also very striking to look at, given the thin 1.54mm bezels that iQOO has managed to achieve for the edge-to-edge display.
iQOO Neo9 Pro review: Performance
Time to talk about the star of the show. The iQOO Neo9 Pro comes with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset paired with up to 12GB of RAM. Along with that, we are also getting a secondary chip called the “Q1 Supercomputing Chip.” This is a secondary chip to support the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 in case the smartphone needs an extra push. Further, this is also the largest vapour cooling chamber on any iQOO Neo series smartphone so far. iQOO has, in fact, used the same vapour cooling chamber as the one we have seen on the company’s iQOO 12 flagship.
What does that result in? Absolutely mind-blowing performance. The iQOO Neo9 Pro leaves its competition in the dust. In fact, the smartphone even matches up to the flagships of today in terms of the performance numbers, if we look at synthetic benchmark scores. Not only does the iQOO Neo9 Pro beat its fiercest rival the OnePlus 12R, it also comes ahead of smartphones like the iPhone 15 Pro, Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5, and the OnePlus Open in AnTuTu scores.
But that’s not all. Even in other CPU-based benchmarks like Geekbench 6 or PCMark, the iQOO Neo9 Pro is miles ahead of the competition and here also, the smartphone is right up there with even the flagship smartphones of today. Coming to GPU performance, the iQOO Neo9 Pro does well here as well. The smartphone obviously comes above competition and that too, by a margin.
Now coming to things that are beyond benchmark scores and spec sheets. The iQOO Neo9 Pro is a pleasure to use. Be it gaming or your regular daily usage, the iQOO Neo9 Pro does it all with ease, and doesn’t even heat up much during gaming. For example, for a video of the iQOO Neo9 Pro, I did a one-hour gaming test and there, the smartphone didn’t heat up much. It only went up to 38 degree celsius, as shown by the Flir One heat camera. During the hour-long session or any other gaming session, I didn’t find any lags or frame drops, so that is brilliant for gamers who want something at a non-gaming phone price tag.
So performance is outstanding, that is established. What about the battery? This time, iQOO has gone a step ahead of the rather standardised 5,000mAh battery on mid-range smartphones. The device comes with a 5,160mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging. While a bigger battery doesn’t necessarily mean better backup, with the iQOO Neo9 Pro, it does. The smartphone lasted extremely long in our video loop test. It took more than 16 hours to drain from a full 100 percent battery. Outrageous!
Combine that with super fast 120W fast charging, the iQOO Neo9 Pro charged from 0 to 100 percent in just 30 minutes. For a 15-minute gaming session where I played Call of Duty: Mobile on the highest graphics settings, the smartphone lost only 5 percent of the battery. For a 30-minute video stream on 2160p quality, the smartphone dropped only 3 percent of the battery, and 1 hour of GPS navigation lost only 8 percent of the battery. So overall, the battery and charging experience is probably the best in this price segment.
iQOO Neo9 Pro review: Camera
Coming to the camera, this is also where iQOO has made a significant change. Unlike last year’s iQOO Neo7 Pro, the iQOO Neo9 Pro actually drops a camera – we only get a dual rear camera setup which includes a primary 50-megapixel Sony IMX920 sensor, which is the same one we see on the Vivo X100. There is also an 8-megapixel wide angle lens on the iQOO Neo9 Pro, but this time there is no third camera.
Which is great, since the third camera was a bit unnecessary the last time around as well. We got a 2MP macro shooter last time around which was a bit useless, if you ask me. I doubt anyone used the macro shooter on the iQOO Neo 7 Pro and for a gaming phone, it’s not about checking the boxes in the camera space, it’s more about the balance. Here, the balance remains. I used the iQOO Neo9 Pro camera quite a bit and I honestly like the images that this smartphone is capable of putting out.
iQOO invited us to an exclusive briefing event in Mumbai where the brand talked about what the smartphone offers. During that event, and even after it, I took a lot of photos with the iQOO Neo9 Pro and while it is not the best camera smartphone out there, for a gaming smartphone, this puts out amazing photos. Remind you, we are getting the same primary sensor as the critically acclaimed Vivo X100, so the iQOO Neo9 Pro is very much capable of putting out amazing photos.
In low light, there is a big difference between the images from the primary shooter and the ultra-wide angle lens, but in ideal lighting, the results are pretty much consistent, which is great. This, in fact, takes better photos than the Oppo Reno11 Pro, which was launched as a camera focused device. The 2x in-sensor zoom is also pretty decent and there is pretty much no loss in the details or sharpness and there’s no colour shift as well. Good.
Low light performance of this camera is also very nice. The images are nice and balanced in terms of colour and detail. The only thing is that there is quite a bit of light flare in low light shots, but that is something we have seen in pretty much all phones in this range. Another thing that I didn’t like about this camera is that around the edges, images aren’t as sharp and as crisp as the center, but that is something only sticklers or critics like myself will notice.
Overall, this is a pretty decent camera setup from iQOO. Remember, this is not the best camera out there, but for a gaming-centric smartphone, the iQOO Neo9 Pro hits it out of the park.
iQOO Neo9 Pro review: Verdict
So the iQOO Neo9 Pro is the most powerful mid-range smartphone that I have tested so far. Not only does it make the competition fell short on power, it also puts the flagships to shame with the outrageous performance numbers this phone was able to put out. The battery and charging is also a superb combo, offering you the best of both worlds (long backup and fast charging), and even the camera is very good for casual users who click a photo or two every now and then.
Of course, the iQOO Neo9 Pro is not for camera enthusiasts since gaming enthusiasts are the ones iQOO is catering to right now. Even the design is something that will have mixed review reviews. I’m not sure if I’m a big fan of the red and white colour scheme and think one will get bored of it very quickly. However, there is an audience for different looking smartphones. Overall, it may miss here and there, but the iQOO Neo9 Pro does what you expect it to and does it extremely well.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro Key Specs, Price and Launch Date
| Release Date: | 22 Feb, 2024 |
| Market Status: | Launched |
Key Specifications
Storage
256 GB
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Battery capacity (mAh)
5160
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Rear Camera Megapixel
50 + 50
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Screen size (in inches)
6.78
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