iQOO 12 Review: Mightier than ever

iQOO 12 Review: iQOO has been known for making performance-centric smartphones and the Vivo spin-off has done it again with the launch of iQOO 12. This is India's first smartphone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform and also has a supercomputing chip Q1. While it is all about performance, the company has gone a step further this time and has tried to offer better camera specifications. The company claims that iQOO 12 comes with the industry’s first 50MP + 50MP + 64MP triple camera set-up. These specifications make iQOO 12 a compelling option. But does iQOO 12 manage to live up to expectations in real-world usage? Find out in full review.

iQOO 12 Review: Price and Variants

Just like last year, the iQOO 12 is available in two colour options – Legend and Alpha. It comes in two RAM and storage variants - 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB. They are priced at Rs 52,999 and Rs 57,999 respectively. However, there are some offers and discounts that can bring the price down to Rs 49,999 and Rs 54,999. Here I am reviewing the 16GB + 512GB variant of the smartphone in Legend colour.

iQOO 12 Review: Design

The iQOO 12 has been entirely redesigned and looks refreshing. Be it a square-shaped camera module with rounded corners, the BMW Motorsport logo at the bottom or porcelain enamel glass for the rear panels, everything feels sophisticated and elegant. The metal frame of iQOO 12 adds to the aesthetics.

The smartphone also comes with an IP64 water and dust resistance.

iQOO 12 Review: Display

The smartphone features a 6.78-inch AMOLED LTPO display that supports a refresh rate of 144Hz. This makes scrolling through social media feeds silky smooth. It features 3,000 nits of peak brightness so you can use the smartphone even under direct sunlight.

The display produces crisp visuals with vivid and vibrant colours. Also, stereo speakers are loud enough to make content consumption fun. While there's nothing to complain about, the punch-hole that houses the selfie camera could have been slightly smaller - as in the case of most flagship smartphones.

iQOO 12 Review: Performance and Software

The iQOO 12 is powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Mobile Platform - the most powerful chip from the house of Qualcomm - and you can feel it. Be it playing games like BGMI and Asphalt 9 at the highest graphics setting or running multiple apps simultaneously, there will be no lag at all.

The smartphone iQOO 12 boots the latest FunTouchOS 14 based on Android 14. This is the first non-Pixel smartphone to give Android 14 out of the box. The company has reduced bloatware considerably and this makes UI more user-friendly. Also, iQOO has promised three years of major OS updates and four years of security updates for the device.

iQOO 12 Review: Camera

The iQOO 12 comes with a triple-camera setup at the back. It has a 50MP primary sensor, which is accompanied by a 50MP ultra-wide sensor and a 64MP telephoto lens.

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he smartphone manages to click good and detailed images. While the camera performs well across different lighting conditions, the 100x zoom capability of the smartphone is just good enough to identify the object - that too when you keep your hands very stable or use a tripod. The best part is that 30x manages to offer enough details in images. Portrait mode works well and gives a nice bokeh effect.  

The smartphone also has 'Astro mode' that can help you click image night sky photographs within seconds without requiring a tripod. However, the Delhi weather hasn't let me test this feature yet.

For selfies, the smartphone has a 16MP camera at the front. It too manages to do a decent job.

iQOO 12 Review: Battery and Charging

The smartphone is powered by a 5000mAh battery and supports 120W superfast charging. technology. The smartphone can easily last for a day with moderate usage. In case you run out of juice, it will take you just around 30-35 minutes to fully charge the device.

iQOO 12 Review: Verdict

The smartphone has been priced quite aggressively, even though it has managed to offer a good combination of power, performance and camera. This is by far the best offering by iQOO and has raised the bar for others.