iQOO Z9 5G Review: Ticks almost all boxes

iQOO Z9 5G Review: After launching flagship and mid-range smartphones in the past few months, iQOO has now shifted focus to a more affordable category. The smartphone manufacturer has launched the iQOO Z9 at around Rs 20,000 and has focused on providing almost everything a standard user will want from a smartphone. With Mediatek Dimensity 7200 chipset, 50MP main camera and AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, the device seems to be ticking almost all boxes, at least on paper. I used this device for a couple of weeks to find out how well it performs in real life. Find out all the information in this detailed review.

iQOO Z9 5G Review: Price and Variants

The iQOO Z9 5G is available in two storage variants - 8GB RAM & 128GB storage and 8GB RAM & 256GB storage. They are priced at Rs 19,999 and Rs 21,999 respectively. However, there are some offers available that can bring down the prices of these variants even further. In terms of colour, there are two options - Brushed Green and Graphene Blue. Here I am using the 8GB + 256GB variant of the device in Brushed Green colour.

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iQOO Z9 5G Review: Design

The iQOO Z9 is a slim (7.83mm) and lightweight (188 grams) smartphone with flat side frames and curved edges. The material used is polycarbonate and the colour looks attractive. Overall, the smartphone feels solid and comfortable to hold. However, it has only IP54 protection for dust and water.

iQOO Z9 5G Review: Display

The smartphone has a 6.67-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz. However, the smart mode of the device automatically adjusts the refresh rate to 60Hz according to the scene to reduce power consumption. The device offers peak brightness of 1800nits and you can easily use the device in bright daylight. The display, which is protected by Dragon Tail Star 2 glass, is bright and produces good colours. The iQOO Z9 also has HDR 10+ support and it works for YouTube and Netflix. The content consumption experience is further enhanced by the presence of dual stereo speakers. 

iQOO Z9 5G Review: Performance and Software

The software is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7200 SoC. During my usage, the device offered smooth performance and I didn't notice any lag even while multi-tasking. You can play games like Subway Surfer and even Asphalt 9 (at low graphics settings). Overall, this device performs better than some of its competitors. 

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The device runs on Android 13 with Funtouch OS 13 on top. The company is offering two years of Android updates and three years of security updates. It does come with bloatware but the good thing is that you can uninstall most of them.

iQOO Z9 5G Review: Camera

The iQOO Z9 has a dual rear camera setup with a primary sensor of 50MP Sony IMX882 with OIS (optical image stabilisation). This is accompanied by a 2MP depth sensor. On the front, it has a 16MP selfie shooter. 

The smartphone captures good images in well-lit conditions with decent details. Portrait mode too works well with good edge detection in most of the cases. The low-light performance is satisfactory considering the price range in which this device has been placed. You can improve the quality of images using the night mode. 

iQOO Z9 5G Review: Battery and Charging

The smartphone has a 5,000mAh battery and comes with 44W fast charging inside the retail box. The battery backup of the device is good and you can easily run the device for an entire day on a single charge. It takes around an hour to charge the device completely from zero to 100 per cent. 

iQOO Z9 5G Review: Verdict

iQOO has been launching devices with good hardware lately and the Z9 is another one on that list. While the iQOO Z9 is a complete package at its price, adding an ultrawide camera would have made things much better.