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Here is our iQoo Z9x Review: Note that the price in India shall display the list of prices of the different variants of the product in India. The iQoo Z9x is also reasonably priced, with the base model containing 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage available for Rs. 12,999 in India. The first one with 6GB RAM is available for 14,499 INR, while the second one with 8GB RAM is available for 15,999 INR. The phone is available in two finishes: Tornado Green and Storm Grey. For this review, we have considered the 8GB RAM variant of the phone with the Storm Grey color option
In my first look at the smartphone, I pointed out that the iQoo Z9x is not here to amaze but rather to get the basics right, and the Storm Grey finish reinforces that. Neo 9 Pro and iQoo 12 can be compared using flat edges and relying on the camera module in the form of a ‘squircle’ or rounded square. If you are into a brighter-colored gadget, the Vivo T3X is something better, and it is almost the same as this model.
The rear panel and frame of this iQoo Z9x are made of polycarbonate, which does not make it look like a premium phone but it fits very well. It has an opalescent matte sheen that appears to gleam when viewed from a certain angle, but that part gets dirty very easily and attracts dirt in abundance, which becomes quite difficult to remove.
Despite helping with slight weight issues, the use of polycarbonate makes it slightly heavy at 199 grams, although condensed in a design that is only 7. 99mm thick.
Given that the device is made of polycarbonate, I was surprised to learn that it has an IP64 certification for dust and water resistance. This is considerably more than what most smartphones in that price range offer, which means that the device is dust drip and splash-proof.
This means that you can take it to the beach and leave it in the sand with little problem. Thus, the phone can endure light rain but cannot cope with water splashing on it.
But we wouldn’t suggest you try this out, as the safety exist solely in the interest of your device and is not to be running under such usage conditions. Furthermore, iQoo, like all other brands, does not offer a warranty on physical and liquid damages. Getting it fixed will cost you money.
As it stands, its design is as plain as most smartphones you can find in this category. Its screen also does not deviate much from the norm, with slim margins at the top and side edges and a relatively thick one at the base.
At its core, the iQoo Z9x comes with the company’s own Funtouch OS 14, which is based on Android 14. Out here, things are rather typical of a budget smartphone, so expect to receive loads of spammy notifications. These primarily come from the native browser app. In addition, there are many preinstalled third-party applications available out-of-the-box. I am glad to report that all of these apps can be deleted, and notifications from the Store and other native apps can be disabled.
The software is usually iQoo (or Vivo) and has a lot of customizations to boot. It does come with a learning curve, which means that mainly in the Settings app, one must scroll around in search of a specific feature under a particular sub-heading. In addition to the usual changeable fonts, accent colors, and themes, there is an entire sub-section in the Settings app labeled Dynamic Effects where one can change everything from the touch screen animation to the screen on/off animation.
For performance, the iQoo Z9x was equipped with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC and 8GB of RAM, which was at par with what we could expect in this price segment.
Compared to other competitors in smartphones of similar price range, the phone was nothing different from the rest as it got an AnTuTu of 5,59,900 and the geek benchmark score of 940 on single core and 2,838 on multi-core. Graphics-wise, the phone did slightly better than the Moto G64 5G, which is its direct rival in this price segment, and achieved scores of 92, 39, and 20 in the T-Rex, Manhattan 3 test in GFXBench. Self-loops, which are denoted as 1 and Car Chase test suites, respectively.
Benchmark performance is relatively high for a budget smartphone with a 5G modem. It seems that iQoo has made quite a few good optimizations, and the phone is, therefore, a clear budget gaming recommendation.
I tried out Call of Duty: Mobile, and it did relatively well (although we witnessed occasional dropped frames) during gameplay with medium graphics and High frame rate settings (which are default). Asphalt 9: Another one is the Legends, and it also supports 60FPS mode with a high graphics setting, and there is no issue with it.
During gameplay, the screen appeared on the floor at 90Hz when the Auto Refresh Rate was engaged. Thankfully, you must go into settings and turn on the 120Hz mode for a specific app(s) to apply the 120Hz screen refresh rates for that smooth feeling.
However, one needs to remember that most games will not be able to offer 120FPS because the hardware used in those games is not capable of supporting them. Even after running the above-mentioned 3D games, the phone only got warm but did not heat up again.
The iQoo Z9x sports a full-HD+ resolution panel, which may not be the best in the segment. However, thanks to its Auto mode, it can be dynamic and switch from 60Hz to 90Hz or 120Hz depending on the content to save battery power. When using the touch display, the value mostly stays around 90 while touching the screen, while the value falls to 60 or below when inactive or watching a video.
The brightness is not among the highest in this class, yet it is quite decent for occasional use, and the image looks crisp. However, those saturated colors come with a yellow hue that runs around the bottom edge of the notebook and becomes particularly prominent with white backgrounds.
It also comes with Widevine L1 certification when it comes to phone compatibility in streaming, which enables me to watch videos at their best and with full HD quality. It is good that iQoo incorporated a stereo speaker setup, though it only adds the viewed content and games to sound a bit more immersive than the bottom-firing single speaker setup.Though, in terms of loudness, it turned out to be loud enough, but the sound quality was very bad and quite irritating, which made me use a wired earphone that accepts a 3. 5mm plug or use TWS earphones.
Another advantage of the iQoo Z9x was its long battery life. The phone can last for two days on standby with basic use without the use of the camera or games and can last for more than one day with heavy usage of the camera, games, and calls.
When the screen is set to 120Hz/High, making all the animations in apps (except for games) more fluid, the battery loop test of the iQoo Z9x is 22 hours and 35 minutes.
When the battery finally dies out, the 44W charger can charge this phone to 35% in 30 minutes and to 71% in 60 minutes. The full charge takes 1 hour and 39 minutes, which is not bad at all considering the longevity of the smartphones in this category and the size of the battery invested in them.
Although it has two camera lenses on the back, the iQoo Z9x has only one camera that users can access. It uses 50 megapixels to take binned 12-megapixel images that have thoroughly oversaturated colors and a reasonable amount of detail. However, these photos are not so detailed and may seem slightly blurry, sometimes even on a sunny day.
The specifications are good if your subject or object is a few feet away from the lens and fades off thereon, meaning less quality or flat texture appears on the next distances from the lens.
White balance is either shot or miss, so you find that the camera is not always consistent from one shot to another when shooting. A target or subject focusing is also fairly slow, especially in low light, even during the day, and therefore, the photos may not always seem sharp.
The camera also disappoints in reproducing dynamic range with its overexposure and loss of details in highlights during the most vivid scenes. There is no macro camera or any macro mode on the phone, and it can only capture objects that are up to 10 centimeters away.
In taking pictures with the rear camera, the Portrait mode is quite effective in producing good photos with a reasonable amount of detail and bokeh that effectively blurs out the background, provided that there is enough light on the subject. However, skin color tones are not very good, and balancing backgrounds come out very bad, especially in contrasted scenes.
It is similar to the overall score for low light, but it is a little blurry, has low resolved details, and has increased noise. Facing it using the dedicated Night mode exacerbates the problem, taking deliberately soft images with barely any detail.
With respect to selfies, they are relatively reasonable in broad daylight and, at worst, look decent but are far from as sharp as one might imagine. The same applies when it comes to bright backgrounds, and while low light performance is relatively good, the noise is very high.
More features include a 64MP AI triple camera that captures 4K 30fps video only on the 8GB RAM variant of the iQoo Z9x. Other than that, the phone is capable of recording video at 1080p @ 30fps, which looks reasonably low given the price level. Video quality is best for 1080p at 30fps, where the detail of objects is seen clearly, and the frame rate is stable. It has less shaking compared to 4K 30fps, where the detail is still better, but a lot of shaking is observed.
The iQoo Z9x presents an appealing deal with its reasonable prices and solid features. Beginning at Rs. 12,999 for the standard version equipped with 4GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, the cost is appealing to those looking to save money. The range of higher RAM options, such as the 6GB RAM version priced at Rs. 14,499 and the 8GB RAM version at Rs. 15,999, cater to users with different needs for performance.
1. What are the key features of the iQoo Z9x?
Explore the standout features of the iQoo Z9x, including its design, display quality, camera capabilities, and performance specifications.
2. How does the iQoo Z9x compare to other smartphones in its price range?
Learn how the iQoo Z9x compares to competing smartphones in terms of performance, camera quality, battery life, and overall value for money.
3. Is the iQoo Z9x a suitable choice for gaming enthusiasts?
Discover how the iQoo Z9x performs in gaming scenarios, including its graphics capabilities, refresh rate, and thermal management during extended gaming sessions.
