iQoo Z9 review

iQoo launched the Neo 9 Pro in February, followed by the more affordable iQoo Z9 last month. The latter offers some of the best mid-range specs in the segment. We spent some time testing the iQoo Z9’s day-to-day performance, camera quality, and battery life. The phone competes with other smartphones priced around Rs. 20,000 mark in India, such as the Realme 12+ 5G and Moto G84 5G, as well as the more expensive Honor X9b and Nothing Phone 2a.

iQoo Z9 price in India

iQoo Z9 is priced in India at Rs. 19,999 for the base model with 8GB RAM and 128GB inbuilt storage. The company also offers a 256GB storage version of the phone – which is the model I reviewed – for Rs 100. 21,999.

The phone is available in Brushed Green and Graphene Blue color options in India. Like other smartphones from the company, the iQoo Z9 comes with a transparent TPU case, SIM ejection tool, 44W charging brick, and USB Type-A to USB Type-C cable.

iQoo Z9 review: Design

We received the brushed green version of the iQoo Z9 for review. The phone has an interesting design, with paintbrush-like strokes flowing from the rear camera module to the bottom of the panel. There’s a small iQoo logo on the lower half and no other visible branding.

iQoo Z9 brushed green color

Apart from the new pattern, the back panel of the phone is very similar to the iQoo Z7 Pro launched in India in August 2023, including vertically arranged rear cameras in a square camera island with rounded edges and shiny frame. With a metallic finish, it’s a fingerprint magnet. The volume buttons are located on the right edge, above the power button.

Despite the built-in 5,000mAh battery, the phone doesn’t feel too heavy for daily use. It has flat edges, making it easy to hold. While it’s not too slippery, it’s best to use it with the TPU case that comes with your phone. The iQoo Z9 has very narrow bezels, except around the chin. It has an IP54 dust and water resistance rating.

iQoo Z9 review: Specs and software

The iQoo Z9 runs on an octa-core 4nm Dimensity 7200 SoC, which includes two Arm Cortex-A715 cores clocked at 2.8GHz and six Cortex-A510 cores. This mid-range MediaTek chipset is paired with 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, and you can enable the “Extended RAM” feature to take advantage of up to 8GB of unused storage to increase the available storage to 16GB.

The smartphone supports 5G, 4G LTE, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3 and GPS connectivity, as well as a USB Type-C port. However, it doesn’t have NFC connectivity, which means you can’t use the tap-to-pay feature available on apps like Google Pay and PhonePe. The responsive in-display fingerprint scanner takes less than a second to unlock the phone.

iQoo Z9 is equipped with a 6.67-inch AMOLED screen, which is bright enough for outdoor use

Thankfully, the iQoo Z9 runs Android 14 along with Funtouch OS 14 out of the box. Like the company’s other smartphones we’ve reviewed recently (iQoo 12 and Neo 9 Pro), the OS comes with a V-Appstore that will go out of its way to notify you of new apps to install. However, unlike those phones, you can’t disable the V-Appstore on this phone. The home screen also includes Popular Apps and Popular Games, prompting you to install new apps and games.

According to the company, the phone will get two OS updates and three years of security updates, which is normal in this price segment, with one exception — the Samsung Galaxy A15 is promised four OS updates and five years Security updates. The iQoo Z9 is equipped with a 5,000mAh battery that can be charged at 44W via the included adapter.

iQoo Z9 review: Performance

With the Dimensity 7200 chipset, the iQoo Z9 should theoretically offer the best performance for a mid-range smartphone priced under Rs. 20,000. In day-to-day use, the phone is fast and lets you switch between apps without reloading them. It also has a dedicated gaming mode found on other phones from the company to optimize performance while gaming.

Games like Asphalt 9 run very smoothly on the iQoo Z9, while games like Battlegrounds Mobile India can be played on the High settings of the Smooth preset for about 45 minutes without Any throttling. I was able to run Genshin Impact on the iQoo Z9, but it was just a bit smooth – even after selecting the lowest graphics settings in the game.

We also ran some performance benchmarks on the iQoo Z9 and found that it scored significantly higher than other smartphones in this price range. On AnTuTu 10, the phone scored 687,545 points, while its single-core and multi-core scores on Geekbench were 1,151 and 2,669 respectively. In the PCMark Work 3.0 benchmark test, the iQoo Z9 scored 13,319 points.

iQoo Z9 performance benchmarks

The iQoo Z9 scored 6,654 points in 3DMark’s Sling Shot test and 5,766 points in the Sling Shot Extreme test. It scored 4,126 points and 4,205 points on the Wild Life and Wild Life Unlimited benchmarks respectively. Meanwhile, iQoo’s mid-range phone scored 6,058 points (108fps) on the GFXBench T-Rex test, while the Manhattan 3.1 benchmark scored 3702 points (60fps) and the Car Chase test scored a lower 1,954 points (33 frames/second).

The phone features a 6.67-inch Full HD+ (1,080×2,400 pixels) AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a pixel density of 394ppi, and a peak brightness of 1,800 nits. I encountered some visibility issues in very bright lighting conditions, especially when using the phone outdoors in the afternoon. There are three display color profiles to choose from: Standard, Professional, and Bright. While this is a subjective choice, I prefer using Standard mode (default)

The iQoo Z9’s 5,000mAh battery will give you hours of continuous use before you need to charge the phone again. In our HD battery cycle test, the phone lasted about 23 hours and 14 minutes. By playing games, taking some photos and videos, and about an hour of gaming, I ended the day with 23 to 29 percent battery left. Once the battery is depleted, the phone takes about 32 minutes to reach 50% charge, and a full charge takes about 55 minutes.

iQoo Z9 review: Camera

The iQoo Z9 features a 50-megapixel main camera, Sony IMX882 sensor with f/1.8 aperture, and an unspecified 2-megapixel depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture. The phone features a 16-megapixel front camera with f/2.0 aperture, which is suitable for selfies and video chats.

When shooting with the default zoom (1x), the images captured by the main camera are clear and the colors are displayed accurately. The camera interface lets you quickly switch to 2x, which appears to be an in-sensor crop and also delivers images with plenty of detail. This camera is great for photographing people, plants, and pets. You can also click good portrait images if there is enough natural light.

iQoo Z9 can capture detailed images in sufficient natural light

There is only one working rear camera on the iQoo Z9, which works solid during the day. However, if you want to capture images in low-light conditions, it’s better to use the built-in night mode. If your subject isn’t moving, Night mode can take better photos than the default mode, reducing noise and artifacts without over-softening.

Without an ultra-wide-angle camera, I found myself taking a step back to click images of large objects that were close to me, such as buildings. In most cases, this isn’t a problem, but it can make clicking certain photos tricky. Unlike similar phones in this price range, the iQoo Z9 does not come with a macro camera for close-up shots.

Built-in night mode performs well in low-light scenarios

The main camera also includes a 50-megapixel mode that captures images fairly quickly while delivering higher-resolution images than the standard mode. This mode is best used with nearby subjects and produces images with more detail and a slightly larger file size.

In good lighting, selfies taken by the iQoo Z9 are clear and look good, which means if you click your own images during the day, you should be fine. In low-light conditions, selfies taken by the phone contain some noise, and the images aren’t as sharp as the phone tends to smoothen these images.

The 50-megapixel mode offers slightly better detail on nearby subjects

The video performance of the iQoo Z9 is on par with other smartphones in its price range. You can record 1080p videos at 60fps and 30fps, while 4K videos can be recorded at 30fps. It’s worth noting that the 1080p/60fps mode offers better video stabilization compared to the 4K option, which is a worthwhile trade-off in my opinion.

iQoo Z9 review: Conclusion

If you are looking for an affordable mid-range smartphone with good performance and decent photo quality, then the iQoo Z9 is a good option to consider in this price range. It offers solid battery life and has a bright AMOLED screen, while the processor definitely punches above its weight and makes up for the less-than-ideal UFS 2.2 storage.

However, the phone faces stiff competition from smartphones like last year’s Samsung Galaxy M34 – while that phone’s Exynos 1280 processor is slower than the one on the iQoo Z9, it has better camera quality and (subjectively) ) better software experience, and the software has a longer support window. Likewise, the Realme 12+ 5G additionally comes with an ultra-wide-angle camera and supports 67W faster charging.

There’s also the Poco X6 5G, which offers decent main camera performance and packs a 5,100mAh battery, despite running Android 13 out of the box. If your budget is a little higher, you could also consider the Nothing Phone 2a, which has a good main camera and clean software. However, it does not come with a charging module in the box, which is an issue that the iQoo Z9 will not encounter.