Content
- Equipment and design
- Software
- Cameras
- Performance & Tests
- findings
The iQOO brand started out as "flagship killers" withbet on gaming capabilities, but over time, the main line has grown in price, and the role of affordable and productive devices fell on the shoulders of the Neo series. It went on sale in October 2022 with the then top-of-the-line MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset and an insanely low price of 2699 Yuan for the 8+128GB version. What compromises did you have to make for such a price? We took a close look at Neo 7 to answer this question.
 |
Specifications of iQOO Neo 7 |
|---|---|
| Network | 2G, 3G, 4G (1, 3, 7, 8, 34, 38-41), 5G |
| Firmware | Android 13 with OriginOS Ocean |
| Screen | 6.78″, 2400×1080 pixels, 20:9, 120 Hz, touch 120 Hz, AMOLED |
| Chipset | MediaTek Dimesnity 9000+, 4 nm CPU: 1 x X2 x 3.2 GHz + 3 x A710 x 2.85 GHz + 4 x A510 x 1.8 GHz GPU: Mali-G710 |
| Ram | 8/12 GB LPDDR5 |
| ROM | 128/256/512 GB UVS 3.1 |
| SIM and memory card | Two nano-SIM slots |
| Camera | Primary: 50MP, IMX766, f/1.88, autofocus, OIS, 4K@60fps video recording Wide: 8MP, IMX334 / OV08D, f/2.2, FHD@30fps video recording Macro: 2MP, OV02B, f/2.4 |
| Selfie | Center hole, 16MP, S5K3P9 / IMX481, f/2.45, FHD@30fps video recording |
| Battery | 5000 mAh |
| Charging | USB Type-C, 120W |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 6 Bluetooth 5.3 A-GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, QZSS |
| NFC | there is |
| Biometrics | Fingerprint scanner (on screen) |
| Sound | Stereo speakers |
| Water protection | Not declared |
| Dimensions and weight | 164.81 x 76.9 x 8.5/8.85mm |
Equipment and design
iQOO Neo 7 box pleases as non-standarddesign, and a rich bundle: 120-W charger, USB cable, waste paper, SIM needle and silicone case. It is strong and protects everything you need, but I didn’t want to put it on a smartphone at all - why hide such beauty! The iQOO Neo 7 is available in three colorways: black/blue gradient, orange, turquoise – and the latter two offer a back made of awesome looking and feeling vegan leather (i.e. leatherette). What to hold in hands, what to admire the test phone was very pleasant - so much so that I immediately forgave him a plastic frame.
Thoughtful body shape without all these yoursflat ends and narrow frames made it possible to make 6.78″ The smartphone is amazingly convenient. Moreover, it is also relatively lightweight, which also has a very positive effect on ergonomics. The end buttons are at a comfortable height, the on-screen fingerprint scanner is a little low - but it will do. You may be concerned about the build quality and durability of the plastic-leatherette phone, but it feels completely solid and does not give way under any influence.
3.5mm analog audio output and microSD slot –these are too outdated technologies for a modern smartphone, so there is neither one nor the other on the bottom end of the Neo 7. There is only a dual nano-SIM tray, a microphone, a Type-C connector and a speaker. But the infrared port is fashionable and modern, so it is on the upper end (along with a second microphone). Of the interesting on the ends, that's all.
The screen of iQOO Neo 7 has a standard resolution2400x1080 pixels and at least the standard refresh rate of 120 Hz. By default, the panel flickers a lot, especially at brightness below 30%, but you can turn on DC Dimming in the developer options, and after that the flicker will become much weaker. Why in developer settings? I don't know, but at least it's there. 120 Hz works everywhere, including games, and even in auto mode, the phone almost always selects 120 - and if you turn on 120 Hz, you can choose which applications will still have 60 if there are any compatibility problems. The touch is also 120 Hz, but at the same time it feels nimble - exactly like on the iQOO 10 Pro.
Software
At this point I would like to stopmore. The fact is that while the global Vivo continues to use the Funtouch OS firmware, which has hardly changed over the years, in China Vivo are based on OriginOS. It's a groundbreaking skin in many ways, with an insane amount of quirky ideas, both purely design and UX-wise. It provides insane opportunities for customizing both the appearance and behavior of the system.
But it is not necessary to idealize it, in some places OriginOSclearly unfinished. This, for example, concerns the extremely primitive AOD, which can only inform about missed calls and SMS - but does not support instant messengers or any other applications. There is Russian localization (which is extremely atypical for Chinese firmware), but individual menu items may not be translated, and some may be translated very strangely. For example, widgets in OriginOS are called nanocomplexes for some reason. Well, or just nanoko, because there was not enough space for the rest of the letters.
But in general, the firmware is usable - notificationsguaranteed to come if you fix the application in the multitasking menu, there is a Russian language, Google Play is installed. True, the installation algorithm is extremely strange: first turn on Google services in the settings, and then download YouTube from apkpure.com. You install it, and when you first start it, it installs the Play Store for you. If you put the Play Market with your hands, it will not work.
Cameras
The iQOO Neo 7 camera trio is so standard thatI'm too lazy to list it again. However, duty obliges: 50-megapixel base on IMX766 with opto-stub, 8-megapixel wide and 2-megapixel camera for macro. The width sensor is the rather rare IMX334 or OV08D, the plug is the most popular OV02B.
The main camera is certainly good.The combination of a rather large and cool IMX766 sensor, optical stabilization and traditionally strong algorithms from Vivo does its job. Night photographs turn out very pleasant; there is nothing to say about daytime ones. Sometimes the color rendition is poor, but if you take a series of several frames, most usually turn out to be of high quality. In general, a good, adult camera. The width is weak and spoils the proportions of objects at the edges of the frame, but on the whole it copes with its main task. 2-megapixel plug for macro… Well, it would be better if autofocus was brought wide, by God, than like this.
Video can be shot at 2160p@60fps on the maincamera either in 1080p@30fps wide and front camera. The camera for macro does not know how to shoot video. The video quality is generally decent, at night the presence of OIS helps a lot. The sound is written in stereo and is very good. At 1080p@30fps, you can switch between wide and main cameras as you shoot - not very smoothly, but thanks for having this feature at all.
The 16-megapixel front camera iQOO Neo 7 (S5K3P9 or IMX481) is nothing special. Just a good front. I am glad that they put honest 16 megapixels, and not with 4 megapixel binning, as sometimes happens.
Performance and tests
iQOO Neo 7 is the first smartphone in our hands onMediaTek Dimensity 9000+, but this did not bode anything interesting: it differs from the usual 9000 only in frequencies, and we have already seen it in Redmi K50. However, the smartphone managed to surprise us. True, not in the way we would like. The implementation of the flagship chip in this smartphone is absolutely useless. Already in 5 minutes under load, CPU performance drops by half; The GPU lasts twice as long, but drops about as much.
normal mode
But this is in normal mode.If you turn on the Monster Mode and add a benchmark to the game mode, the situation changes. For the worse. Now the CPU is ready to throttle by 2.5 times, and the GPU performance drops already six minutes later.
Monster Mode
Approximately the same situation can be seen in games.When you just launch it, the gameplay will be as pleasant as possible, but over time, fps will drop a lot. At the same time, neither the brightness of the screen nor its frequency is cut, iQOO should be praised for this. However, it's rather strange to buy a smartphone with a flagship 2022 chipset and then lower the graphics in Genshin Impact to medium so that the game does not lag. iQOO, how so?! However, if you prefer undemanding toys (I tried SuperTuxKart, Nihilumbra, Cube Escape, ABP: Cats Are Liquid), then you won't need to lower the settings.
The battery capacity of iQOO Neo 7 isstandard by today's standards 5000 mAh. For an hour in the game (SuperTuxKart), the discharge was 19%, for an hour of browsing - 12%, for an hour of video display - 7%. In just a day of testing, the battery was discharged by 88%, it was 6.5 hours of screen with maximum brightness. With the use of auto brightness, it is quite possible to count on better results - up to 7.5 hours of the screen, I think. In general, the smartphone will last a full day in any case, and most users will live for two.
The charging power of iQOO Neo 7 is 120W.The battery charges halfway in 10 minutes and takes 27 minutes to fully charge. Yes, some phones with 120-watt units charge faster, but this result is by no means bad. Recharging your phone in an emergency is not a problem for the Neo 7 owner, and this is the main thing. Just note that since the smartphone is only sold in China, the included charger has a Chinese plug. I need to buy an adapter!
Conclusions
iQOO Neo 7 looks typical at first glance"flagship killer": top-end hardware, savings on cameras and body. But in reality, the situation is completely different: the performance is much worse than in good Snaparagon 8+ Gen 1 implementations, but the design and the main camera are very good. On the plus side, you can also record the screen with DC Dimming and fast charging. In general, we have a balanced smartphone of the pre-flagship class. And for the money it's worth, it's definitely worth considering.
Vivo/iQOO Club on Telegram
© Oleg Lazarev.