Like its BMW-inspired siblings, the iQOO 9T claims to be the world’s quickest smartphone. It is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip optimised to offer you ridiculous benchmark statistics, up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage, a state-of-the-art vapour chamber cooling system, and the V1+ chip for frame interpolation wizardry.
The base model’s pricing of Rs. 49,999 is attractive, but despite its performance and quality feel, iQOO has cut a few corners with the 9T. Find out if this phone’s insane performance outweighs its limitations and if it can tame the gamer in you.
Attractive Design
The OnePlus 10T’s plastic frame and glass back feel cheap. The iQoo 9T includes an aluminium frame, a thin volume rocker, and a blue textured power key. The BMW M Motorsport-branded iQoo 9T Legend looks great.
The red, black, and blue stripe runs down the frosted white glass panel covering two-thirds of the phone’s rear surface. In the right light, its shiny sheen resembles carbon fibre. It’s unobtrusive yet fits the phone’s motorsport concept. There’s a normal black edition if you don’t desire Legend.
The OnePlus 10T looks and feels cheaper than the iQoo 9T Legend. Both cost nearly the same. The iQoo 9T’s blend of textured glass on the back is hard to make, and the relationship with BMW Motorsport is cool. The iQoo 9T’s huge square camera module isn’t beautiful, but the carbon fibre effect under the glass is.
iQOO 9T Camera
The iQOO 9T’s triple cameras aren’t average for a gaming phone. The primary camera uses the same 50-megapixel Samsung ISOCELL GN5 sensor as the iQOO 9-series. The 12-megapixel telephoto camera can also take portraits, like the Galaxy S22, while the 13-megapixel ultrawide camera can take macro shots.
The daytime photos from the primary camera aren’t the most detailed. Blues, greens, oranges, and pinks are always emphasised for their vibrancy. The HDR captures the sunset in the background but makes the subject’s face overly warm.
Primary and ultrawide camera colours are inconsistent. During the day, it captures more details than 8-megapixel cameras at this price.
The telephoto’s 2x optical zoom may not seem like much, but it enables you get closer to a subject while capturing details the normal camera misses. This darkens daytime photos.
HDR works outdoors in all three cameras. HDR works to balance bright and dim regions in indoor photographs, but it can’t recover details. In one shot, Nothing Phone (1)’s glyph is visible, but its texture and colour are off.
In low light, the primary camera captures photographs with heightened colours but missing edges. Low-light ultrawide photos are darker and fuzzier. Extreme Night Vision and PureNightView weren’t groundbreaking either.
Ultra stabilisation only works in 1080p 30fps @ 4K 60fps. Primary sensor and powerful SoC allow 8K video capture. Still, 4K photos are well-stabilized and exposed. Quick focusing in dim light.
Even in poor lighting, selfies are passable. HDR works nicely in selfies, and skin looks natural without filters.
Perfromance
The iQoo 9T has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 CPU, like the OnePlus 10T, but only 12GB of RAM. The 6.78-inch AMOLED screen has the same resolution, HDR10+, and refresh rate as the OnePlus 10T. The iQoo 9T’s 20:9 aspect ratio is wider than the OnePlus’ 20.1:9. OnePlus 10T’s speakers distort less than iQoo 9T’s when playing video.
The iQoo 9T’s 4,700 mAh battery lasts two days with regular use, like the OnePlus 10T. The iQoo 9T’s 120W charger is “slower” than the OnePlus 10T’s 125W (or 150W outside the U.S.) charging. What’s the implication?
After putting in the iQoo 9T at 7%, it charged in 19 minutes, a minute slower than the OnePlus 10T. One minute won’t make a difference in my life. The iQoo 9T is speedy, has a smooth screen, and has a good battery life for its capabilities. It matches the OnePlus 10T in several areas.
iQOO 9T Drawback
Jumping from OnePlus 10T to iQoo 9T was intriguing. I wasn’t impressed with the 10T and was glad to try something different. I was amazed by how close the iQoo 9T was in specs and pricing, yet how much better it was. Build, materials, and camera are my favourites. Battery life, charging, and performance are similar.
The OnePlus 10T is easier to get than the iQoo 9T, which is irritating. The U.S. and U.K. don’t sell it. It costs the same as the OnePlus 10T in India. I’d choose the iQoo 9T.
It’s what the OnePlus 10T should have been if the company wanted to shake things up instead of producing a poor phone with few reasons to buy it. The OnePus 10T lacks desirability, but the iQoo 9T (especially in Legend version) has it in spades. Infuriatingly, we can’t get iQoo 9T locally.
Final words
The iQOO 9T’s price-point flagship hardware, display specs, and battery performance are unparalleled. It’s partially well-designed.
Bloatware and camera performance are underwhelming, but it nails every other parameter.
Do young mobile gamers care? Nope!
No of the price, we’d want to see iQOO’s flagship experience (without bloat).
We compare the iQOO 9T’s dual-chip nature to the Oppo Reno8 Pro’s because of how well the V1+ chip handles camera chores and frame interpolation in gaming and video watching. The iQOO 9T is worth every penny.