Ever since it was introduced in 2020, iQOO smartphones have found a niche among Indian consumers. Best-in-class hardware and affordability have made it a popular choice among the youth. The latest offering from the brand, iQOO Z9 seems to offer the brand’s most noticeable features. Firstly, it is priced under Rs 20,000 and delivers unmatched performance – something that is hard to find in the price segment.
I have been using the all-new iQOO Z9 for over a week, and I have some interesting observations to share about the affordable device. Here’s my review, in which we find out if this is the best smartphone under Rs 20,000.
A budget phone that looks like one
Over the last few years, budget smartphones have grown flashier in design. But the iQOO Z9 is not one of them, at least not in the looks department. Unlike some of the recently launched, similar devices in the segment like the Nothing Phone (2a) (review) and the Lava Blaze Curve (review), the iQOO Z9 is a rather plain-looking smartphone with a plastic build. Interestingly, the company isn’t even trying to hide that fact like most of the phones in this price range.
For iQOO Z9, while the design is not its strongest suit, its weight definitely is. It packs a large 6.67-inch display with a 5,000 mAh battery and weighs 188 grams. It is also one of the thinnest phones in the segment with a very minimal camera bump, and there is also an IP54 rating, which makes it water and dust-resistant. As a daily driver, the device feels pretty light and you don’t really need to use a case as the Graphene Blue edition is smudge and fingerprint-resistant. However, the camera island with the mirror is quite the opposite, and you might have to carry a microfibre cloth to keep it clean.
Best-suited for multimedia
The combination of the 6.67-inch OLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a stereo speaker setup makes the iQOO Z9 a device that’s tailor-made for content consumers. There is HDR playback support and the display gets adequately bright and remains visible even under direct sunlight. This is a flat panel display, which has a slightly thicker bezel at the bottom, and when compared to devices like the Phone (2a) and the Blaze Curve, it looks slightly dated. There is also an in-display fingerprint sensor, again, it’s not the fastest or the most accurate, but it does get the job done. I enjoyed watching Instagram reels and YouTube videos. To my surprise, I also experienced 4K HDR videos on the device.
The camera gets the job done
The camera island on the iQOO Z9 houses two cameras – a primary 50 MP Sony IMX882 sensor with OIS and a 2 MP bokeh lens. There is also a 16 MP selfie camera, which can capture up to 1080p resolution videos. The main camera can shoot up to 4K videos at 30fps, and the phone also offers in-sensor zoom backed 2x mode.
I liked the output from the primary cameras, especially the shots captured in the daylight situation. Most images had a lot of details, although with a slightly higher contrast. The selfie camera performance, on the other hand, was average.
Here are some camera samples from the iQOO Z9:
Adequately powerful, can handle most games
If you are considering the iQOO Z9 for playing popular games like ‘BGMI’ and ‘COD: Mobile’, then the Mediatek Dimensity 7200 SoC-powered smartphone is more than capable, however, at medium graphics settings. What was surprising was the fact that the device was able to maintain a solid 60fps on ‘COD: Mobile’ even after 40 minutes of gameplay.
It also handles normal day-to-day tasks like web and social media browsing and multi-tasking without hassle. The iQOO Z9 also scored over 7 lakh on AnTuTu, which is slightly better than the competition.
Unlike some of the recently launched phones, the iQOO Z9 ships with the latest Android 14 OS with FunTouchOS 14 skin on top. However, the software isn’t as clean as some of the high-end iQOO smartphones – it is riddled with plenty of bloatware, including “hot apps” and “hot games.” That aside, the device has been guaranteed to receive two major Android OS upgrades and three years of security updates.
When it comes to battery life, the phone can easily last for an entire day. Even with the heavy usage, which included running benchmarks, gaming, downloading files from the internet, and testing the cameras, the phone offered slightly over six hours of screen-on-time. Plus the 44W fast charging ensures that the device can be fully charged in around 100 minutes or one-and-a-half hour.
Verdict: A value-centric smartphone
The iQOO Z9 might not look like much at first but it’s still got everything a modern smartphone user might want. Including the bank discount, the iQOO Z9 is available for Rs 17,999, which is almost Rs 4,000 cheaper than the similarly specced Nothing Phone (2a), which makes the iQOO Z9 a value-for-money smartphone.
