iQOO 11 hands on and mini Review

By: Rohit Yadav

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Updated on: 14-Dec-2022

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The design language of the iQOO 11 is similar to the devices we have seen previously from iQOO. While the normal Black and Green colour options look a little dull, the White BMW M edition is quite a looker.

The material used is different this time. The phone features vegan leather at the back which improves the grip of the device. The iconic BMW M stripes are made from fibreglass which gives the phone two tone texture. Hardware

Display

iQOO 11 features the all new E6 display from Samsung. The screen is 6.78 inches with QHD resolution and with a 144 Hz refresh rate. The maximum brightness of the display is also noticeable at 1800 nits, the brightness was never an issue even in direct sunlight. I could not perceive the difference between 144 Hz and 120 Hz, 120 Hz is enough for most users as the animations are fluid enough. Another plus point ( not for everyone) for the display is that the sides are completely flat so there will be less mistouch while using the phone.

There is also an in-display fingerprint sensor present on the iQOO. Though the sensor is neither the newest nor the fastest, it is fast and secure enough to use without a second doubt.

Processor and Storage

The most important aspect of the device is the use of Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, which we will see more in flagships throughout 2023. In benchmarks, the 8 Gen 2 showed around 10% improvements in CPU performance and up to 35% improvement in GPU performance. These scores may improve in future with more optimisations with software. This was one of the highest scorers we have seen. Simply put, the iQOO 11 is the fastest Android smartphone you can buy in the market.

In addition to the newest processor, iQOO 11 also comes with 256 GB UFS 4.0 storage. UFS is the latest Universal Flas Standard, it will be widely used in future flagship smartphones. While I was unable to perceive the difference in speed because of the limited time I had with the device, according to benchmarks the new storage is expected to have double the speeds of the previous UFS 3.1.

Camera

My reactions to the camera performance on the iQOO 11 were mixed. There is a triple camera setup on the back of the phone with a 50 MP primary camera paired with a 13 MP 2x telephoto camera and an 8 MP ultrawide camera.

In the limited time, I had the phone, I experience many software bugs and issues with the device. Now I am not going to hold it against the phone as this might be due to the use of several new hardware and I hope it will be solved with updates in near future.

Credit where due, the iQOO 11’s night photography is something else. iQOO 11 comes with Vivo’s in-house V2 ISP which is the successor to the V1, which we already saw on Vivo X70 Pro Plus and X80 Pro. the iQOO 11 has excellent HDR capabilities and it does not blow highlights even in low light scenarios.

Software

The software has to be the biggest downside when using the iQOO 11. The FunTouch OS is not as refined as Samsung’s OneUI or OnePlus’ OxygenOS.

iQOO is the first non Google smartphone to come with Android 13.

FunTouch OS is highly customisable, you can almost completely change the UI of the phone. While many people like customising their phones, the sheer amount of customization available can be too much. One feature I like in iQOO phone is app pinning. With this you can pin the app on the phone when giving it to someone else, it prevents other people from swiping away from the current app.

Ultimately, I do not think the FunTouch OS is as bad as people often say it is. Though it is not for me, Vivo has improved its software with each iteration in a couple of years.

Battery

iQOO 11 comes packed with a large 5000 mAh battery and not all, the phone also supports 120 W fast charging with the included charger. iQOO claims that the phone can charge 0-100% in under 20 mins. Moreover, there is also the iManager to manage the battery for optimum performance with the least amount of battery drain.

iQOO 11 price in India and Availability

iQOO 11 is yet to become available for purchase in India but the expected price is around Rs 45000. The iQOO smartphone is expected to be available for purchase in India on January 10.

iQOO 11 Verdict: Initial thoughts

While the iQOO 11 will not be available in many parts of the world, it certainly is an interesting device. The smartphone features several new standards that we will see later next year in flagship smartphones like Samsung Galaxy S23 series, OnePlus 11 5G and many other flagships.