The iQOO 9T is a killer telephone that you simply most likely cannot purchase

Final month we evaluated the OnePlus 10T and located it to be a strong Android smartphone with an affordable $649 worth. The iQOO 9T was lately launched for smartphone clients in India for ₹49,999.00 (approx USD$625), about the identical worth because the 10T. Whereas I had restricted connectivity and could not totally check its mobile efficiency, I used to be capable of spend a couple of weeks with the Alpha black mannequin. iQOO additionally presents one within the Legend colour that has BMW Motorsport striping on the again.

The iQOO 9T is without doubt one of the few telephones sporting the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, superfast LPDDR5 RAM, and 120W FlashCharge. 

These are primarily flagship specs for a worth lots of lower than most flagships. It’s a massive telephone, however feels nice within the hand with a steel body and frosted rear glass panel.

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I have been utilizing the 12/256GB mannequin of the telephone with my T-Cell SIM card. LTE is nicely supported on 5 bands by T-Cell with the n41 band offering 5G connectivity. It labored nicely sufficient for me to hold out communications and likewise was completely positive on Wi-Fi.

Specs

Processor	Snapdragon 8+ Gen1 Cell Platform
Show	6.78-inch, 2,400×1,080-pixel decision
Working system	Android 12 with Funtouch OS 12
RAM	8/12GB choices
Storage	128/256GB choices
Cameras	50MP primary, 13MP ultrawide, 12MP telephoto. 16MP front-facing digital camera.
Connectivity	802.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, FM radio
Sensors	Accelerometer, In-Show Fingerprint Sensor, Digital Compass, Gyroscope, Proximity Sensor, Infrared
Battery	4,700-mAh non-removable with 120W wired fast-charging
Dimensions	165 x 77 x 8 mm and 206 grams
Colour	Alpha Black and Legend White

{Hardware}

Trying on the specs, the iQOO 9T has almost all flagship specs and is a stunning piece of substances. The RAM is even Enhanced LPDDR5 with Enhanced UFS 3.1 on the interior storage, so the telephone is a screamer and it by no means lagged or bought held again by something I threw at it.

The show helps a refresh charge of as much as 120Hz with a smart-switch choice that robotically adjusts the refresh charge primarily based on software utilization and system energy consumption. It has a peak brightness of 1,500 nits with HDR 10 Plus certification and appears unbelievable. The front-facing digital camera is centered in a hole-punch design on the prime of the show.

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The {hardware} of the iQOO 9T is unbelievable, with a rock-solid really feel and chic design. The telephone is a bit large and enormous, however that additionally implies that media content material performs nicely on the telephone’s beautiful AMOLED show. It actually helps that the stereo audio system additionally sound nice.  

Talking of media and leisure, players will admire the V1 Plus chip that will increase the body charge and optimizes colours. The newest technology of under-display fingerprint sensors is current, and in my testing, it labored flawlessly. I used it together with the face unlock characteristic with a speedy and constant response.

The telephone has a mic and IR port on the highest, and a speaker, USB-C, mic, and SIM card tray alongside the underside. The ability and quantity buttons are on the fitting aspect.

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On the again of the iQOO 9T we discover three digital camera lenses and a flashlight. The highest left digital camera is the first 50MP GN5 digital camera with twin pixel know-how and OIS. The 13MP ultrawide digital camera is positioned beneath it whereas the 12MP portrait digital camera is off to the fitting of the 13MP digital camera lens.

The again glass has a frosted matte-black end with a shiny black higher third across the digital camera array. The body is steel, and the entrance has a full glass show with no cutouts for the digital camera or fingerprint sensor.

Wi-fi charging is just not supported on the 9T, however wired fast-charging is, and a 120W charger is included. iQOO says the telephone could be charged to 50% in 8 minutes and to 100% in simply 20 minutes.

Software program

The iQOO 9T launches with Android 12 and Funtouch OS 12 World. Our evaluate unit got here with the Aug. 1 Android safety replace and it has obtained a few minor telephone updates since its arrival.

The Funtouch OS 12 consumer interface offers a reasonably inventory Android expertise; a swipe over on the house display screen reveals Google Uncover, and a swipe up on the house display screen reveals the app launcher and widgets to select from. The widgets are made for the Funtouch OS consumer interface.

The opposite space the place I see some customized affect is within the settings choices accessible on the telephone. Dynamic results, extremely sport mode, and shortcuts/accessibility have device-specific choices reminiscent of animations, 4D sport vibration, and numerous notifications.

We additionally see some apps particular to the machine for net searching, photograph albums, an infrared distant app, and theme choices. There are a few different recommended apps, however these are usually not put in, so it’s a pretty clear smartphone.

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Backside line

The iQOO 9T is sort of equal to the OnePlus 10T, when it comes to specs and pricing, with the iQOO 9T being barely wider and taller. The 9T could have barely higher cameras and feels a bit extra premium due to the steel body.

Whereas I have never been linked to all the accessible 5G networks, I did use the telephone with a T-Cell SIM that had LTE protection. The big-capacity battery carried out nicely, simply lasting via greater than a day of heavy utilization. I do not sport a lot on my telephones, however I did load up and play some racing video games to take a look at the iQOO 9T’s efficiency. It was a blast to easily cruise round programs with out lag or the telephone heating up.

The iQOO 9T is a strong flagship telephone with an higher midrange worth. I used to be pleasantly shocked by the standard of the pictures and will use this telephone as my day by day driver.

Alternate options to think about

It is nice to see telephones with flagship specs accessible for lots of lower than the flagship fashions from Samsung, Google, and Apple. Listed here are another telephones to think about within the $500 to $700 worth vary.