iQOO Neo 9 Pro review: With a price-to-hardware ratio that is frankly unmatchable at the time of writing and a very eye-catching design, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro could well redefine what we expect from budget flagships in terms of price and even appearance.
Every once in a while, there comes along a phone that makes you wonder, “How on earth did they even manage to do this?” We remember getting those vibes with the likes of the Mi 3, the OG OnePlus One, and, well, with the iQOO 12 recently. As if surprising us with the iQOO 12 was not enough, Vivo’s sub-brand has now taken another rabbit out of its hat with the iQOO Neo 9 Pro.
The iQOO Neo series has always been about devices with surprisingly affordable price tags that have floated close to the flagship zone (generally with a slightly older chip). The iQOO Neo 9 Pro not only continues this tradition but actually adds a whole new chapter to it because, at its starting price of Rs 34,999, it pretty much is in a zone of its own. In more than one regard.
Table of ContentsiQOO Neo 9 Pro Design and Appearance: Ain’t no phone that looks like this!
When it comes to budget flagships, one of the corners most brands cut to get a more affordable price is design. Budget flagships are often slightly plain and predictable in design terms, fighting mainly on their spec-price equation. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro is quite a contrary beast because it is actually a beauty. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro has two color options – a quietly classy Conqueror Black with a gently shiny Fluorite AG glass back and, well, the OTHER one, the Fiery Red.
The Fiery Red features a dual-tone red and white design that is almost synonymous with the device because it is so strikingly different from anything in the market out there. As its name indicates, its back is a blend of a vertical white band and a slightly wider red one. Right at the top of the white band are the two jet-black cameras of the device, one below the other, arranged independently rather than as part of an elaborate camera unit. It is not just the color of this back that is striking. The texture is different, too, thanks to the use of vegan leather. Round that off with a shiny red frame, and you have one of the most recognizable phones on the market right now.
At 163.5 mm, it is a big phone, although it is impressively slim at about 8 mm and weighs 190 grams, which is lighter than what we expected it to be, going by its size. The display in front has no certified protection, although the phone itself has IP54 splash resistance. Some might not be too impressed by the plastic frame and might find the red and white combination a little too loud, but we think that this is one of the most striking phones out there.iQOO Neo 9 Pro specs: Spectacularly specced for the price
Its appearance is not the only thing that jumps out at you in the iQOO Neo 9 Pro. The phone packs in some very impressive hardware, perhaps the best for its price segment. It comes with a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED one with 1.5K resolution (2800 x 1260px) and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, one of the highest around. Powering the phone is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip, the favorite of 2023 flagship phones and still a very able performer in 2024. Accompanying it is iQOO’s Q1 supercomputing chip, which the brand claims significantly improves gameplay. These come with LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage in RAM and storage variants of 8 GB/ 128 GB, 8 GB/ 256 GB, and 12 GB/ 256 GB.
On the camera front, iQOO has opted for trimming the camera population – the iQOO Neo 9 Pro comes with only two cameras: a 50-megapixel IMX920 main sensor with OIS and an 8-megapixel ultrawide, while a 16-megapixel snapper in front handles selfie duties. Also on board are stereo speakers. Running all this is the task of a large-ish 5160 mAh battery with support for 120W charging and a 120W charger in the box for good measure. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro comes with Android 14, with Vivo’s FunTouch 14 interface on top of it.
