We used the international iQOO Neo9 Pro for over a month, and here’s what we found about it. iQOO launched the iQOO Neo9 and Neo9 Pro last year in China,.
iQOO launched the iQOO Neo9 and Neo9 Pro last year in China, but only one smartphone escaped the country – the iQOO Neo9, which was introduced as the Neo9 Pro in India. The most notable difference between the Chinese Neo9 – called Neo9 Pro globally – and the Chinese Neo9 Pro is in the chipset and camera departments.
The Neo9 Pro is powered by Dimensity 9300 SoC and features a 50MP ultrawide camera, while the Neo9 has the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip at the helm and sports an 8MP ultrawide camera. We used the Indian iQOO Neo9 Pro – sharing hardware with the Chinese Neo9 – for over a month, and here’s what we found about it.Design
The iQOO Neo9 Pro is built around a 6.78″ 8T LTPO AMOLED display having a 3,000 nits peak brightness and 144Hz screen refresh rate. The screen also has a punch-hole for the 16MP selfie camera and a fingerprint scanner embedded for biometric authentication.
The fingerprint reader was fast and accurate, and we faced no issues while using it. However, it could’ve been placed slightly higher for ease of reach, facilitating a more convenient smartphone unlocking experience.
Turn the phone around, and you see an LED flash and two cameras – 50MP primary and 8MP ultrawide. The iQOO Neo9 Pro comes in Fiery Red and Conqueror Black colors, and it’s the red version that we received for review.
The Conqueror Black version’s back cover is made of fingerprint-resistant Fluorite AG Glass, while the Fiery Red model’s rear panel flaunts a Dual-Tone Vegan Leather Design. iQOO says that it is carbon fiber vegan leather and skin-friendly lychee vegan leather “seamlessly integrated for an ultra-thin edge”, resulting in a “unique and premium look and feel.”
Well, the red model looks nice, and the faux leather – which is what it is – helps with the grip, but not as much as we’d have liked. It also doesn’t feel as premium as the leather finish we have on the more affordable Realme 12 Pro series smartphones.
On the upside, the iQOO Neo9 Pro Fiery Red’s vegan leather finish ensures it doesn’t get smudged with fingerprints, which would require constant wiping to keep the phone in its pristine form if you don’t use a protective case.
Regardless of which version you buy, the iQOO Neo9 Pro comes with flat frames and a back panel, with the latter having slightly curved edges like the iQOO 12, making the phone comfortable to hold despite flat frames. The smartphone is also light enough for prolonged usage. However, the protruding rear cameras make it wobble on flat surfaces and move when it vibrates upon receiving calls and notifications. That’s not ideal since the phone could fall if kept near the edge of a flat surface.
The iQOO Neo9 Pro’s right-side frame has a power button and volume rocker with decent feedback, and at the bottom is the USB-C port, flanked by a SIM card slot, primary microphone, and a speaker grille. Up top is another microphone, joined by an IR blaster.
The Neo9 Pro is IP54-rated, and we like its overall design.Display
The iQOO Neo9 Pro packs a 6.78″ 144Hz 8T LTPO Always-On AMOLED display of 2,800×1,260-pixel resolution and 452 ppi pixel density. It’s protected by Schott Xensation Up and supports 1.07 billion colors. It also has HLG, HDR10, HDR10+, and Widevine L1 certifications.
iQOO went with an X-Axis Linear Motor for the Neo9 Pro, which provided great haptic feedback that made typing on the screen fun. It also provides 4D Game Vibration when gaming, which enhances the overall gaming experience.
