iQOO Neo 7 5G Review: A powerful mid-ranger – Smartprix

iQOO Neo 7 5G: Design

In terms of design, there is not much of a difference between the iQOO Neo 7 and the iQOO Neo 6. If you look closely, there is hardly a difference between the camera modules of the two smartphones. iQOO Neo 7 has a similar design to its predecessor with a big square camera module on the left side, but the position of the LED flash is now below the camera lenses. There is a black circular ring inside the module that contains 2 camera lenses, and below it is a light blue square that has one more lens. There is Neo branding as well. The rear panel is made of polycarbonate which does change color when light falls on it.

One thing that was felt when iQOO Neo 7 was held in hand was that it has become slightly bigger than its predecessor.  Compared to Neo 6, the iQOO has increased the display size as well as the weight of the device and the reason behind it is a larger battery.  The thickness though, hasn’t been increased so it is still 8.58mm which is good. At the front is a 6.78-inch display with noticeable bezels at the bottom. At the top in the center is a selfie camera. Despite a larger battery and a bigger display, the smartphone doesn’t feel very bulky in hand.  

Between the display and the rear panel is a thin aluminum frame and the smartphone comes with curved edges. The back has a matte finish, but still, the device feels slippery in hand so use the protective case to solve this problem. With this protective case, the camera bump rests well on flat surfaces and the device gets a better grip in hand.

The top edge of the smartphone houses an IR Blaster and a noise-cancellation microphone, while the bottom edge houses a SIM tray, secondary microphone, Type-C port, and speaker grille. The right edge has volume rockers and a power button while the smartphone is easily accessible with one hand. The left edge is left vacant.

The iQOO Neo 7 5G comes in 2 colors- Interstellar Black and Frost Blue. We received the Frost Blue variant and we loved this color with its shade-changing design. All in all, the design is pretty ordinary, but the smartphone feels good in hand. The design could have been made more fun though.

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iQOO Neo 7 5G Review: Display

iQOO Neo 7 5G comes with a good display considering the fact that it belongs to the mid-ranger category. It sports a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel that produces good colors. There are 3 modes in the display, out of which natural mode was found most useful by us. This mode produces real colors while the Vivid mode shows boosted colors. The panel supports 1300 nits brightness, and the screen is visible in daylight and at maximum brightness.

The display supports a 120Hz refresh rate that is adaptive. When the Smart Switch mode is turned on, the refresh rate changes between 60Hz and 120Hz. For example, When you are scrolling in Google or Discover feed, the refresh rate remains 120Hz, however, when you are watching content on Netflix, Youtube, or other apps, the display runs at 60Hz. The strange part is that even while playing games like COD too, the refresh rate remains 60Hz. However, if you go to refresh rate settings, and set it to 120Hz then it will be a different matter altogether. With this refresh rate, scrolling is fun and gaming happens at 90Hz.

iQOO Neo 7 5G comes with Widevine L1 and HDR support for apps like YouTube. When HDR is used to watch videos, visuals seem sharp and viewing angles look good. The dynamic range and colors are decent as well. However, if you look closely, colors like red and green appear slightly boosted. On Netflix, we watched a web series named Umbrella, the visuals of which look good and thin bezels on 3 sides make the visuals look large as well. The Selfie lens looks small so it doesn’t interfere with content consumption at any point in time. Keeping the price in mind, there are no complaints regarding the display of this smartphone.

iQOO Neo 7 5G Review: Camera

The iQOO Neo 7 5G features a triple camera setup at the back. It includes a 64MP primary camera with f/1.79 aperture and OIS. The primary camera works better than expected. Shots clicked in the daytime are full of details and have good dynamic range. The shots have bright and vibrant colors which look natural. Although pictures clicked with AI show higher saturation levels, but this can be overlooked if you are not an avid photographer. The smartphone can be used to click good photos even in low light, though details are slightly less. There is a Night Mode as well, which works well only when there is very low light.

Apart from the primary camera, there are two 2MP sensors- depth and macro. Both these 2MP lenses don’t serve much purpose and we feel these exist only to make it a triple camera setup.

Talking about the selfie camera, iQOO Neo 7 5G has a 16MP lens at the front with f/2.5 aperture. Shots taken with this selfie camera are good, details are satisfactory as well but the faces seem too beautified due to filters. All the marks on the faces have been cleared out, post which the image no longer looks natural or real. I didn’t like this at all. This will work for those who need beautification mode for social media photos.

The rear camera comes with Portrait, Vlog movie, Slo-mo, Panorama, Pro, 64MP, Time-Lapse, Sports, and more modes that allows one to have fun with this setup.

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iQOO Neo 7 5G Review: Performance

iQOO Neo 7 5G is the first ever smartphone to be powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset. This octa-core processor is based on a 4nm manufacturing process and comes with a primary X Arm Cortex A78 core with a clock speed of 3.1GHz, 3 Arm Cortex A78 with 3.0GHz, and 4 power efficiency Arm Cortex A-55 cores with 2.0GHz.

This chipset comes with MediaTek HyperEngine 6.0 technology and iqoo claims that this will improve the gaming performance. We played Call of Duty for a while on this one. Before the gaming session, the refresh rate was kept 120Hz but as soon as gaming started it became 90Hz. Graphics were set to High while the Frame rate was set to Very High. We must say, the game ran smoothly for 40 minutes. There were no lags, no stutters, and not even the heating of the device even after such a long gaming session. The smartphone comes with Ultra Game Mode which has features like vibration and motion control, which make gaming even more immersive.

I used the smartphone all day, with tasks ranging from Instagram scrolling to calling to gaming to video streaming and more. Even when all these apps were running simultaneously, the iQOO Neo 7 was smooth and efficient. Multitasking was a breeze.

Some benchmark tests were performed, the results of which are below-

Talking about software, iQOO Neo 7 5G runs Android 13 with Fun Touch OS 13. This comes with battery privacy and personalization options. One can change the colors of the UI and app icons as well. Features like app pining, weather, and AQI card are also available. Whereas some new features might prove to be beneficial but loads of bloatware spoils the experience. The smartphone has apps like Netflix, Amazon, Byjus, Linked In, Snapchat, and Facebook preinstalled. Although these can be deleted there are some Vivo apps too which can’t be uninstalled.

While calling, the voice quality is clear. For audio, there is a single speaker but in a small room and silent environment, it is sufficient for listening to music or watching videos. Using a headphone while watching a video will give an even better audio experience. There is a type-c 3.5mm audio jack connector inside the box.

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iQOO Neo 7 5G Review: Battery

In the battery department, iQOO has sure given an upgrade. iQOO Neo 6 had a 4700mAh battery with 80W wired fast charging. Whereas iQOO Neo 7 5G packs a 5000mAh battery under the hood with 120W wired flash fast charging support. Almost all devices come with a 5000mAh battery these days, but the difference is visible in battery life. Neo 7 is a smartphone that has a good battery backup. Our usage included gaming sessions, app usage the entire day, calling, streaming on music apps, and other tasks but still, there was about 30% battery remaining at the end of the day.

Fast charging is impressive as well. When we received iQOO Neo 7, we waited for it to discharge completely and then recharged it by using the 120W charger bundled inside the box. Within 10 minutes the battery charged to 50%. Charging from 0 to 100% takes about 25 minutes. However, if you are using the device while it is charging, then there’s a slight increase in charging time. But one should always avoid using the device while it is charging. Overall Battery and Charging speed, are impressive.

iQOO Neo 7 5G Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

iQOO Neo 7 5G is a mid-range smartphone and if we consider its price point, then it is powerful as well. The smartphone has a good display with decent brightness and viewing angles if we compare it to its competitors in the market. The brand has improved gaming as well with the help of a new chipset and a better cooling system. Although secondary cameras are not up to the mark, then this one is not a camera-centric device. Despite that, it has a good primary camera and front camera that work as per expectations. In this price range, battery life and fast charging capability are good as well.

In the 30K budget, iQOO Neo 7 5G can be called one of the best smartphones available. The only areas where it lags behind are design and camera so if your priority is any of these two areas, then turn to other options. Otherwise, this one is a powerful, everyday-usage smartphone that gives a good performance.