We have been looking for some proper smartphones at a medium price range for a fairly long time now. In fact, the entire year. And we have seen a bit of this and that, but none ultimately convinced us to say, let’s grab a piece of this device. Xiaomi 13 Lite and Realme GT Neo 5 were exceptions, and we almost felt like getting one of those, but because of a few lacking, we decided against them. Now, Vivo at the end of the year announced Vivo iQOO Neo9 and iQOO Neo9 Pro. These phones will go on sale in China from 30th December. Their prices are following:
IQOO Neo9
12/256 GB – CNY 2299 | BDT 35,500 | USD 323
16/256 GB – CNY 2499 | BDT 38,600 | USD 352
16/512 GB – CNY 2799 | BDT 43,300 | USD 394
16GB/1TB – CNY 3199 | BDT 49,500 | USD 450
IQOO Neo9 Pro
12/256 GB – CNY 2999 | BDT 46,400 | USD 422
12/512 GB – CNY 3299 | BDT 51,000 | USD 464
16/512 GB – CNY 3599 | BDT 55,600 | USD 506
16GB/1TB – CNY 3999 | BDT 61,800 | USD 563
Well, don’t get too excited because they will cost more outside of China. These devices are also expected to arrive in India soon. But the difference in cost shouldn’t be that big. Also, in Bangladesh, the unofficial variants (China import) should enter in the next few weeks. The sellers put a higher price at the beginning but it stabilizes after a few weeks. So, we recommend you to have a bit of patience for now if you are located outside of China. But let us now describe a little why we want to get a piece of one of these phones.
Vivo IQOO Neo9
First, let us make it clear that it has a few shortcomings such as a screen protection and an IP rated water splash protection are missing. We don’t want a phone like this to be as unprotected as this and get damaged easily. But you can buy a screen protector and carry a waterproof phone cover if you are to confront rain outdoors or want to take it in the pool area. They are going to cost a few extra bucks, but the point is that it is manageable and isn’t a big deal.
The pricing is just what we can afford for a phone of our kind. We’d say it is giving everything that we desire at the minimum price compared to other phones out there right now. The design is of our liking. We especially like the red/white color with eco-leather back. There is also a glossy blue and frosted black color both made of glass, if that’s your taste. Design gets our top mark. Yes, it doesn’t offer something fancy like Realme GT Neo 5 notification light on the back or like the transparent back part of Nothing Phone 1. IQOO Neo9 is more of a down-to-earth phone both for casual stylish usage or even for a professional or geeky settings. It’s simple but versatile, with a fusion of vintage and modern art. This is prime.
The screen quality is up to the mark and there is nothing too much to say about it. We have 1.5 high resolution. It’s better than Full HD and slightly lower than QHD but it’s just right and the color accuracy and depth are gorgeous so, you won’t feel that anything is lacking. The size is large and perfect with 6.78-inch. We got 144Hz high refresh rate for smooth touch and scrolling experience. It is one billion colors supported and has 1400 nits max. Brightness. All good.
Usually a gaming phone means a bad camera. It’s almost always the case, especially if we are dealing with a flagship killer. This is where IQOO Neo9 stands out the most. We have already seen photo samples from the 50 MP Sony IMX920 sensor camera and the colors are gorgeous. We were surprised that Vivo could deliver such a good camera altogether. You’ll find reviews coming up in the next few days to check it out for yourself. The selfie camera isn’t the best but still of decent standard. You can get stable 4K footage (8K also supported) with the primary camera and 1080p recording with the selfie camera. It’s also an appropriate fit for vloggers as well.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is a well-known established chipset in the industry. It was Qualcomm’s best chipset since November 15, 2022, until the recent time when they released the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3. Still, the difference isn’t that huge and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is something that you can trust for long-term stable performance and for sustainable high-range gaming. Vivo added a few features to optimize it further, such as a self developed Q1 chip, VC Liquid Cooling, Monster gaming mode, and so on. 12 GB RAM size is sufficient, but there is also a 16 GB RAM option. Storage is super fast with the latest UFS 4.0 technology. There are options from 256 GB to 1 TB. For sound, dual stereo speakers are added. We got the latest Wi-Fi 7 and 5G support as well.
Its battery size is 5160 mAh with a 120W charger. The latest Android 14 version is delivered and we are expecting a few further OS upgrades. We don’t see anything missing, truly so.
Vivo IQOO Neo9 Pro
The Pro version has everything the base version is offering and a bit more. Body dimension, design, display and most other features remain the same. The first difference is in its camera. We got a much better 50 MP ultrawide lens compared to the base model’s 8 MP ultrawide lens. Not a lot of users need the ultrawide lens. However, if that’s your thing, Vivo is offering it to you here.
The next big change is in the chipset. We got a MediaTek Dimensity 9300 chipset which is the no. 1 in the industry right now according to most well-known benchmark tests and reviewers. So, you are getting maximum performance here. Some of you may prefer a chipset from Qualcomm over a MediaTek one, even if Qualcomm is giving a slightly lower performance score. This is because of Qualcomm’s reputation and their chip structure. Dimensity 9300 is still the boss for now but if you prefer Qualcomm, take the base variant.
Apart from the chipset and the ultrawide lens, there is a 360º antenna design for better signal reception and connectivity. The selfie camera also comes with a Samsung JN1 sensor whereas we are not sure about the Neo9 front cam sensor. Everything else is more or less the same in both phones. If you can pay a bit more cash and want maximum experience, you can think about this pro model. Nevertheless, the regular Neo9 also works great and is also much more budget friendly.
Source 1, Source 2 (in Chinese)
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