iQOO Neo 7 Pro review: Not just for gamers

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 is the flagship killer chipset of 2023, and the iQOO Neo 7 Pro is the most affordable smartphone with this chipset.

Starting at just ₹35,000, this phone offers incredible value for money.

Design

iQoo's designs are always unique, and the Neo 7 Pro is no exception. The large rectangular camera island is a bold statement, and this bright orange vegan leather back is sure to turn heads.

It's understandable if this colour is too much for you, so there’s a subtler dark blue option as well.

The back panel is also curved from the sides, which helps with grip, but the Neo 7 Pro is still a big phone and is quite boxy in hand.

The front of the phone has a flat display with bezels that are not the narrowest, but they're not too big either.

Display

This phone has a large 6.78-inch AMOLED display with an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz. Unfortunately, many apps, including some of the system apps do not take advantage of this high refresh rate.

Anyway, the display also has a Pro colour profile option, which makes everything quite accurate, albeit a bit dull.

The display also has a peak brightness of 1300 nits, as well as all the essential certifications like Widevine L1 and HDR10+.

Utility

The Neo 7 Pro has stereo speakers that are loud and balanced. They're perfect for watching movies or listening to music.

It also has an IR blaster, but I would have preferred a headphone jack instead.

Anyway, the phone can take two 5G SIM cards, and there is no room for expandable storage.

Moving on, the optical in-display fingerprint scanner on the iQOO Neo 7 Pro works great.

Performance & Software

Very recently, you had to empty your wallet quite a bit to buy a phone with the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC. Now you’re getting it for ₹35,000, and that’s a major win for the customer.

This chipset’s raw performance is frankly quite unbeatable at this price point. It plays demanding games without breaking a sweat.

iQOO has also added an additional gaming chip in this phone, which employs frame rate interpolation to make gaming a smooth experience.

The Neo 7 Pro also has commendable thermal efficiency as it does not heat very easily.

However, its GPU stability score was a bit disappointing for a gaming-focused phone.

Coming to software, the Funtouch OS 13 running on this phone does have its quirks, such as spammy notifications, and hot games and apps folders. However, these can be disabled, and the user experience is generally very good after that.

The 12GB RAM on our review device ensured smooth everyday performance. I didn't experience any lag or slowdown, even during multitasking or running demanding apps.

Cameras

The iQOO Neo 7 Pro comes with a 50MP main camera, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera.

I was expecting the camera setup to be strictly average since this is a gaming phone, but its main camera did impress me quite a bit.

This camera produces contrasty photos that work quite well. The colours are not the most saturated or accurate, but if you appreciate the dramatic colour science of the Google Pixel, you will like this camera as well.

Night time shots are also quite impressive by segment standards.

The video performance of the main sensor is great as well. Thanks to OIS, the camera is able to capture stable footage with good dynamic range.

The iQoo Neo 7 Pro's ultrawide camera is the typical 8MP unit that you find on almost every BBK mid-range smartphone. It produces decent photos that are usable for social media.

The macro sensor is there to make up the numbers.

Talking of the 16MP selfie camera, it’s not great since the dynamic range in photos leaves a lot to be desired.

Battery Life

Thanks to its 5,000mAh battery and power efficient chipset, the Neo 7 Pro’s battery backup is really good. You cannot kill it in one day unless and until you are on a gaming spree.

But that’s not even the best part, you get a bundled 120W adapter with this phone for insane charging speeds. I was able to charge it from 20 percent to 93 percent in around 20 minutes, which is below iQoo’s official claim, but still incredible nonetheless.

Just make sure you manually enable the max charging speed.

Verdict

The iQOO Neo 7 Pro starts out as a gaming-focused phone, but it ends up being a solid all-rounder instead.

Its great general performance, capable main camera, and crazy fast charging ensure that it will appeal to users far beyond gaming.

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