iQOO Neo 9 Pro: Design and performance overview

Of late, iQOO has established itself as the maker of bang-for-buck smartphones. The company’s flagship iQOO 12 is a testament to this.

And now, iQOO plans to continue its streak in 2024 with this new iQOO Neo 9 Pro.

Succeeding the Neo 7 Pro from last year, this will likely be India's most affordable Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-powered smartphone, offering flagship performance without breaking the bank.

Generally, a powerful chip at an affordable price generally means compromises in other areas. But, it is not the case here.

For instance, the Neo 9 Pro comes with the same dedicated Q1 gaming chip that we saw on the flagship iQOO 12.

So, popular supported games like BGMI run at 90fps natively, and at 144fps with frame rate interpolation.

Then, iQOO has also decided to equip the Neo 9 Pro with fast UFS 4.0 storage as standard. Therefore, 256GB will be the base storage option on this smartphone.

Powerful gaming hardware also requires a great display to complete the experience. And Neo 9 Pro’s display looks like it has been lifted from the flagship iQOO 12.

It is a 6.78 inch LTPO AMOLED panel with a 1.5K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and a peak brightness of 3000 nits.

Now, let’s shift focus on the unmissable: this dual tone red colour. This is the first dual tone device from iQOO and it comes with textured vegan leather back.

This red is unapologetically loud, and it extends to the frame as well. It creates a stark contrast with the light grey colour band at the back.

Some will love this colour, others will find it too much in their face. If you’re in the latter category then worry not, since a shimmery black variant will also be on offer.

iQOO has also pulled off a hard engineering feat: they’ve made the battery bigger at 5,160mAh, while making the phone slimmer at 7.99mm versus the Neo 7 Pro.

The ultra-quick 120W charging also makes a comeback on this smartphone.

The iQOO Neo 9 Pro launches on February 22, 2024, and we expect it to redefine value for money.

We’re working on our full review of this smartphone, so stay tuned to Editorji!