iQoo Z3

                                                        iQoo Z3

' iQoo is no stranger to 5G. It has launched four smartphones in India so far, and all of them (including the Z3) support 5G. Since networks have yet to become operational in India, it makes a lot of sense for smartphone manufacturers to not rely only on high-speed data as a selling point. In fact, every manufacturer offering a smartphone priced between Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 22,000 has managed to bring something more to the table. Xiaomi offers a 108-megapixel camera on its Mi 10i (Review), Realme's X7 5G (Review) gets you dual 5G standby and a 120Hz Super AMOLED display, and the list goes on.

This being iQoo's first affordable smartphone for the Indian market, it has gone with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G processor, which should remain exclusive for a while. In a smartphone segment that's crowded with devices from many manufacturers, has iQoo done enough to draw attention to its newest offering?

I received a Cyber Blue unit of the iQoo Z3 for review. The smartphone's frame and rear panel are made of plastic. The matte back panel feels smooth, and is good at not picking up fingerprints, but allows dust to build up easily. The Cyber Blue finish has a rainbow-like multicolour pearlescent finish that looks different when viewed from different angles. Those looking for something more subtle should go for the Ace Black finish, which features a grey and black gradient.

core, another 2.4GHz Kryo 475 Gold core, and six 1.8GHz Kryo 475 Silver cores. Compared to the Snapdragon 750G processor used in many other smartphones at this price point, the 768G offers higher CPU and GPU clock speeds and is built on a 7nm manufacturing process (instead of 8nm).iQoo has launched the Z3 in three configurations in India. There is a 6GB RAM +128GB storage variant, an 8GB RAM + 128GB storage option, and an 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. All of them support up to a 1TB microSD card for expansion using the hybrid SIM slot.

The iQoo Z3 uses Vivo's FunTouch OS. Currently at version 11.1, it is based on Android 11, and my unit was running the May 2021 Android security update. At the time of writing this review, iQoo has yet to announce anything about a move to Vivo's next-gen Origin OS, which is already available on the Chinese variant of this phone.

The 6.5-inch FHD+ LCD on the iQoo Z3 features a refresh rate of 120Hz and a touch sampling rate of 180Hz, which is useful while playing games. It uses reinforced Panda glass, which picks up fingerprints easily, and these are also quite hard to wipe off. The display gets sufficiently bright in sunlight. Colours appear a bit saturated but text and images look sharp. The 120Hz refresh rate made the software feel quite fluid in everyday use. iQoo claims that the display is HDR10 certified. I was able to stream HDR content on the Youtube app, but Netflix did not support it.

General performance was top-notch with no stuttering or lag. The new Snapdragon 768G SoC showed a noticeable bump in scores in our benchmarking tests. The iQoo Z3 managed a score of 4,45,029 in AnTuTu, as well as 710 and 1,985 in Geekbench 5's single and multi-core tests. The processor definitely performed better than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G in the OnePlus Nord CE 5G (Review), which managed scores of 3,91,813 in AnTuTu along with 639 and 1830 in Geekbench 5's single and multi-core tests.

The Snapdragon 765G was a good processor for mid-level gaming, and the 768G also offers good graphics performance. The iQoo Z3 performed well when playing Call of Duty: Mobile at the default High graphics and High frame rate settings, running smoothly and showing no signs of overheating. The phone started to warm up after switching the graphics and framerate to Very High (with anti-aliasing on), but maintained performance in the game. Asphalt 9 Legends also ran impressively at High Quality with no stutters or lag.

The single speaker at the bottom gets quite loud, but sounds tinny. It is good enough for gaming, but not so much for watching movies or listening to music. At least iQoo has given this phone a 3.5mm headphone jack for those who desire better audio quality.

The 4,400mAh battery charges up quite quickly, going from no power to 67 percent in 30 minutes and completing the charge in 60 minutes. As for battery life, the phone achieved an impressive score of 19 hours and 32 minutes in our HD video loop test. With an hour of gaming, some photos, phone calls, and constantly checking social media apps, the phone managed most days with 30-40 percent left in the battery at night, which is quite good.

The iQoo Z3 features a triple rear camera setup with a 64-megapixel f/1.79 primary camera, an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide camera, and a 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro camera. The selfie camera features a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. The camera interface is what you'd find on most iQoo and Vivo smartphones. The default visible camera modes can be swapped for whatever you will frequently use.

iQoo Z3

SAIF QURESHI