iQOO, a subsidiary of Vivo, is slowly emerging into a prominent brand. It focuses on delivering cutting-edge technology and high-performance devices tailored for gaming enthusiasts and power users. The brand is renowned for its commitment to pushing the boundaries of mobile gaming experiences. The brand offers powerful processors, high-refresh-rate displays, and advanced cooling systems in their smartphones in affordable price ranges. It has successfully carved a niche for itself by blending sleek design aesthetics with top-tier hardware specifications. As a testament to its success, iQOO has garnered a dedicated fan base and established itself as a key player in the competitive smartphone market.
The numbered series such as iQOO 7, 9, 11 are the top end smartphone from iQOO. These smartphones are known for their cutting-edge technology and high-performance capabilities and exceptional gaming experiences. Similarly, these devices are equipped with powerful processors, often featuring the latest advancements from manufacturers like Qualcomm. High-refresh-rate displays, advanced cooling systems, are some of the best features of this these smartphones.
Now, iQOO has launched iQOO12, the newest of their numbered series smartphones. Let’s go and deep dive to explore the latest advancements iQOO has made to its newest release
The iQOO 12, available in Alpha and Legend models, showcases a stunning design with attention to detail and premium materials. The Legend model features a silver frame and a white back panel adorned with BMW M Motorsport stripes. The Alpha version, on the other hand, sports a black rear panel with a silk-like finish. Both variants boast a sleek and glossy appearance, with the camera island inspired by ship portholes adding a unique touch. The device’s frame, though flat, ends with a slight curvature, enhancing its ergonomic feel in hand. IP64-rated for dust protection and water splash resistance, the iQOO 12 houses a 6.78-inch E7 AMOLED panel with a high resolution, refresh rate, and brightness. Notably, the absence of Gorilla Glass protection and wireless charging support are drawbacks in an otherwise impressive display.
Despite its undeniable allure, the iQOO 12, weighing around 204 grams, is notably slippery, prompting the recommendation to use the provided case for a more secure grip. The dimensions of 163.2 x 75.9 x 8.1 mm (or 8.4 mm) contribute to its sleek profile. The device incorporates a range of thoughtful features, such as an optical fingerprint reader under the display, dual speakers cleverly integrated into the earpiece, and a robust camera setup, including a 50MP primary camera, a 50MP ultrawide lens, and a 64MP telephoto lens. The iQOO 12 stands out as a well-built and visually appealing smartphone, making a statement in the competitive market, but potential buyers should be mindful of the lack of Gorilla Glass protection and wireless charging.
“Design is the most pro feature of this smartphone. However, the absence of Gorilla Glass protection is a bit weird.”
The iQOO 12 is the first smartphone to use the most recent Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset. It is intended to provide a notable improvement in efficiency and performance over its predecessor. Constructed using the cutting-edge 4nm process, the eight-core processor has a special design that includes two efficiency Cortex-A520 cores operating at 2.3 GHz, five performance Cortex-A720 cores operating at 3.2 GHz, and a prime Cortex-X4 core operating at 3.3 GHz. They all arranged in a four-cluster 1+3+2+2 architecture. This configuration offers a ‘Console-defying’ gaming at 240 frames per second. IQOO 12 is also equipped with Adreno 750 GPU. It also supports Unreal Engine 5.2 and has the Adreno Frame Motion Engine 2.0 for smoother playback. The AI capabilities of the chip are impressive; they improve a number of features, including image creation, speech recognition, quick AI assistant responses, and camera capability.
The iQOO 12 offers impressive memory configurations, supporting LPDDR5x RAM up to 4800 MHz and UFS 4.0 storage. The device is equipped with the X75 5G modem, supporting both sub-6 GHz and mmWave antennas for high-speed connectivity. Available in three configurations, the iQOO 12 boasts options of 12GB/256GB, 16GB/512GB, and 16GB/1TB, providing ample storage for users with varying needs. In benchmark tests, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 exhibited a notable 30% increase in multi-core and 20% in single-core performance compared to its predecessor, showcasing its prowess in handling CPU-intensive tasks. The phone has scored over 6953 in multi-core score. It is even greater than OPPO Find X6 Pro and S23 Ultra. The iQOO 12, with its cutting-edge chipset and robust specifications, stands as a promising contender in the competitive smartphone landscape.
Gaming:
Gaming on this smartphone is an absolute delight. The Adrena 750 GPU is 25% faster, 25% more power efficient, and brings 40% better Ray Tracing compared to the Adreno 740. Above all, it posses a 6K VC Four-Zone Cooling System along with Thermal Identification 3.0 which makes the gaming experience even better. I played PUBG, FC24 and Genshin impact which are big games and I haven’t saw a single jitter or lag on screen. In addition to that, iQOO 12 possess 2160 Hz PWM dimming which comes in handy for long gaming sessions.
“If you want performance and gaming prowess, iQOO 12 is a great choice.”
iQOO 12 Review: Camera
The iQOO 12’s rear camera system is built around a premium triple-lens setup that pushes the limits of smartphone photography. Leading the pack is the 50MP primary camera, which is equipped with the new OmniVision OV50H sensor. Its large 1/1.3″ sensor area, 1.2µm pixels, optical image stabilization, and Quad-PD autofocus enable it to produce incredibly stable and detailed images. The primary camera can capture daily sights or detailed objects, and it always yields images with excellent dynamic range and vivid contrast. The addition of a 50MP ultrawide camera increases the adaptability even more by providing wide-angle perspectives and autofocus capabilities for stunning macro photos. With a 3x optical and 10x lossless zoom, the 64MP telephoto lens is particularly remarkable, producing superb close-up shots and enabling artistic depth-of-field effects with organic bokeh.
Complementing the impressive hardware, the iQOO 12 introduces advanced photography modes. It enhanced the creative potential of its users. The 50MP high-resolution mode allows for capturing intricate details, providing a boost in clarity and realism. The camera’s ability to navigate between various shooting modes, including Night Mode, Super Macro, and even a 50MP ultrawide high-resolution mode. These modes showcases its adaptability across different scenarios.
The flagship-grade camera system, from the primary sensor to the telephoto lens, delivers photos that go beyond meeting expectations. The flexibility to seamlessly transition between different lenses and modes did make iQOO 12 amazing over well-lit environments to challenging low-light conditions. Despite occasional processing imperfections, the overall back camera experience of the iQOO 12 remains a highlight.
Front Camera
Video Performance
Main Camera 4K and 8K Capabilities:
The main camera’s ability to shoot 4K videos at up to 60fps, 8K at 30fps, provides users with flexibility in choosing video resolutions. While the 4K footage exhibits acceptable quality with good color reproduction, wide dynamic range, and minimal noise, the 8K mode, despite offering increased sharpness, might not show a significant advantage in certain scenarios. Users can appreciate the flexibility of the electronic stabilization, effectively reducing shakes and ensuring smoother footage in 4K and 1080P alone.
Telephoto & Ultrawide
The telephoto camera’s 3x zoomed videos stand out for their detailed and sharp quality. With accurate colors, high contrast, and wide dynamic range, these videos showcase the telephoto lens’s capabilities, making it an excellent choice for capturing distant subjects with clarity. The electronic stabilization further enhances the video quality, making it suitable for various shooting conditions, including walking and panning.
The ultrawide camera’s contribution to video recording is notable, particularly in broad daylight. 4K videos captured by the ultrawide lens display impressive detail, accurate colors, and wide dynamic range. The electronic stabilization proves effective, ensuring steady footage even in dynamic shooting situations.
Selfie Camera Limitations: While the iQOO 12’s selfie camera offers satisfactory photo quality, its limitations become more apparent in video recording. The absence of electronic stabilization results in shaky footage, diminishing the overall video quality. The lack of detail in selfie videos is another aspect that might leave users wanting more, especially in comparison to the robust performance of the rear cameras.
“Overall, except the sub-par front camera, everything else is on point “
iQOO 12 Review: Battery & Charging
Battery Performance and Charging Speed:
The iQOO 12 boasts a substantial 5,000 mAh battery. It possess graphite-enhanced technology to maintain at least 80% of its capacity after 1,600 charging cycles. The Active User Score of 13:30 hours positions it favorably in terms of overall battery endurance. The performance is aligning closely with competitors like the Galaxy S23 Ultra. The device’s individual performance metrics further highlight its reliability, enduring over a day during voice calls, exceeding 11 hours in web browsing, nearly 18 hours in video streaming, and providing 8.5 hours of gaming on a single charge.
The iQOO 12’s compatibility with 120W FlashCharge technology is one of its most notable features. The smartphone charges to 30% in just 5 minutes, and it reaches 69% in 15 minutes. This is rather impressive. In just 26 minutes, the charging cycle is finished with a full charge. It is noteworthy, nevertheless, that the iQOO 12 lacks wireless charging features.
“Overall, We can see 5000 mAh in most of the phones now. However, charging speed is great here. However, lack of wireless charging totally killed the flow here”
The iQOO 12 is powered by Android 14, which has been customized with Funtouch OS v14. Users are promised a streamlined experience with less bloatware, three years of Android upgrades, and four years of security fixes. The interface looks good, however, it does not provide that ease of flow like stock android. Overall, the skin looks pretty much a downside for me. However, the familiarity with stock android extends to the notification shade, adopting Google’s large bubble-style quick toggles. The app drawer introduces an expandable recommended apps category and utilizes a vertical scroller for efficient navigation. Beyond stock Android features, vivo injects non-stock elements, including dynamic effects for customization, offering various charging and facial recognition animations. The UI also showcases customization options for the always-on display, providing a plethora of animations, clock styles, colors, and backgrounds.
While iQOO has made steps to remove bloatware, several pre-installed apps remain still. The apps including iQOO, iQOO Cloud, Shopee, Spotify, TikTok, Viu, and Agoda. Users have the ability to uninstall these programs, but their presence underlines an ongoing issue with bloatware. The Funtouch launcher includes its own collection of programs, including a gallery, audio and video players, system manager, Smart Remote for the IR blaster, and dedicated Themes app, with the vivo App Store rounding out the software choices. I don’t understand why there is so much signup process involved with vivo cloud and other apps when I clearly stated I want to opted out of them. The OS is quickly recommending these actions out of no where and its frustrating to close them.
“Overall, OS is where this phone was dragged down”
The iQOO 12 outperforms its predecessor, the iQOO 11, with an enhanced 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display, most likely Visionox 8T. This display has a resolution of 1,260 x 2,800 pixels (453ppi), a dynamic refresh rate of up to 144Hz, and a pulse-width modulation of 2,160Hz for flicker-free dimming. The HDR10+ certification, combined with a high maximum brightness of 1,400 nits (peaking at 3,000 nits), guarantees vibrant and detailed graphics. Furthermore, the display’s 10-bit color depth allows it to display over 1 billion colors, covering the DCI-P3 color space. Our display test confirms iQOO’s promises, with a maximum brightness of 502 nits when manually adjusted, and over 1,400 nits when using the Auto Brightness mode.
The iQOO 12 introduces an adaptive refresh rate with three modes: High (up to 144Hz), Standard (up to 60Hz), and Smart Switch, which automatically adjusts between 60Hz and 90Hz for specific apps. The display intelligently drops to 1Hz during static content display and can reach up to 144Hz for games and benchmarks. Streaming apps and video players under Smart Switch utilize 90Hz, while High mode employs 120Hz, adapting dynamically based on the content’s frame rate.
Widevine L1 DRM support enables Full HD streaming with HDR10 on popular platforms like Netflix. The Display options menu offers visual enhancements such as Visual Enhancement (optimizing colors and contrast in select video apps), MEMC, and Super Resolution for smoother visuals. While these enhancements may provide a boost in color saturation and contrast, they should be used judiciously considering potential impacts on battery life and the intended cinematic experience.
The iQOO 12 is equipped with stereo speakers that have demonstrated a commendable loudness level. The iQOO 12 is equipped with stereo speakers that have demonstrated a commendable loudness level. Users that value volume may find the iQOO 12’s dual speakers to be more than enough for a variety of multimedia applications. Additional audio peripherals or enhancements may be considered for individuals desiring a more immersive and balanced audio experience with noticeable bass. There is also no dolby atmos support which is weird as well.
“Overall the viewing experience is great and sound is satisfactory”
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