iQoo 11 5G is the primary flagship Android smartphone of 2023 to reach in India. The telephone is a successor to the iQoo 9T, which launched final yr. Positioned because the world’s quickest Android smartphone, the iQoo 11 5G options Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC. The telephone additionally packs premium {hardware} corresponding to a 2K AMOLED show, a 50-megapixel main digital camera, and help for 120W quick charging.
The brand new handset has obtained some ‘professional’ options however as they are saying, upgrades come at a value. The iQoo 11 5G is way dearer than the outgoing mannequin. Must you purchase the iQoo 11 5G or await different flagship telephones to launch? Right here is our full overview that will help you determine.
iQoo 11 5G worth in India
The iQoo 11 5G has been launched in two configurations. The bottom mannequin packs 8GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It’s priced at Rs. 59,999. The variant we’re reviewing prices Rs. 64,999 and packs 16GB of RAM with 256GB of storage. As a part of the launch presents, HDFC Financial institution and ICICI Financial institution cardholders are eligible for a Rs. 5,000 low cost.
iQoo 11 5G design and show
The iQoo 11 5G is available in two colors and finishes. The corporate despatched us the Legend variant, which has the basic white rear panel with the BMW Motorsport-inspired racing stripe design. This specific variant makes use of a mixture of fibreglass and silicone leather-based. The telephone feels fairly refreshing to carry and have a look at with out compromising on the premium in-hand really feel. The Alpha color variant has a glass again and is a safer choice for individuals who need the basic black color. Each fashions include a steel chassis for higher sturdiness and a premium contact.
The iQoo 11 5G in its Legend color choice
The telephone is pretty tall and isn’t meant for one-handed use. It measures round 8.72mm in thickness. The telephone’s energy and quantity buttons are situated on the proper facet and are straightforward to succeed in. Regardless of weighing about 205g, the telephone doesn’t really feel very heavy. In fact, if you’re coming from a lighter telephone then you might be sure to really feel the dense weight.
On the entrance, the iQoo 11 5G has a 6.78-inch AMOLED show with a 2K decision. As a result of the display presents vivid colors and deep blacks, the viewing expertise is nice. The cherry on prime is the set of extra options that improve the multimedia expertise. These embody as much as 1800 nits of peak brightness (for outdoor, underneath daylight), help for WideVine L1, and HDR10 content material help in apps corresponding to Netflix.
The show bezel across the chin of the iQoo 11 5G is barely thicker than different bezels. There’s a hole-punch reduce out on the prime for the entrance digital camera. The display additionally has a layer of Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus, which ought to make it extra immune to scratches or shattering throughout unintended drops.
The show of the iQoo 11 5G additionally intelligently switches between 1Hz and 144Hz relying on the on-screen content material. iQoo appears to have some pending optimisations for operating apps at 144Hz as in my expertise, most apps that I attempted ran at 120Hz. Out of the three refresh fee settings, I most well-liked utilizing Sensible Change, which adjusts the refresh fee robotically based mostly on the system energy consumption and precise utilization situation. Oddly, there have been a couple of stutters within the UI on a choose few apps corresponding to Twitter and Instagram. Alternatively, you may set the refresh fee at Commonplace (60Hz) or Excessive (as much as 144Hz).
The iQoo 11 5G has pretty skinny bezels round its AMOLED show
There’s additionally a wise refresh fee characteristic on the iQoo 11 5G the place solely a portion of the show refreshes at the next fee when required. That is potential in a couple of apps corresponding to YouTube the place the feedback part, for instance, refreshes at the next fee when scrolling, whereas the a part of the show the place the video is being performed refreshes at a decrease fee. iQoo claims that the clever switching helps cut back energy consumption. The show additionally helps a characteristic known as Monster Contact, which helps you to use parts of the show as extra in-game buttons inside sure video games.
iQoo 11 5G specs and software program
As talked about above, the iQoo 11 5G is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC making it the primary smartphone in India with this new flagship SoC. There’s additionally a devoted Vivo V2 chip, which claims to assist improve the digital camera, show and gaming expertise. The telephone additionally packs an even bigger 5,000mAh battery, in comparison with the iQoo 9T’s 4,700mAh cell. The 120W quick charger is supplied contained in the field.
There’s a fast and responsive in-display fingerprint scanner and help for AI face recognition as effectively. Wi-fi connectivity consists of Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.3, USB Kind-C port, GPS, and so on. The iQoo 11 5G doesn’t get an IP ranking and doesn’t help wi-fi charging, which is disappointing.
When it comes to software program, the iQoo 11 5G runs on the most recent Android 13 out of the field. It has a layer of Vivo’s Funtouch OS 13 on prime. The customized pores and skin has a number of choices for customising animations, app icon form and dimension, altering wallpapers, and so on. Funtouch OS 13 additionally helps Android 13’s system UI color palette characteristic and adjusts the system-wide color based mostly on the wallpaper or theme set by the consumer.
Funtouch OS additionally lets customers create visitor profiles so others can use the identical telephone, with out having access to your apps and information. Consider it as a Netflix or Amazon Prime Video consumer profile, the place every consumer has a document of their very own watch historical past, preferences, and so on. It is a good privateness characteristic for individuals who usually hand their telephone to different individuals to make use of.
You additionally get help for including widgets to the house display. Along with this, the software program helps Android 13’s Privateness Dashboard, Permission Supervisor, and so on. Whereas all of that is nice, the corporate’s native V-App Retailer produces numerous spam with frequent notifications. Fortuitously, the UI just isn’t crammed with many third-party apps aside from Snapchat, Spotify and Byju’s. You may uninstall the undesirable apps if you want.
The V-App Retailer steadily spams with undesirable notifications and suggestions
iQoo has promised to offer three years of Android updates and 4 years of safety help for the iQoo 11 5G. Which means the telephone ought to get Android 14 to Android 16 finally, together with help for safety patches until 2027.
iQoo 11 5G efficiency and battery life
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC contained in the iQoo 11 5G is a powerhouse. I didn’t expertise any lag in any way whereas enjoying video games or performing routine duties on the system. Name of Responsibility: Cell ran effectively even on the ‘Max’ body fee setting and ‘Very Excessive’ graphics. The telephone didn’t get as heat as I anticipated it to even after a few matches, which lasted for about 20 minutes every. I additionally performed Asphalt 9 Legends and the expertise was equally good with no signal of lag or stutter.
There’s a characteristic known as body fee interpolation on the iQoo 11 5G, which is alleged so as to add extra frames to a sport even when the sport doesn’t truly help it. The ‘Extremely Recreation’ mode additionally lets customers change between Battery Saver, Balanced and Monster energy modes. Whereas Balanced mode presents a mixture of good efficiency and energy effectivity, Monster mode unlocks the SoC’s peak efficiency however at the price of battery life.
I ran a couple of benchmarks to see if the iQoo 11 5G may match the corporate’s claimed rating of 13,23,820 factors on AnTuTu. Our overview unit scored 12,63,366 factors in AnTuTu, which fell wanting the claimed rating. That being stated, it’s among the many highest scores that we’ve recorded up to now. The iQoo 11 5G beats the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC-powered Asus ROG Cellphone 6 (Evaluation) by a good margin. The iQoo 11 5G additionally scored 884 and 3099 factors in Geekbench’s single-core and multi-core assessments.
The iQoo 11 5G comes with a 120W quick charger within the field
With nice energy, comes the concern of extreme battery consumption. Nevertheless, the iQoo 11 5G appears pretty optimised for this flagship Snapdragon SoC. I obtained a median of a little bit over six hours of screen-on time, which isn’t dangerous. In our HD video loop take a look at, the iQoo 11 5G lasted for 20 hours, 59 minutes, which was very spectacular for a flagship Android smartphone. The 120W quick charger additionally charged the battery from 1-One hundred pc in 23 minutes, which is definitely a few minutes faster than the claimed time.
iQoo 11 5G cameras
The iQoo 11 5G has a triple-camera setup on the again. It has a 50-megapixel Samsung GN5 digital camera with help for optical picture stabilisation (OIS). The first digital camera is accompanied by an 8-megapixel ultra-wide digital camera, and a 13-megapixel portrait digital camera with 2X optical zoom.
The iQoo 11 5G will get Vivo’s V2 chip for enhanced digital camera efficiency in low gentle
Premium iQoo telephones are inclined to have spectacular digital camera efficiency and it’s principally true within the case of the iQoo 11 5G as effectively. The first digital camera’s daylight efficiency is fairly good. The colors are a contact boosted however the dynamic vary is kind of good. Pictures have managed highlights and well-exposed shadows, be it any time of the day. In Photograph mode with scene detection enabled, at occasions, captures ok low-light photographs which might be well-exposed. If you’d like a brighter low-light picture, you may change to Night time mode which normally takes a few seconds to seize and a pair extra seconds to course of a picture.
iQoo 11 5G main digital camera samples
The ultra-wide digital camera sensor is weaker in comparison with most flagships on the market. Particulars from the 8-megapixel sensor usually are not as sharp, particularly across the distorted edges. The dynamic vary efficiency can be beneath common. I anticipated iQoo to do higher on this space. The telephoto digital camera with 2X optical zoom captures good particulars and the blur across the topic additionally appears very pure. Nevertheless, when in portrait mode, the topic’s pores and skin tone seems a shade or two lighter, making them look a bit fairer than actual life.
High to backside: Extremely-wide pattern, ultra-wide pattern, Portrait mode on the iQoo 11 5G
For selfies, you get a 16-megapixel entrance digital camera that will get the pores and skin tone proper generally. Nevertheless, identical to with the rear digital camera’s portrait mode, the entrance digital camera makes the topic look fairer than actuality. The entrance digital camera’s portrait mode additionally smoothens the pores and skin a bit, regardless of turning off all kinds of magnificence modes. It additionally blurs out the mistaken edges at occasions, like within the picture beneath the place the software program blurred out some elements of my face and likewise the earphones in my ear.
Entrance digital camera portrait mode on the iQoo 11 5G
When it comes to video, the iQoo 11 5G can document as much as 8K 30fps movies utilizing the rear digital camera. The V2 chip unlocks Night time Mode video recording at 4K 30 fps and the outcomes are fairly spectacular. Whereas there’s some noise within the darker areas, I’d not complain a lot as the general video is well-exposed and does a much better job than the usual video mode. You may also document night time mode movies at 1080p 30fps however not at 1080p/ 4K 60fps.
The entrance digital camera continues to help solely 1080p 30fps video recording. The topic is uncovered effectively however the digital camera compromises on the dynamic vary.
Verdict
The iQoo 11 5G units the tone for 2023 Android flagship smartphones. Whereas design preferences are subjective, I fairly preferred the faux-leather again of the Legend version. I hope iQoo experiments with extra colors although, as having simply two colors is a bit limiting. The telephone additionally checks different packing containers by providing an incredible show, stable efficiency, and powerful battery backup. Fortunately, the 120W charger is included within the field. The telephone is anticipated to get three main Android updates and whereas Funtouch OS is bettering, iQoo must hit the brakes in terms of spammy notifications from its personal apps. The shortage of wi-fi charging and IP ranking additionally takes some factors away from the 11 5G.
The first digital camera is sweet and has some neat options, corresponding to night time mode for video. Nevertheless, for a telephone that prices Rs. 64,999, it deserved to get a greater ultra-wide digital camera. In actual fact, we really feel the iQoo 9 Professional (Evaluation) has a greater digital camera setup on this regard and would serve you higher, at a lower cost. Should you’re not a numbers individual, then the iQoo 9 Professional remains to be an excellent deal as you get wi-fi charging and the superior Ultrasonic fingerprint reader.
Nevertheless, if you need a telephone that provides best-in-class efficiency with the most recent processor, very quick charging, nice multimedia expertise, and good cameras, the iQoo 11 5G can actually be thought-about. Nevertheless, remember that there are loads extra Android flagships from OnePlus, Samsung and others which might be proper across the nook, so it would not damage to attend a bit earlier than making your buy resolution.
