Does midrange Vivo iQOO Neo 7 worth its value

The iQOO line of smartphones was launched by BBK electronics in 2019 to be part of Vivo’s affordable performance smartphone series including mid-range and flagship android devices. Their latest offering Vivo iQOO Neo 7 was launched on October 20, 2022. It is the successor to iQOO Neo 6. Here’s a detailed take on the Neo 7 so you can decide whether the device is worth the buck.

Key Specifications of iQOO Neo 7 

Design and Build Quality

From a strict design perspective, a lot has stayed the same on the Neo 7 from the Neo 6. You still get that squared-off camera housing on the back with an overall plastic build. But the main distinguishing difference this year has to be the leather textured back.

Even though the device is completely made of plastic, the use of vegetable tan leather brings a premium hand feel, at least for those who will use it without a cover. Other than the back, everything appears to be the same as it was on the Neo 6.

Another distinguishing feature is seen on the front camera. The Neo 6 boasted a colored ring around the punch-hole camera on the front. Many users complained that it was a bit distracting while watching content as the ring was a physical thing. iQOO seems to have listened to the complaints as the Neo 7 doesn’t have any ring around it. Overall the screen dimensions have also increased as the chin, and side bezels look remarkably smaller than they used to be before.

There are no headphone jack and expandable storage on the Neo 7. But the model comes in a host of storage options up to 521 GB.

Overall the design is a markup on an already great device. What was lacking in the previous iterations has surely been made better this time around.

The Display

On paper, the iQOO Neo 7 has the same display as its predecessor. However, there has been a slight increment in size thanks to the reduced chin. Spec-wise, the display is an AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and HDR 10+ support included. It’s the perfect upper mid-range panel with crisp and sharp contrast and vivid color reproduction.

Even though it’s completely identical to the Neo 6, everything seems to be a bit better than the previous iteration. That is because iQOO has used a dedicated display chip on the Neo 7 which works to brighten and sharpen contents on the panel.

The viewing angles on the panel are also great. We did not notice any kind of color shift or flickering issues. The high refresh rate combined with fast animations makes for impressive day-to-day usage with the Neo 7.

The Camera

The iQOO Neo 7 uses a 50 MP primary sensor combined with an 8 MP ultrawide and a 2 MP macro shooter. The camera on paper is a bit of a downgrade from the Neo 6 as it came with a 64 MO main shooter. But that’s about it. Even though the main lens has a lesser megapixel count, it doesn’t fall short in performance.

In our testing, the main camera performed pretty well. Daylight photos came out excellent, with great contrast and sharpness. The details were also on point especially the edge detection in portrait mode. The dynamic range seemed to be a hit or miss at times as it sometimes captured great details and washed out completely at others.

But like most other android devices, the performance falls short in indoors or artificial lighting conditions. The images don’t look grainy as iQOO has a variable shutter speed built into the camera app but it tends to overexpose the subject at times.  As a result, pictures come out looking artificial.

On the videography end, the Neo 7 is capable of shooting up to 4K at 30 fps. The front camera has a generic 16 MP shooter that produces passable results. The videography on the front camera is limited to 1080P at 30 fps.

Processor and Performance

The processor is where the iQOO Neo 7 surpasses all its competitors. The devices come equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ based on a 4 Nm architecture. The octa-core processor has a chip design of 1 3.2 GHz Cortex-X2 and 3 2.85 GHz Cortex-A710 and 4 1.80 GHz Cortex-A510. The balanced design between higher and lower power chips makes it a highly efficient processor.

In day-to-day usage, it is almost impossible to slow the device down. We tried playing call of duty, PUBG, and Asphalt 9 on the Neo 7. Needless to say, the device was able to crunch each of the games at max graphics settings without any hiccups. Though the device got heated a bit after about 30 odd minutes.

This device would be the perfect pick for anyone looking for a powerful device on a mid-range budget. It will easily deliver all your processing needs and then some more.

Battery and Charge Time

The Neo 7 comes with a 5000 mAh battery on board. The battery coupled with the highly efficient chip can easily run for around 8 to 9 hours of continuous usage. But that’s not even the best bit about the Neo 7. There is a 120W fast charger included in the box that can charge the device from 0 to 50% in just 9 minutes.

Price of iQOO Neo 7

The iQOO Neo 7 comes in four different storage options – 8/128 GB, 8/256 GB, 12/256 Gb, and the maxed 12/512 GB. The price of each of the variants is 27,540 INR, 31,140 INR, 34,140 INR, and 35,940 INR, respectively. That brings the price to around 35,469 BDT, 40,105 BDT, 43,969 BDT, and 46,287 BDT respectively (1 INR = 1.29 BDT). However, the official price of the Vivo iQOO Neo 7 may vary due to tax and other issues.

The iQOO Neo 7 is the perfect mid-range smartphone that will offer a near-flagship-level experience for half the price. And not to mention the premium build quality it brings this time around. The phone has made excellent improvements in the display, battery, and performance section over the Neo 6. But the camera is still not up to the mark if you compare it with the competitors. Overall, the Vivo iQOO Neo 7 is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to pick up an all-around performance smartphone.