IQOO 12 Review: An affordable and powerful flagship killer?

iQOO has improved its display game with its 6.78-inch full HD+ AMOLED display that offers 3000 nits brightness and 144 Hz adaptive refresh rate

iQOO 12 5G is launched at a starting price of Rs 52,999 in India

SUMMARY

iQOO 12 5G is one of the first devices to ship with Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset
iQOO 12 comes with FunTouch OS
iQOO 12 is a huge improvement from its previous generations when it comes to camera

iQOO has launched its first smartphone with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset in India - the iQOO 12 5G. Launched at a starting price of Rs 52,999, the smartphone focuses on gaming, just like many other phones by this brand. In order to make the gaming experience better, apart from display and audio, the company has also focused on camera this time around.

I got to spend some time with this new smartphone and here is my review:

In terms of design, iQOO 12 5G comes with a BMW branding at the back that looks subtle and reads: “Fascination Meets Innovation”. It is designed to be striking and identifiable from a distance. In my opinion, iQOO has done a fairly decent job with the design.

In addition to the chipset, iQOO has improved its display game with its 6.78-inch full HD+ AMOLED display that offers 3000 nits brightness and 144 Hz adaptive refresh rate which enhances the gaming experience. In terms of resolution, it's incredibly sharp, and can actually go up all the way from 1 Hz to 144 Hz. This means you will have a buttery, smooth scrolling experience, and this will also help you save up on battery life.

As for the speakers, it comes with two stereo speakers. I have to say this, I've been using a foldable and an iPhone on a daily basis, and keep switching phones on Tech Today, but the sound on iQOO 12 is incredibly clear.

iQOO 12 comes with a 120W fast-charging brick in the box. The company says that it can charge the 5,100 mAh battery from 0 to 100 per cent in just 30 minutes. Just like other flagship phones, iQOO 12 also features Type-C port for charging. The handset runs on FunTouch OS which is based on Android 14. The good thing here is that this is the only smartphone running on Android 14 apart from Google’s Pixel 8 models. That said, the OS is an acquired taste for a lot of us. If you can get used to it, then you’ll be fine. But if you prefer stock Android or a sharper implementation of Android the way OnePlus or Samsung pull it off, then you might find it cumbersome to adapt to FunTouch OS.

As mentioned earlier, iQOO has majorly focused on camera department as well, apart from the performance. It features a triple rear camera setup that includes a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP ultra wide angle lens and a 64MP telephoto lens that supports 3X and 10X periscope zoom shots. The camera managed to perform seamlessly well in our initial tests. Overall, the camera is a huge improvement from its previous generation.

As for the front camera, it comes with a 16MP selfie camera. It does a fairly decent job, even if you remove all the AI touch-up features. While it can capture good images in studio lighting and in daylight, I think that a lot of Android devices barring the Pixel tend to over-process the image. It's subjective, but I think you could get a better image potentially on a Pixel and an iPhone. However, those are in another league when it comes to pricing. iQOO 12 is catching up to them very fast.

Click here to see the camera samples

iQOO 12 5G India price

The iQOO 12 is launched in two storage variants. The base model of 12GB RAM + 256GB internal storage is priced at Rs 52,999 and the 16GB RAM + 512GB internal storage variant is priced at Rs 57,999.
In terms of colours, it comes in two options: Alpha and Legend. Notably, Alpha variant comes with AG Glass at the back and the white Legend variant comes with Porcelain Enamel Glass.

Verdict

If you're okay with FunTouchOS and the way it operates, then you must consider iQOO 12. It also gives you almost DSLR-like shots using that 64MP telephoto lens. It looks really sleek, which is 8.1mm. In terms of the front camera, yes, it could have been better. It is optimised for gaming with better display, brightness, and sound. The smartphone performs fairly decent at this price point. One thing is certain, though: the iQOO 12 is one of the most bang-for-your-buck flagship killers in the market at the moment.