iQOO Neo 7 Review: The best smartphone under Rs 30,000?

The iQOO Neo 6 was one of the most popular smartphones of 2022, and for good reason. It offered a powerful performance, a decent display, and essentially did the basics right. The iQOO Neo 7 has big shoes to fill in this regard. We put the device to its paces for a relatively long period to see how it stands against the current line-up of smartphones in the same category.

The iQOO Neo 7 competes against the Realme GT Neo 3T, Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus, Poco F4 5G, and the OnePlus Nord 2T. These phones also come packed with high-performance specifications. However, let's see if the Neo 7 should be the one for you.

iQOO Neo 7 Performance

The iQOO Neo 6 was popular among performance enthusiasts who don't want to splurge on expensive premium range devices. In essence, the iQOO Neo 7 also offers a similar experience. It is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8200 chipset, which is based on a 4nm process and has an octa-core CPU and a Mali-G77 MC9 GPU. The phone also has 8GB of RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage. 

The iQOO Neo 7 is still a champion when it comes to performance. The smartphone feels fast as soon as you boot it up the Neo 7 for the first time. The phone performed well in benchmark tests as well, registering over 8,50,000 in AnTuTu. There's no lag in day-to-day functioning.

When it comes to gaming, the iQOO Neo 7 shines. Gaming titles such as Apex Legends Mobile and New State Mobile performed well. The phone does not heat up excessively until 30-40 minutes of gameplay and hence retains battery as well. 

iQOO Neo 7 Display

The display of the iQOO Neo 7 is a 6.62-inch AMOLED panel with Full HD+ resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio and a pixel density of 398 PPI. It has a punch-hole cutout for the selfie camera and supports HDR10+ and DCI-P3 color gamut. The screen also has a 120Hz refresh rate and a 240Hz touch sampling rate, which make it responsive for gaming and scrolling. There's not much to complain when it comes to the display but buyers shouldn't expect flagship-like AMOLED quality. 

iQOO Neo 7 Camera

The camera department of the iQOO Neo 7 consists of a quad rear setup and a single front shooter. The main camera on the back is a 64MP sensor with an f/1.8 aperture, phase detection autofocus (PDAF) and optical image stabilization (OIS). It can record up to 4K videos at 30fps or Full HD videos at up to 960fps slow motion. The other cameras on the rear are an 8MP ultra-wide-angle lens with an f/2.2 aperture, a 2MP macro lens with an f/2.4 aperture and a depth sensor. The selfie camera on the front is a 16MP sensor with an f/2.0 aperture that can capture HDR photos and record Full HD videos at up to 60fps.

The camera is one area where the iQOO Neo 6 could have scored better and even the iQOO Neo 7 leaves some room for improvement. The camera does a good job in brightly lit situations. In low-light situations the images capture enough light but fail to provide a detailed shot. 

iQOO Neo 7 Battery

The battery of the iQOO Neo 7 gets a 5000 mAh. It supports 120W fast charging that can fully charge the phone in under 25 minutes. The battery life was also decent with over 7 hours of screen-on time. 

Also read: iQOO Z7 launched in India; check price, specifications, other details

iQOO Neo 7 Verdict

The iQOO Neo 7 has all the potential to be performance enthusiast's go-to choice in the premium mid-range smartphone segment. The basics like performance display and battery are on point. The camera is not the best in the segment but is not a deal breaker either. The phone is definitely worth considering. 

Pros:

Impressive performance for gaming and multitasking
Great display with HDR10+ and DCI-P3 color gamut support
Fast charging support with 120W charger included in the box

Cons:

No IP rating for water and dust resistance
No wireless charging support
No telephoto or ultra-wide shooter in the camera setup