iQOO 12 review

Design, build quality, handling

The iQOO 12 is easily among the most beautiful smartphones we have handled lately. No matter which version you get - Alpha or Legend - we are sure you will fall in love with the design at the very instant you get the iQOO 12 out of its box.

We have the Legend model, which has a silver frame and white back panel with signature stripes of BMW M Motorsport. It is an all-glossy smartphone, quite shiny, and yet pretty smudge resistant. But it is as slippery as it looks.

The Alpha version has a black rear panel with sandblasted-like finish that feels more like silk rather than sandpaper. There is also a red version in existence, but it's exclusive to China.

The front of the iQOO 12 is covered with a flat glass sheet, while the back features a slightly bent glass panel of a different origin.

The Legend model has white Porcelain Enamel Glass on its back with the BMW M Motorsport signature tri-color pattern featuring a dotted textured design.

The Alpha one features a Fluorite AG Glass piece at the back. The Alpha cover underwent numerous precision processes, lending it a balanced shimmer effect when viewed from different angles.

A shared signature exterior piece is the camera island, which is allegedly inspired by portholes used on the hull of ships to let in light and air. It features eight subtle arcs and a 3D curved glass which undergoes a hot-bending process. The camera island is surrounded by a gray decorative metal ring with two layers of textured patterns.

The frame is flat across all sides but ends with a slight curvature that once was referred to as 2D shape. There is no abrupt transition this way and the phone feels natural in your hand.

The iQOO 12 is IP64-rated for complete dust protection and resistance against non-pressurized water jets across all sides. While this means it's not recommended to submerge the iQOO 12 in water, it should survive most splashes or rain.

Let's take a closer look at all sides of the iQOO 12.

The front is home to the 6.78-inch E7 AMOLED panel, which is of high resolution, refresh rate, and brightness. It looks gorgeous and feels incredibly smooth.

There is an optical fingerprint reader underneath the screen, which is as fast and reliable as these usually go these days.

Above the screen, just before the frame, there is an almost impossible-to-notice earpiece, which also doubles as one of the speakers. It also comes with a second, top-facing outlet for speaker purposes.

The back panel is clean and smooth, with the iQOO logo and the BMW M stripes. The camera housing is massive. It's so large that the phone is not wobbling when lying on a flat surface.

The big black blob is surrounded by an elegant textured ring and contains the 50MP primary, the 50MP ultrawide, and the 64MP tele cameras. Outside this camera island is the LED flash and what appears to be a color temperature sensor.

There is nothing on the left side of the iQOO 12.

The right part of the frame accommodates the volume and power/lock keys.

The top has an outlet for the top speaker, the IR blaster, and one of the microphones.

The primary microphone (mouthpiece), together with the USB-C port, the second speaker and the SIM tray are all at the bottom of the iQOO 12.

The iQOO 12 measures 163.2 x 75.9 x 8.1 mm and weighs about 204 grams - in line with most of the 6.8-inch smartphones these days.

The iQOO 12 is a well-built smartphone with a luxurious design, with thoughtfully seelcted colors and accent elements - a phone that stands out. It is incredibly slippery, though, so using the provided case is probably a good idea.