iQOO 9 Pro review

Introduction

The iQOO 9 Pro is what comes to mind when we think of a 2022 flagship. It's a premium smartphone with cutting-edge features across the board - screen, performance, camera, battery and charging. And if you are a fan of BMW Motorsport, you are going to love the iQOO 9 Pro Legend edition we have today for our review.

You may have noticed the absence of vivo before iQOO, and that's because the ex-vivo subsidiary now operates independently. Well, sort of. vivo still makes all iQOO phones, and iQOO still relies on vivo's Funtouch launcher, but all design and specs are allegedly coming from the independent iQOO entity. And now that we've cleared that up, let's explore this thoroughly interesting iQOO 9 Pro.

Today, we will be talking about the Legend Edition of the iQOO 9 Pro with a BMW M-branded glass back. The other version is called Dark Cruise - it has a different aramid fiber back and a BMW-free software skin. Other than these, the two phones are identical, obviously.

So, the iQOO 9 Pro is a purebred flagship with a high-quality Samsung-made 6.78-inch E5 AMOLED screen with Quad HD resolution, 10-bit color, dynamic 120Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling rate, and HDR10+ support. This is also the first smartphone we meet that's powered by the most current Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, and we cannot wait to test it. Our expectations are for one hot SoC, both literally and metaphorically.

Another highlight on the iQOO 9 Pro is the triple camera on the back with gimbal stabilization on the primary. The setup contains a 50MP Samsung GN5 primary camera (the one with the gimbal), a 50MP ultrawide camera with a 150-degree fisheye lens, and a 16MP telephoto with a 60mm OIS lens for 2.5x magnification.

That's not all, of course. The iQOO 9 Pro also offers 120W wired and 50W wireless charging for its 4,700mAh battery. The phone ships with that 120W power adapter, and it is advertised for recharging 50% of the battery in 8 minutes and a full charge in 20 minutes.

Other interesting bits of the iQOO 9 Pro include stereo speakers, 5G with 14 bands coverage, NFC, and a 3D Ultrasonic Fingerprint scanner placed under the screen. The phone boots Android 12 with Funtouch 12 launcher, and iQOO has promised 2 years of major Android updates and a third year of monthly security patches.

iQOO 9 Pro specs at a glance:

• Body: 164.8x75.2x8.8mm, 204g; Panda Glass front, aluminum frame, glass back or aramid fiber back, IP52-rated for dust and light splash resistance.
• Display: 6.78" LTPO 2.0 AMOLED, 1B colors, 1-120Hz, HDR10+, 1000 nits (HBM), 1500 nits (peak), 1440x3200px resolution, 20:9 aspect ratio, 518ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.00 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.50 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
• Memory: 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 12, Funtouch 12.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 1/1.57", 1.0µm, PDAF, gimbal OIS; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.3, 15mm, 150˚, AF; Telephoto: 16 MP, f/2.2, 60mm, 1/3.1", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS, 2.5x optical zoom.
• Front camera: 16 MP, f/2.5, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4700mAh; Fast charging 120W, 100% in 20 min (advertised), Fast wireless charging 50W, 10W reverse wireless charging.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); NFC.

The iQOO 9 Pro looks amazing on paper - it combines some of the best technologies the market has to offer right now. If only it were water-resistant, it would have been perfect. The phone is IP52-rated for dust and moisture resistance, which is the most basic protection you can get right now - Motorola calls this a water-repellent design. And while it is okay for a mid-ranger, it is pretty inexcusable for a flagship.

Unboxing the iQOO 9 Pro

The iQOO 9 Pro is packed within a cool black box with BMW Motorsport branding as long as you opt for the Legend version, that is. Inside you will find the 120W brick and a 6A-rated USB-C-to-C cable.

The cable wrapping also includes the USB-C-to-3.5mm adapter, something we don't see every day.

The phone comes with a thin protective film on the display that was applied in the factory.

Finally, we want to acknowledge the superb rubber case, which is an exact replica of the iQOO 9 Pro back. This way you can snap it and keep the original looks intact. Its material and paint seem like a high-quality job, too.