iQOO 9T review

Competition

The iQOO 9T's main market is the Indian one, and with a price tag of INR 49,999, it's easily one of the main contenders for the flagship killer title. It runs on the latest and greatest SoC from Qualcomm, it has a flagship-grade display, albeit not LTPO, it offers a premium build, excellent sustained performance over time and an actual telephoto camera amidst smartphones with only digital zoom capabilities. Of course, the extra long endurance and fast charging are hard to miss, too.

It all sounds great on paper, but how does it stack against its few competitors?

To our surprise, there's no Xiaomi smartphone in this price segment, and Samsung's presence is also absent in this category. The Galaxy S21 FE is a bit too pricey, while Xiaomi's 12T series is still around the corner, and we have a very good reason to believe that some of the 12T phones will be a direct rival to the iQOO 9T.

The vanilla Pixel 6, on the other hand, fits the description perfectly and even undercuts the iQOO 9T by a couple of thousand rupees. The device is selling for INR 45,000 in the country but its only real appeal compared to the 9T is the clean Android experience and swift updates. One could make a case for the more premium build as well, and it's marginally better photography skills, but that's about it. iQOO's contender has a far superior display, longer battery life, faster charging and a more versatile camera experience (the Pixel 6 lacks telephoto). The extra horsepower (Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 vs. Google Tensor) is a bonus.

Google Pixel 6 • Realme GT2 Pro • OnePlus 10T • vivo iQOO 9 Pro

The most notable contenders are from the BBK Electronics family, though. We have the Realme GT2 Pro priced at INR 50,000, the OnePlus 10T at INR 50,000 and the iQOO 9 Pro ranging between INR 45,000 and 50,000 from third-party retailers.

To be quite frank, the OnePlus 10T has no chance against the 9T as the latter has a better display, a much better camera setup, longer battery life and the same level of fast charging.

Compared to the GT2 Pro, however, things aren't so simple. Realme's offering has the upper hand in the display and camera department, although the iQOO 9T offers a proper telephoto camera, a good one at that, and nicer selfies. Battery life is similar while charging goes to the iQOO 9T. It all boils down to software and design preferences. Both are quite similar smartphones, though, and both deserve your hard-earned money.

Now, when it comes to the 9 Pro, it's surprising to see it even cheaper than the 9T, as some retailers are selling it for as little as INR 45,000. User experience on both handsets is largely identical, but the Pro adds a couple of premium features such as 50W wireless charging and 10W reverse wireless charging, more competent ultrawide, telephoto with further reach, gimbal stabilization on the main cam, LTPO2 OLED display and twice the storage by default. With this pricing in mind, why not get the extra features? The marginal upgrade from SD8 Gen 1 to SD8+ Gen 1 isn't enough to tip the scales in favor of the 9T.

Verdict

The iQOO 9T is a capable handset with all the attributes to call it a flagship device. It excels pretty much in all areas, and there are hardly any smartphones to challenge the 9T in this price range. Some standout features include an extremely bright OLED screen, proper telephoto camera, blazing-fast charging, long battery life and great overall camera performance. What's not to like?

Well, if it weren't for the homegrown competition under the BBK Electronics umbrella, it would have been an easy recommendation. However, we think you should consider some of the highlighted alternatives before pulling the trigger, as you will be getting a couple of extra features for the same price. But once the dust settles and the iQOO 9T's price comes down, it's going to be a steal.

Pros

• Outstanding AMOLED, bright, 10-bit colors, 120Hz, 300Hz touch, HDR10+.
• Very good battery life, class-leading charging speed.
• Stereo loudspeakers with excellent quality.
• Top-notch performance and good cooling design.
• Excellent camera experience, especially telephoto and selfie.
• Highly customizable Funtouch OS 12.
• Wi-Fi 6, dual SIM, 5G, IR blaster, NFC, 3.5mm adapter and 120W charger in the box.

Cons

• Limited availability for now (China and India).
• No proper ingress protection.
• Underwhelming nighttime video quality.