vivo iQOO 7 Legend hands-on review

7 June 2021


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RishiGuru, 09 Jun 2021As an user of iQOO 3 for last 5 months, I rate it very high... moreOf course bro, I know that. I've been following your responses for a while now. :) Indeed one awesome phone.
Now, a friend of mine really wants one (Iqoo 3, he's a music fan like me). I've heard Flipkart is holding a sale on 13-16th June. I've told him to wait.
Will try for 5G model although it remains out of stock, otherwise he'll get 4G one.
I hope I've planned ok? I'm aiming for the same 25k-30k range, as we find in the sale. 22k would require some credit or debit cards I think.

    Samath N8 808 owner, 09 Jun 2021Thanks for the suggestions. SD 870 is indeed doing awesome.... moreAs an user of iQOO 3 for last 5 months, I rate it very high. It is a true VFM flagship killer, what OnePlus use to be. It provides so much for it meager INR 22,765 ($312) price I paid for it.

    Things I like about iQOO 3:
    1) An excellent Samsung AMOLED display, awesome bright, Rhine certification. It is better than our LG G8X panel in every way.
    2) Combination of Snapdragon 865, 8GB LPDDR5, 128 GB UFS 3.1. Simply can handle anything you throw at it.
    3) Great build, flagship grade metal glass sandwich design. No cutting corners with plastic here.
    4) iQOO flagships are known for their very good thermal management, and the 3 is no exception. Runs very cool with minimal SoC throttling over extended period of heavy usage.
    5) The 4,400 mAh battery provides insane backup for a flagship device. The iQOO 3 lasts me 2 days under normal usage, where as the LG G8X without the case will last me 1.2 days under similar use.
    6) The 55 watts charger is crazy fast, though I never use it. I use a 10 watt charger instead.
    7) Proper 3.5 mm audio jack support.
    8) Dedicated AKM AK4377A, Hi-Res certified audio chip, provides great audio through audio jack. Through it performance does not fall under the exceptional category of LG's QuadDAC.
    9) The iQOO UI may not be very appealing to everyone, but is very feature rich & ultra smooth. Everything just glides on this phone.

    What iQOO 3 lacks in comparison to your LG G8X is character. The moment you pick up a G8X, you feel its a LG's and it has some unique features which creates desire to use it. No so with iQOO, except raw performance,

    I feel iQOO 7 is also a great device, the best phone to wring the maximum from SD888 while keeping its head cool. Just the lack of proper audio jack killed any desire I have had for this phone.

      The phone is very good but the battery is very bad a 6.6 inch phone using a 4000mah battery in year 2021 is very bad am disappointed

        James, 09 Jun 2021The Snapdragon 888 has thermal issues on many devices unfor... moreThanks for the suggestions. SD 870 is indeed doing awesome.
        You're right about the battery, with a charge cycle of 1 times per day(most SD888 phones), we're looking at about 3 years of optimal usage beyond which the battery starts to underdeliver.
        Now, flagships customers include both kinds- long term keepers and early changers.

        SD888, it reminds me of Snapdragon 810. 810 also used to overheat a lot back in the days, and was basically a failed flagship.
        Eventually, 820 came and wiped the memories.

        Not to mention, SD865 phones are awesome deals right now.
        IQOO 3 with triple camera was recently going for $350 in my country, now it even has a ESS Sabre Audio chip and 3.5mm so its, I believe, good product for this money.

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          • James
          • atq
          • 09 Jun 2021

          Samath N8 808 owner, 08 Jun 2021Clearly not for an audio first guy like me. Even Gaming pho... moreThe Snapdragon 888 has thermal issues on many devices unfortunately. My OP8 uses the SD865 and its epic, so epic theyve overclocked it twice and renamed it SD870 for this year. A OP9 runs cod mobile at 42 degrees C, tested my OP8 and it ran at 36degrees for an hour straight, i even did a system update and played it straight after and it actually dropped from 37 to 36c.
          The battery also lasts longer too on mine despite it being smaller than this years. The SD888 will not be good long term because excessive heat and more frequent charging might mean the battery conks out before the previous years phones do. If i was forced to get a phone this year I'd probably pick the SD870 version as its a proven chipset and graphics wise you won't notice any difference with the games that are available at present as the 865 runs all games at max graphics and it does it cooler than the new chip.
          Ok ive bashed the SD888, it probably isnt that bad its just the SD855 to the SD870 have been epic.

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            • James
            • atq
            • 09 Jun 2021

            Andres, 08 Jun 2021This destroys the Oneplus 9R in every way. Oneplus needs to... moreIn battery it wont. Oneplus 9R is basically a reskinned overclocked 8T from last year which comes with the older cameras. The new cameras on the regular OP9/pro are getting better each update.
            Most gamers aren't bothered about the camera anyway and the fact the 120hz display only works on real racing 3 which is over half a decade old is a huge deal breaker for a gaming phone.. Like the most important part of the phone doesn't work properly.. Also what gaming phone doesnt have shoulder triggers? Red magic 6 would be a good alternative to this.

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              • James
              • atq
              • 09 Jun 2021

              Its not a gaming phone. It has no shoulder triggers mentioned, the hole punch, tiny battery and the 120hz doesn't work properly. Its like me saying my oneplus 8 is a gaming phone.. Well it has a bigger battery and this is last years model. Try playing unkilled and see if the 120hz is implemented on that with ultra graphics because dead trigger2 has been buggy recently with the ultra mode vanishing at times. Its a good all round phone but its no true gaming phone.

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                • Sus
                • tZ4
                • 09 Jun 2021

                AnonD-999011, 08 Jun 2021Oh my freaking God! It's Vivo iQOO 7 Legend! Are you s... moreNo need for the over-reacting, dude. Looks almost like faked enthusiasm...

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                  • Anonymous
                  • Mkm
                  • 08 Jun 2021

                  Andres, 08 Jun 2021This destroys the Oneplus 9R in every way. Oneplus needs to... moreOxygen OS is still the best

                    Anonymous, 07 Jun 2021Which country you are from? the USA, on paper, these two can easily go head to head

                      aggressive price but the sd888 throttles like crazy down to the level sd870 for a few minutes of gaming might as well buy the SD870 on the Black Shark 4 or Poco F3

                        Does iqoo neo 5 have pressure sensitive display?

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                          • Ajesh Vijayan
                          • X{B
                          • 08 Jun 2021

                          When can we expect a proper full review of the Legend from gsmarena ? 😃

                            AnonD-999011, 08 Jun 2021Oh my freaking God! It's Vivo iQOO 7 Legend! Are you s... moreyawnnnn

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                              • Andres
                              • 2FY
                              • 08 Jun 2021

                              This destroys the Oneplus 9R in every way. Oneplus needs to wake up and realize that only Oxygen OS is not good enough anymore! They need more selling propositions and improve their mediocre cameras.

                                Clearly not for an audio first guy like me. Even Gaming phones now have started coming with high tech audio processors and 3.5mm, both in one. One can just conclude its not for communicative gaming, just good for single player sort of.
                                Bluetooth you'll get noticeable lag, for majority of stuff out there so better start saving for a good one, potential buyers.
                                Also, I didn't like missing expandable storage so that's one more downer. Plus a little more bezels would be nice to avoid accidental touches.

                                On the contrary, 4000-4500 mah is still ok for me for weight concerns. After all it charges like a flash!
                                Just about one thing is not clear to me, and its not about this phone, its about SD888: It is 5nm, so wasn't it supposed to be power efficient (if not cooler in *C)? Or, is everyone overclocking the hell out of it?
                                PS: I own a G8x (Snapdragon 855) and despite being on 7nm, I'm getting 2.5 days out of 4000 mah battery (on OLED screen) mixed usage. Same phone got 111 hours in GSMArena test so I'm clearly not alone. Of course, no more flagship, but still....

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                                  • AnonD-999011
                                  • ibe
                                  • 08 Jun 2021

                                  Oh my freaking God! It's Vivo iQOO 7 Legend! Are you sure about it?

                                    That is not gsmarena review
                                    Nope nope nope
                                    Guys you go thoroughly and tell us if it is really good or average product...not like some nfl chump telling us some predictions which obviously goes in other direction
                                    Kindly check how you do things with iphone,samsung and then see this review you did on vivo
                                    I'll be gladly join gsm team but as obvious I'm neither rich nor in contact with phone maker to receive any model before you legends do
                                    Kindly update this article

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                                      • Kk
                                      • 7k4
                                      • 08 Jun 2021

                                      Pls review iqoo 7 (India) , I have been waiting for months now

                                        Finally a hands on review of the iQoo 7!

                                        Been using the phone since Feb2021 and so far it's been really good. That 120w brick and 15mins charge time never fails to impress.

                                        I quite appreciate that 120Hz refresh being consistent and not unlike many others with the adaptive refresh rate [e.g 11 Ultra] which adjusts it to 60Hz when I'm using other apps/games.

                                        Just load a simple game like Candy Crush Soda and watch how much the animation stutters on the 11 Ultra compared to the iQoo...

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