vivo iQOO 7 Legend hands-on review

Software and features

The phone runs on Funtouch OS 11.1 based on Android 11, while the newly released OriginOS remains for the Chinese market only. At least for now, that is. The UI looks and feels like every other vivo smartphone, no surprises here.

We noticed a couple of pre-installed apps such as Flipkart, Netflix, Facebook, Snapchat, etc., but they can be uninstalled.

Home screen, app drawer, notification shade

It's maybe a good time to mention the HRR management. There are only three options 120Hz, 60Hz and Smart switch modes. Going for the Smart switch option is advisable as it might save you some power along the way. It remains at 120Hz most of the time, even when idle on a home screen or a website in Chrome, but goes down to 60Hz when opening a video app like Netflix or YouTube. The control over HRR could have been a bit smarter if you ask us but it's not locked at 120Hz all the time.

Ultra Gaming mode

A couple of gaming-related features are also at hand through the so-called Ultra Game Mode. It allows you to enhance the visual experience, let a game run in the background with the display turned off to preserve battery life and quick access to some settings during gameplay through the slide-out overlay menu.

In-game overlay

Lastly, vivo has once again talked about the virtual RAM feature that allocates some of the internal storage and uses it as buffer memory. This way the device can keep more apps in the background, shorten app startup times and improve overall multitasking capabilities. In our case, where the phone features 12GB of RAM, it can go up to 15GB with the feature enabled.

Early verdict

It seems to us that the iQOO 7 Legend isn't just a gaming phone. Its main appeal is that it's a great all-rounder for its price. The design can be more universally accepted compared to traditional gaming aesthetics but doesn't skip some high-end features such as bright, HRR display, Snapdragon 888 chipset, a full set of cameras and pressure-sensitive areas он the screen that elevate the gaming experience.

You can even argue that the iQOO 7 Legend is a good choice outside of the gamers' prospect. It's one of the few handsets to offer high-res telephoto and ultrawide cameras, OIS on its main, and it's also fairly compact compared to other similarly-priced alternatives.