Weekly poll: the iQOO Z9s and Z9s Pro are here, who is getting one?

This week iQOO launched a pair of slim phones with large batteries – the Z9s duo measures 7.5mm thick but packs 5,500mAh batteries. And they are not that heavy, weighing in at 180g or 185g, depending on which model you get.

The iQOO Z9s features a curved 6.77” OLED display (FHD+, 120Hz), a Dimensity 7300 chipset, a 50MP main camera (IMX882, 1/1.95”, OIS) with 4K video recording and a 16MP selfie camera. As mentioned, the battery is 5,500mAh and it charges at 44W. Both phones are rated IP64 (dust tight, basic water resistance).

iQOO Z9s and Z9s Pro

The iQOO Z9s Pro builds on that by making its curved 6.77” display brighter (4,500 nits vs. 1,800 nits) and bringing a more powerful Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chipset and 80W charging (50% in 21 min). Additionally, the Pro model has an 8MP ultra wide camera on the back. In case you missed it, here is our photo tour of Baku with an iQOO Z9s Pro in hand.

At a glance: iQOO Z9s and Z9s Pro highlights

The Z9s pair are sold in India through the iQOO online store and Amazon. The Pro is already available, the vanilla model will be on open sale from Thursday. Here are the prices:

The Poco F6 (12/256GB) is ₹30,000, so a bit more expensive and it doesn’t have a cheap 8/128GB option. It does have a beefier Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 chipset and a flat 6.67” OLED display with 1220p+ resolution and 12-bit colors. The phone has the same IP64 rating and the same 50MP IMX882 main camera with an 8MP ultra wide. The battery has less capacity at 5,000mAh, but it is a bit faster with 90W charging (1-100% in 35 min).

The Poco X6 (8/256GB) is ₹18,500 right now, which pits it against the Z9s. It has the weaker Snapdragon 7s Gen 2 chipset, but it makes up for it with an 8MP ultra wide and the same display as the F6. It has a comparable IP54 rating and a smaller 5,100mAh battery with 67W charging (100% in 44 min).

Xiaomi Poco F6 • Xiaomi Poco X6

The OnePlus Nord 4 is on the pricey side (₹33,000 for 8/256GB), but can you really put a price on the joy of an aluminum unibody? This model features the faster Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 chipset (with a Cortex-X4 core) and has a flat 6.74” 1240p+ display. And it does have a 5,500mAh battery, this one with 100W charging (100% in 28 min). The main camera uses the 50MP LYT-600 sensor, which is essentially the same as the IMX882, and it is joined by an 8MP ultra wide. The phone is rated IP65 and has fast UFS 4.0 storage (vs. UFS 2.2 on the iQOO).

Alternatively, the Nothing Phone (2a) Plus (8/256GB for ₹28,000) has a competitive Dimensity 7350 Pro chip and a flat 6.7” OLED (FHD+, 120Hz). And don’t forget the Glyph LED strips on the back. The 50MP main camera has a larger 1/1.57” sensor and it is joined by a high resolution 50MP ultra wide. Even the selfie camera has a 50MP sensor (vs. 16MP on the iQOO). The phone is rated IP54 and has a 5,000mAh battery with 50W charging (100% in 56 min).

On the cheaper side, the CMF Phone 1 is ₹18,000 for an 8/128GB model. This buys you the same Dimensity 7300 as the iQOO Z9s, but with a microSD expansion slot. The display is a flat 6.67” OLED panel (FHD+, 120Hz) and the back is removable, so you can customize the look of the phone (and attach some accessories too). There is a single 50MP camera on the back and a 5,000mAh battery with 33W charging inside. The removable back cover hurts the ingress protection of this phone and it only offers basic dust and water resistance.

OnePlus Nord 4 • Nothing Phone (2a) Plus • vivo iQOO Z9s

What do you think of the iQOO Z9s Pro? Does it strike a good enough balance of price and features that you would consider it when buying a new phone?

What about the iQOO Z9s? It’s mostly the same phone, but for 20% less money. A great deal or not?