After a few weeks of leaks and rumors that left very little to our imagination about the upcoming handsets, iQoo finally took the covers off its new flagship series. The lineup, comprising the base iQoo 9 model and the premium iQoo 9 Pro, will replace the iQoo 8 lineup that arrived in August of 2021.
The Vivo-owned brand brought a flat screen to the iQoo 9 while the iQoo 9 Pro has slightly curved edges for that premium look. The handsets come with a large camera module at the back with a triple-sensor set-up and an LED flash. The selfie camera is embedded in a punch-hole cutout up front with an in-display fingerprint sensor.
Both the devices are powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset, a 50MP primary camera and 120W fast charging support. Another handset, made through iQoo's partnership with BMW Motorsport also featured in the launch event.
iQoo 9, iQoo 9 Pro - pricing and availability
The base iQoo 9 model with 8GB RAM and 256 GB internal storage is priced at Yuan 3,999 (∼Rs.46,900) while the 12GB + 256GB version would cost Yuan 4,399 (∼Rs. 51,600) and the top-end 12GB + 512GB variant would put you back by Yuan 4,799 (∼ Rs.56,300).
Coming to the premium iQoo 9 Pro versions, the 8GB + 256GB variant costs Yuan 4,999 (∼Rs. 58,600) while the 12GB + 256GB variant comes at Yuan 5,499 (∼Rs. 64,500) and the top-end 12GB + 512GB is priced at Yuan 5,999 (∼Rs. 70,300).
The devices began accepting pre-orders in China last evening post the launch and is scheduled to ship from January 12. From an Indian point, we are awaiting the iQoo 8 that went official in China last August. Two variants are likely to launch though with a different name with the Pro model getting renamed as the iQoo 8 Legend. The launch date is being rumored to be in the first week of February.
iQoo 9 Pro Sport - specifications, design and more
The iQoo 9 Pro Sports model comes with a 6.78-inch 2K E5 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 360Hz touch sampling rate. The screen resolution of 3200 x 1400 pixels coupled with1500nits brightness makes it a good gaming partner. As with the other models, this handset has a punch-hole cutout and in-display fingerprint sensors plus a pair of stereo speakers.
The device is also powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen1 chipset that pairs with the Adreno GPU. It packs 12GB of RAM and 512GB internal storage. The handset boots Android 12 OS out-of-the-box with the OriginOS custom skin on top. The handset comes with VC liquid cooling to reduce heating during gaming.
The 4,700mAh battery seems a tad underwhelming for a device this size and at the price point. However, it makes up with 120W of fast charging capability of which 50W is wireless and there is also a 10W reverse charging support. Connectivity options include 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2, GPS, NFC, and USB Type-C port.
iQoo 9 - specifications, design and more
The iQoo 9, which is the base variant of the latest flagship line-up from the Vivo sub-brand, has a flat 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and a screen resolution of 2400x1080 pixels. The rear 50MP camera is a Samsung ISOCELL GN5 1/1.57" sensor with f/1.75 aperture. There is a 13 MP 120-degree ultra-wide, and a 12 MP 2x zoom lens for company with the selfie-cam being a 16 MP snapper.
The handset runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 paired with 8/12GB of RAM and 256/512GB of internal storage. The 4,700 mAh battery comes with 120W of fast charging option that goes from zero to full charge in just 19 minutes. It comes in three color options and for now we aren't clear whether the device will get a global launch or would remain a China-only handset.
iQoo 9 Pro - specifications, design and more
The premium iQoo 9 Pro has a similar screen size at its sibling but comes with a slightly curved screen with a much higher resolution of 3200x1440 pixels. However, the refresh rate remains same at 120Hz though being an LTPO 2.0 panel, it brings the ability to vary the refresh dynamically from 1Hz to 120Hz.
The processing power too remains similar as also the main rear camera. However, in the premium device there is a 50MP sensor that provides a 150-degree field of view, similar to what the Realme GT 2 Pro had announced just a couple of days ago. The tele-photo unit comprises a 16MP sensor with 2.5x optical zoom while the selfie camera specifications remain the same.
What's intriguing is that the company has kept even the battery size unchanged at 4,700mAh with the 120W wired charging option. However, the premium version also gets 50W of wireless charging and 10W reverse charging capabilities. Both handsets run the Android 12 out of the box with the Origin OS Ocean on top. Unlike the base variant, this one comes only in two color options.
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