iQOO’s flagship smartphone final 12 months (our evaluation right here) managed to strike the right steadiness between price and affordability. It packed the Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset with the corporate’s in-house Supercomputing Chip Q2 working by its facet. The Dynamic Light across the digicam module gave the system its personal distinctive aptitude. A 12 months later, the brand new iQOO 15 (sure, they leapt over ‘14’) will get all of the anticipated upgrades. It is powered by Qualcomm’s newest flagship chipset, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and iQOO’s Supercomputing Chip Q3. The show is brighter, the battery is greater, and there’s even wi-fi charging help this time round. The price tag of Rs 73,000 nonetheless appears inexpensive compared to different flagships, however it’s a huge soar from the Rs 55,000 asking price of its predecessor. We used the iQOO 15 for per week to research whether or not it nonetheless justifies the price – right here is our evaluation of the smartphone.

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iQOO 15 Review: Design and Display

Here’s what you get contained in the iQOO 15’s retail field:

• Smartphone
• Power adapter
• USB-C to USB-C cable
• Silicone cowl
• SIM ejector
• Warranty card
• Quick begin information

The iQOO 15 follows the design language of its predecessor. The flat again panel has the model’s lettering on the backside. The Dynamic Light across the digicam module is extra refined this time. Positioned on the backside of the island, it lends it a ‘floating’ impact. We used the Alpha (Grey) color variant for this evaluation, which makes use of a fibreglass again panel. It registers fingerprints far too simply. We advocate slapping the silicone cowl (offered within the field) on the cellphone to maintain annoying smudges at bay and even out the digicam bump.

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The aluminium body homes the quantity rocker and the facet button on its proper edge. The SIM tray, microphone, USB-C port, and first speaker are positioned on the backside. Up high lie the secondary speaker, noise-cancelling microphone, and IR blaster. The system is rated IP68/IP69 for mud and water resistance. It can survive publicity to high-pressure water jets and immersion as much as 1.5m for half-hour.

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iQOO 15 makes use of Samsung’s 2K M14 LEAD OLED show. This panel has a 144Hz refresh fee and might attain a whopping 6,000 nits of peak brightness whereas taking part in HDR content material. In outside use, the show hits as much as 2,600 nits in High Brightness Mode. It is well in a position to overcome shiny environment to keep up legibility. The contact response provided by this show is wonderful – definitely one of the best we’ve seen on an iQOO providing but. The ultrasonic fingerprint sensor is lightning fast.

During the evaluation interval, we used the iQOO 15 as our major media streaming system. The OLED show introduced a pleasant viewing expertise, relaying visuals filled with vibrant colors and sensible element. Furthermore, the ‘Visual Enhancement’ and ‘MEMC and Super Resolution’ instruments in show settings bump the distinction, color, body fee, and determination for a good higher viewing expertise. The stereo speaker setup produces a superb audio output, nevertheless it may use a little bit extra pronounced low finish.

iQOO 15 Review: Performance and Cameras

iQOO’s flagship telephones go above and past to ship a power-packed efficiency that may blow your socks off. Its newest providing finds itself on the high of the efficiency pile but once more. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC and iQOO’s Supercomputing Chip Q3 work in tandem on this system. The ridiculously excessive benchmark numbers communicate for themselves.

• AnTuTu 3D: 3,746,676
• Geekbench 6: 3,537 (single-core) | 10,208 (multi-core)

There are two RAM and storage (UFS 4.1) variants on provide, however the LPDDR5X Ultra RAM configuration is completely accessible on the top-spec mannequin.

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• 12GB + 256GB: Rs 72,999
• 16GB + 512GB: Rs 79,999

The iQOO 15 crushes routine duties with out getting out of first gear. During the week-long evaluation interval, we didn’t encounter a single lag or hiccup whereas every day driving this system. With UFS 4.1 storage on board, the apps loaded immediately. Even after launching a dozen apps without delay, the system didn’t break a sweat. Juggling between these apps was a really seamless expertise. As far as normal efficiency goes, this smartphone clears its rivals with ease.

An elite gaming efficiency is the cornerstone of each iQOO flagship. The firm’s in-house Supercomputing Chip Q3 permits you to bump the decision and body fee utilizing the sidebar menu. While the native body fee has a ceiling of 60fps, the Q3 chip boosts it to 144fps. You may optimise the visuals and apply numerous filters to in-game scenes. We performed titles like Call of Duty Mobile and BGMI on this system and have been extremely impressed with the sleek and easy gameplay. The 8K VC Cooling System saved the interior temperature of the system in test, conserving it from inflicting any throttling points. The again panel began to heat up after the 30-minute mark, which is a slight downgrade from final 12 months.

The iQOO 15 is the primary smartphone in India to run Vivo’s new Android 16-based OriginOS 6. The smartphone has been promised 5 main OS upgrades and seven years of safety patches. There are a handful of bloatware apps on the system, which is rarely a superb sight on a flagship providing.

OriginOS 6 is smoother and extra vibrant than its Funtouch predecessor. The display transition and app loading animations make the shopping expertise really feel snappy. Some of the robust points of Funtouch OS have been retained in Vivo’s new customized pores and skin. These embody the customisation choices for the lock display, residence web page, ambient lighting, app icons, fingerprint icon, and different parts. The model has proven no hesitation in drawing direct inspiration from iOS, most notably within the Origin Island, which works equally to Apple’s Dynamic Island. The Liquid Glass-like design language will be seen within the Quick Settings Menu and lock display.

While there isn’t any central hub of AI options on the system, the instruments pop up every time required. The native dialer app has a ‘Smart Call Assistant’ that interprets and summarises your cellphone calls. Pulling the sidebar on the display provides you entry to AI captions. The native photo-gallery app has AI instruments for eradicating undesirable objects, boosting particulars, and extra. The new ‘Snap-up engine’ detects while you’re attempting to e-book a ticket and hurries up the method that can assist you keep forward within the queue. However, this characteristic is out there for sure whitelisted apps in restricted areas.

Battery anxiousness is just not one thing you need to take care of anymore while you get your fingers on this system. The huge 7,000mAh Si/C battery pack can final two days of reasonable use with ease. A day of heavy use (AOD enabled, most decision and refresh fee, and loads of gaming) left us with ~30% cost earlier than mattress. The wired charging velocity has been downgraded to 100W from 120W, however the excellent news is that the smartphone now helps wi-fi charging. Using the ability adapter offered within the field, we have been in a position to absolutely cost the cellphone in slightly below an hour.

The digicam module of the iQOO 15 will get a small however necessary improve. The Sony IMX816 telephoto sensor has been changed with the bigger Sony IMX882 lens. As a consequence, the 50MP telephoto digicam now has an improved 3x optical zoom as an alternative of 2x. The 50MP Sony IMX921 major shooter and 50MP ultrawide lens stay unchanged from the earlier mannequin.

The 50MP major shooter captures nice footage in outside daylight circumstances. The photos showcase vibrant colors, wonderful distinction, and tasteful dynamic vary. The element captured in these photos is satisfying, too. The last outcomes do look a bit ‘social media ready’ with their barely boosted colors, however we don’t have any complaints about that. In restricted lighting circumstances, the Night Mode does a superb job of lighting up the shot and eliminating the noise, however the photos seem a bit washed out.

The 50MP telephoto lens provides you room to zoom into the shot with out worrying about any vital lack of high quality. With 3x optical zoom, you don’t must carry your self considerably nearer to the topic. The photos retain the color profile and sharpness of the primary digicam. Even the pictures taken at 10x zoom are well-composed and fairly satisfactory. However, you hit some extent of diminishing returns quickly after that.

The Camera app presents 5 focal size ranges for portraits – 23mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm, and 100mm. The telephoto lens takes over for the 85mm pictures. The smartphone does a superb job of detecting the perimeters of the topic and making use of a wholesome dose of background blur. As a consequence, the portrait pictures are clear and well-focused.

The 50MP ultrawide sensor is the weakest of the trio, nevertheless it nonetheless places up a superb show. The photos are a smidge softer in comparison with those taken with the primary digicam, however the vivid colors make up for the misplaced particulars. However, the photographs taken in restricted lighting circumstances stay tender and grainy. The 32MP front-facing digicam takes clear selfies with numerous element. The tone and texture correction results are saved to a minimal.

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Verdict

The iQOO 15 is undeniably top-of-the-line performance-oriented smartphones on the market. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC lives as much as its benchmark numbers in on a regular basis use. You received’t ever end up wanting extra energy whereas finishing up routine duties. The new AMOLED show sourced from Samsung is shiny and tremendous responsive. The larger 7,000mAh battery pack ensures a 2-day battery life with reasonable utilization. While the charging velocity could have been downgraded to 100W, the addition of 40W wi-fi charging is a pleasant contact. The refreshed telephoto sensor within the rear digicam module pays off huge dividends, too.

Our solely gripe with this smartphone lies with its gaming efficiency. The native body fee help being capped at 60fps makes little sense to us. The possibility of 144fps gameplay can solely be enabled by means of iQOO’s recreation administration interface. Furthermore, whereas the system has an improved cooling system, its thermal administration doesn’t match as much as its predecessor.

Pros

• Bright show
• Powerful processor
• Upgraded telephoto lens

Cons

• Native refresh fee for video games is capped at 60fps
• Slightly dear

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