The iQOO Neo series launched its inaugural Pro model – the iQOO Neo8 Pro – in May of this year. It marked the end of the 12GB low-memory versions, starting instead with a 16GB model. This move once again set new standards for cost-effectiveness in its category of mobile phones. Six months later, the iQOO Neo series is set to unveil its second Pro model. While it revisits the 12GB memory option, it introduces the Dimensity 9300 – a top-tier SOC previously exclusive to flagship phones, and a first for the series. The iQOO Neo9 Pro, integrating iQOO’s proprietary e-sports chip Q1, strikes an optimal balance between gaming performance and energy efficiency. As 2023 draws to a close, the iQOO Neo9 Pro emerges as the new benchmark in performance smartphones.
Unrivaled Performance in the Neo Series
The iQOO Neo9 Pro stands as the most potent device in the Neo lineup to date. Featuring the Dimensity 9300 chip, first debuted in the vivo X100 series, it pioneers a full-core approach, unleashing unprecedented single-core and multi-core performance. Outperforming Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen3 of the same era, this represents a first for the brand.
Furthermore, the Neo9 Pro makes no compromises on performance. Standard across the series are LPDDR5X 8533Mbps memory and UFS 4.0 specification storage. This formidable trio of performance features firmly establishes it as the segment’s performance king.
Largest Battery in Neo History
The Neo9 Pro boasts the largest dual-cell battery ever seen in the Neo series. Surpassing the 5000mAh standard of its peers, it reaches a capacity of 5160mAh, all while maintaining a weight of just 190g. This design achieves an ideal equilibrium between battery life and ergonomic design.
Top-Tier IMX920 Main Camera
As a performance flagship, the iQOO Neo9 Pro is equipped with the same IMX920 main camera found in the vivo X100. Enhanced with VCS bionic spectrum technology, it delivers superior noise reduction and color accuracy. Its imaging capabilities are on par with the vivo X100, ensuring that imaging is no longer a weak point in performance flagships.
First LTPO Screen in the Neo Series
The iQOO Neo9 Pro is the first in the Neo series to feature an LTPO substrate screen. This innovative 8T circuit driver technology allows for more precise and rapid adaptive refresh rate adjustments. The result is a smooth, low-power display that excels in high-frame-rate games, offering a high-refresh-rate, vivid viewing experience.
Design and Display
The iQOO Neo9 Pro showcases a 6.78-inch 8T LTPO screen on its front, marking the first instance of the iQOO Neo series incorporating an LTPO substrate. Enhanced with 8T circuit driver technology, the screen offers a refined refresh rate and reduced power consumption.
The screen features an adaptive 144Hz high refresh rate, a 1.5K resolution, and a peak brightness of 1400 nits. It also achieves 2160Hz high-frequency PWM dimming at brightness levels ranging from 2 to 600 nits, a pioneering achievement in the industry.
Our analysis of the iQOO Neo9 Pro’s screen revealed a tripod-shaped pixel arrangement, boasting a maximum resolution of 1.5K (2800×1260), a standard PPI of 453, and an effective PPI of approximately 370.
The nautical blue iQOO Neo9 Pro we received sports a back panel made of flagship micro-curved glass with a diffuse reflection texture and nano-level optical coating. This creates a blue glass back panel with an enamel-like texture, offering a warm and jade-like feel in hand.
The Neo9 Pro features two large rear lenses: the top lens is the same IMX920 main camera as in the vivo X100, and the bottom one is a 50-megapixel Samsung S5KJN1 high-pixel ultra-wide-angle camera. Additionally, it includes a Flicker anti-flicker sensor, a single LED fill light, and a color temperature sensor. On the phone’s top, you’ll find an infrared remote sensor and a noise-reduction microphone.
The bottom houses the SIM card slot, a microphone, a Type-C charging port, and speakers. The synergy between the micro-slit earpiece speaker at the front and the independent speaker at the bottom creates a stereo field. The phone’s right side features the power and volume buttons. Each iQOO Neo9 Pro comes with a standard 120W fast charging set.
Performance and Gaming
The iQOO Neo9 Pro features the same Dimensity 9300 mobile platform as the vivo X100 series. It incorporates an all-large core design in the CPU section, resulting in a significant breakthrough in both single-core and multi-core performance for the mobile phone. In comparison to the previous generation Dimensity 9200, the device exhibits a 15% increase in performance with the same energy consumption, a 40% surge in multi-core peak performance, and a 33% reduction in energy consumption while maintaining the same level of performance.
The GPU utilizes ARM’s latest and most potent Immortalis G720. It boasts 12 cores, a boosted main frequency of 1.3GHz, a 46% theoretical peak performance increase, and a 40% reduction in power consumption under equivalent performance conditions compared to the previous generation.
Our iQOO Neo9 Pro model is configured with a 16GB LPDDR5X 8533Mbps + 1TB UFS4.0 storage combination. Paired with the Dimensity 9300, it establishes the most formidable performance triad within the Android realm to date.
In this context, we conducted practical assessments of Neo9 Pro’s theoretical and gaming performance. Throughout the tests, we maintained the phone’s screen brightness at 50%, disabled automatic brightness adjustment, turned off memory expansion, and activated performance mode (BOOST mode).
Performance Testing
Firstly, the AnTuTu comprehensive performance test yielded a total score of 2.156 million at normal temperatures. This represents a 35% increase in overall performance compared to the previous generation iQOO Neo8 Pro equipped with Dimensity 9200+. The CPU sub-score reached 511,000 points, the GPU sub-score achieved 881,000 points, the memory scored 418,000 points, and the UX reached 346,000 points. Among performance-focused smartphones, the iQOO Neo9 Pro stands among the top performers.
Subsequently, we utilized GeekBench6 to conduct a single CPU performance test. The single-core score reached 2249 points, and the multi-core score surpassed the 7500 mark, reaching 7528 points. This denotes an 8.9% and 36.1% improvement, respectively, compared to the Dimensity 9200+. The multi-core performance has experienced substantial enhancement.
Lastly, the GPU single performance test was performed using six 1080P projects of GFXBench. The Dimensity 9300 exhibited a remarkable 29% improvement in performance compared to the previous year’s 9200+.
Game Testing
For the gaming test, conducted in a 25-degree Celsius office environment, we chose two highly popular mobile games, “Genshin Impact” and “Honkai Impact: Star Rail.” The games were run at the highest frame rate with the highest image quality, prioritizing image quality. Frame rate, power consumption, energy efficiency ratio, and body temperature performance were recorded during the games.
Genshin Impact
Running Genshin Impact at 60 frames mode + full picture quality for 15 minutes yielded an average frame rate of 59.6FPS. The average power consumption was 4.4W, with a frame energy consumption of 74.6mW and an energy efficiency ratio of 13.5FPS/W. Despite minor fluctuations during the game, the overall picture remained smooth. The low power consumption translated to extremely low temperatures, with a maximum of 40.7 degrees Celsius on the front and 40.5 degrees Celsius on the back.
Honkai Impact: Star Dome Railway
Running Honkai Impact: Star Iron at 60FPS + highest image quality resulted in a stable average frame rate of 59.4FPS. The average power consumption was about 3.5W, with an energy efficiency ratio of 16.97FPS/W. The temperatures remained impressively low, with the front reaching only 37.1 degrees Celsius and the back at 36.3 degrees Celsius.
Additionally, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro integrates the iQOO 12 series e-sports chip Q1, enhancing frame rate, reducing power consumption, and improving image quality for large-scale 3D mobile games in daily use.
Increasing Frame Rate
Testing the game performance after increasing the frame rate to 90FPS resulted in an average power consumption of 3.76W, only 0.26W higher than the high-definition 60 frames. The energy efficiency ratio increased by about 40.8%, reaching approximately 23.9 FPS/W. The temperature remained only about 1 degree Celsius higher than the default image quality, maintaining comfortable conditions for holding the phone.
Optimizing Power Consumption
In the power consumption optimization test, the native image quality of the game was reduced to about 30FPS, and the Q1 e-sports chip supplemented the frame rate to 60FPS in real time. The average power consumption dropped to 3.06W, approximately 23% lower than the default image quality. The energy efficiency ratio increased to about 19.6 FPS/W, reflecting a year-on-year improvement of 15.5%. The front phone temperature decreased by 0.9 degrees Celsius to only 36.2 degrees, ensuring a stable and cool gaming experience.
Cameras
The iQOO Neo9 Pro features a rear dual camera module and a flicker sensor. The primary camera utilizes the same 50-megapixel (54-megapixel crop) Sony IMX920 CMOS found in the vivo X100 and vivo S18 Pro. It boasts a 1/1.56-inch (1/1.49-inch crop) actual photosensitive unit, 1.0μm single pixel, and an equivalent focal length of 23mm. It supports dual image stabilization with OIS optical image stabilization and EIS electronic image stabilization.
The ultra-wide-angle lens employs the familiar 50-megapixel Samsung S5KJN1 CMOS with a 1/2.76-inch photosensitive unit and a 15mm equivalent focal length.
Now, let’s delve into the actual photography performance of the iQOO Neo9 Pro.
The primary photo was captured in a daytime scene. The sample photos convey an initial impression of a remarkably pure overall image with slightly elevated color saturation. The visuals are more vibrant, showcasing rich colors and providing a delightful visual experience.
Thanks to the 50-megapixel midsole CMOS, detailed inspection reveals minimal noise when zoomed in. For instance, when photographing small text, the image can be cropped up to 3 times or 5 times without encountering any issues.
The ultra-wide-angle lens, benefiting from the 1/2.76-inch photosensitive unit, receives increased light input compared to the previous generation OV08D10. The 1/4-inch base facilitates accurate white balance adjustment under ample lighting conditions. There’s no discernible color cast in comparison to the main camera. Even as the sun sets, the resulting picture maintains ample brightness, surpassing the performance of the previous model.
During nighttime, control of bright light is commendable. When faced with direct light, the captured images remain glare-free, appearing transparent and bright with virtually no noise. Exceptional performance is observed in capturing details, thanks to noise reduction processing and dynamic range control.
Battery
The largest battery in the history of the Neo series is featured in the iQOO Neo9 Pro, boasting a capacity of 5160mAh. This device supports 120W dual-core ultra-fast flash charging. Simultaneously, the original charger accommodates up to 100W PD protocol and 100W PPS protocol, demonstrating robust compatibility. The charger facilitates rapid charging for mobile phones, tablets, and computers, making it a versatile companion for global travel. About this, a series of tests were conducted on the charging capacity and battery life of the iQOO Neo9 Pro.
Charging Test
Initiating the charging test: commencing charging from 1%, reaching 27% in 5 minutes, surpassing half of the battery in 10 minutes, achieving 54% in 20 minutes, and ultimately completing a full charge within 27 minutes. Throughout charging, the highest charging power recorded was 101.9W.
Endurance Test
For battery life assessment, the professional battery life testing tool used is Battery Dog, developed by Kuai Technology.
In default test conditions, a 20% power test is conducted. Concurrently, all test parameters, including CPU high voltage, CPU multi-threading, AI recognition, picture browsing, video playback, and web browsing, are examined to simulate various user scenarios. This approach ensures a realistic load, closely resembling actual power consumption.
During testing, environmental variables for all models are maintained consistently by Battery Dog. This is achieved by automatically setting the screen brightness to 50%, disabling automatic brightness, and adjusting the volume to 30%.
Following continuous and uninterrupted testing by Battery Dog, the power consumption from 100% to 20% required 5 hours, 26 minutes, and 20 seconds. Upon conversion, the full battery life extends to nearly 7 hours.
Verdict
The iQOO Neo9 Pro has transitioned from merely accumulating performance, as observed in the previous generation, to incorporating a decentralized X100 main camera, the series’ inaugural LTPO high-quality adaptive high-refresh screen, and the Neo series’ largest battery to date. The new generation of the iQOO Neo series not only ensures high performance but also prioritizes the comprehensive user experience of the mobile phone.
Performance is indisputable. The Dimensity 9300 stands as a flagship SOC with a full core. In real-game testing, Genshin Impact attains an ultra-low power consumption of merely 4.4W while maintaining a full frame rate. Such an achievement is nearly inconceivable on the Snapdragon platform.
Additionally, the iQOO Neo9 Pro attains a harmonious equilibrium between high picture quality, high frame rate, and low power consumption in gaming, courtesy of iQOO’s support for the “Blue Crystal Chip Technology Stack.” This stems from chip optimization and the ultimate product style, created through deep integration in a closed loop.
Thanks to the e-sports chip Q1, users can select high fluency and low power consumption for gaming while ensuring ultra-high image quality. This grants users the right of choice, distinguishing itself from other flagship products that offer limited options for improving picture quality and smoothness, often overlooking the importance of low power consumption.
iQOO Neo9 Pro has achieved a significant breakthrough in its imaging capabilities. The outsole main camera + high-quality ultra-wide-angle lens combination is introduced in the Neo series. Nighttime sample photos exhibit improved highlight suppression, marking a notable enhancement.
Moreover, the ultra-wide-angle lens of the iQOO Neo9 Pro transcends the typical role of “making up the numbers.” With a 50-megapixel resolution, it provides clear and sharp images, even when magnified. It no longer adheres to the notion of “as a performance phone, I have an ultra-wide-angle lens” but rather elevates itself to claim “As a performance phone, the quality of my ultra-wide-angle lens is the best in its class.”
In conclusion, the iQOO Neo9 Pro stands as the most potent dual-core performance flagship available in the 3,500 yuan price range. Mobile gamers seeking flagship configurations should act swiftly and give it a try!
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