iQOO Z7 5G Review – Beast Phone Under Rs 20,000

For the first, iQOO is using Vivo’s name for marketing starting from iQOO Z7 5G. I’m mentioning this because iQOO has said that we’re an independent brand but, now things have changed.

With that said, let’s review the iQOO Z7 5G because this device does have good specs for the price it comes.

iQOO Z7 5G Price in India

iQOO Z7 5G price in India starts from Rs 18,999 for 6GB of ram and 128GB storage while another 8GB Ram and 128GB storage variant is priced at Rs 19,999. The device comes in Norway Blue and Black color options and it will go for sale on 21st March 2023 via Amazon at Noon.

iQOO Z7 5G Review

Yes, iQOO Z7 5G is worth buying because it has the best specs under Rs 20,000 in India, however, it does have some flaws like a waterdrop notch and fun touch OS but other than that, it’s a rock-solid device for the price it comes.

The Waterdrop notch in 2023 doesn’t feel or look great from any angle, so why does iQOO use the old design? The reason is very simple, they wanted to save some cost by using the build and design from year-old devices.

Fun Touch OS has come a long way but still, this is not the perfect Android Skin to use unless and until you’re a fan of heavy customization and you’re okay with a little bit of Frame drops.

Related: 5 Best Smartphones Under Rs 20,000

Again, the MediaTek Dimensity 920 is a powerful processor for the 19k price tag, the camera is also not that bad compared to phones like RealMe 10 Pro 5G.

Overall, you can consider the iQOO Z7 5G, if you’re okay with the year-OLD design and Fun Touch OS otherwise for gaming, RealMe 9 SE 5G is still because option as it has Snapdragon 778G SoC.

iQOO Z7 5G Pros and Cons

PROS	CONS
90Hz Smooth AMOLED Panel	Plastic Unibody
Super Bright 1300nits Brightness	Single Speaker
Powerful MediaTek Dimensity 920 SoC	Too OLD-Waterdrop Notch
Decent Battery Life	No Ultra-Wide Lens
44W Fast Charging Support	Filled with Bloatware
6 5G Bands	Ads in the UI
HDR Supported	Fun Touch OS needs a bit of Optimization
Above Average Cameras
3.5mm Audio Jack

Display Quality

The iQOO Z7 5G comes with a 6.38-inches 900Hz AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2408 pixels and a pick brightness of 1300 nits. The device also supports HDR on YouTube as well as on Netflix.

This is a 19k smartphone and yet it has 1300nits brightness which is insane because we usually don’t get this kind of brightness on budget smartphones.

So yes, whether you want to use a phone outdoors or indoors, you will be more than happy with its display quality. Along with that, iQOO has also added an optical in-display fingerprint sensor which works well.

By the way, the device has a plastic back and plastic frame while the front is protected with Schott Xensation Glass.

Schott Xensation Glass is cheap compared to Corning Gorilla Glass, so you see, why they used it here. For reference, the Schott Xensation Glass is comparable with Gorilla Glass 3.

Related: Best Smartphones Under Rs 25,000

Yes, the plastic build doesn’t feel good but hey, at the end of the day, you will use the cover case. Now, if you’re that person who wants to use your smartphone naked then you will have to go above 20k for the glass back and aluminum frame.

Overall, iQOO Z7 5G only has only one disadvantage with its display which is a waterdrop notch other than that, the device has the best display while the build is plastic, so not good either.

Performance

Lately, we’re seeing the MediaTek Dimensity 920 processor in the under Rs 20,000 segment because this is the year OLD SoC and prices have dropped.

Now, the MediaTek Dimensity 920 is not powerful enough to handle heavy games, so if you want to play COD Mobile with high graphics then you won’t able to do it but with medium graphics, it will work like butter.

Also, iQOO has partnered with PUBG New State, so if you play this game then it’s good news for you because iQOO Z7 5G supports 90fps with smooth graphics only on this game.

In short, for the Rs 18,999 price tag, this is the best processor you can get, hands down.

The device runs on Fun Touch OS 13 based on Android 13, iQOO has also promised 2 years of OS updates and 4 years of security updates.

Now, Fun Touch OS is not known for its performance, it’s always known for its bugs but with Android 13, Vivo has worked on it and it has improved.

Still, the UI is not as good as MyUX, OneUI, or even ColorOS.

Most of the time, you won’t face any kind of problems using Fun Touch OS but sometime, you might see, a few frames drop here and there.

Related: 5 Best Gaming Smartphones Under Rs 20,000

The UI is also Filled with lots of Bloatware and you will have manually go through all the apps to uninstall all the third apps along with Hot Apps and Hot Games.

Yes, the UI also has ads and yes, you can disable but you will have to find settings and do it by yourself. The problem is, most of the users don’t know how to disable ads and this is where the user’s experiences get compromised.

Overall, the IQOO Z7 5G has the best SOC for the 19k price tag and I’m hoping that iQOO will fix the Fun Touch OS, or should I say, Vivo will fix it. Whoever is fixing it, just do it…

Cameras

The iQOO Z7 5G only comes with single rear cameras, I mean, that 2MP macro sensor doesn’t count right. So let’s talk about the 64MP primary sensor that happens to have OIS as well.

The rear cameras can shoot videos at 4k@30fps, and 1080p@60/30fps while the front can shoot at 1080p@30fps.

Now, OIS doesn’t work in 4k video recording, so to get stable videos, use 1080p.

The videos come out stable as OIS kicks in, so yes, whether you want to vlog or shoot videos while walking then you will be more than happy with this camera setup.

Again, this is Vivo’s sub-brand, so you will see bit saturated and white videos. Also, I don’t know what iQOO has done with dynamic range but it’s not doing a great job when there is light behind any subject.

Hope, it will be fixed with OTA updates.

The front camera also takes good videos but the same issue, the dynamic range is not good at all while iQOO is doing a bit of softness too with only the front camera.

Talking about photography,

The 64MP sensor is taking better images than the RealMe 10 Pro 5G cameras which was surprising for me. Again, dynamic range issues with also present in photos too.

Of course, the image comes a bit saturated and softer as IQOO is using Vivo’s color science here and I feel, most of the users in India will like how iQOO is managing the colors.

Related: 5 Best Smartphones Under Rs 30000

The night photos don’t look that great, however, it’s not bad either. It’s the same thing with all the budget smartphones, there will be overexposure along with noise.

Now, there is no ultra-wide lens, so let’s move on to a 13MP selfie shooter.

iQOO Z7 5G takes social media-ready images which means, the images come out on a whiter side and will be a bit saturated as well. Also, iQOO has added all the filters within the camera app, so use it and enjoy it.

Overall, yes, iQOO Z7 5G has good cameras and it does justify the 19k price tag, however, I still feel that IQOO should have added the ultra-wide lens because we’re not living in 2018, this is 2023 and ultra-wide is a must-have sensor when the phone is priced at 19k.

Also, keep in mind, iQOO was never a camera-centric brand, they’re still, focused on gaming which is clearly present on IQOO Z7 5G.

Audio

This is a gaming phone and yet, it has a single speaker which is loud but it’s nowhere near the stereo speaker.

Now, to compensate for the speaker, IQOO has added a 3.5mm audio jack, so use the wired earphones, if you have one at home or buy a new one because wired earphones will give you the best gaming experience.

Also, IQOO has added 6 5G bands, so there won’t be any issues while using the 5G network.

There is also support for dual 5G as well as Carrier Aggregation.

Overall, the 3.5mm audio jack is a good add-on but still, that single speaker is not justifiable for the 19k price tag.

Battery Life

The 4,500mAh battery will only last for a day, if you’re a casual user and if you’re a casual user then you won’t buy the iQOO Z7 5G, so get ready to charge this device twice a day.

The good news is, IQOO has promised the 44W charger in the box which will take 25 minutes to charge from 0% to 50%.

So always, carry the 44W charger otherwise, you will have to wait hours to charge the device.

Overall, yes the battery size is small but IQOO has promised the 44W charger, so it balances out.

Verdict

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IQOO Z7 5G Full Specifications

Price	6GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 18,999 8GB Ram + 128GB storage: Rs 19,999
Available From	March 21st, 2023 at noon Via Amazon
Display	6.38-inches FHD+ AMOLED Waterdrop Display 1300 nits Pick Brightness Schott Xensation Glass 360Hz Touch Sampling Rate 90Hz Screen Refresh Rate HDR Supported IP54 rated 394 PPI density
Resolution	1080 x 2408 pixels resolution
Dimensions	‎15.9 x 7.4 x 0.8 cm
Build	Glass front Plastic Frame Plastic back
OS	Android 13 – Fun Touch OS 13 2 Years of OS Updates 4 Years of Security Updates
Chipset	Chipset: MediaTek Dimensity 920 (6 nm) GPU: Mali-G68 MC4 CPU: Octa-core (2×2.5 GHz Cortex-A78 & 6×2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
SD-Card Slot	Hybrid Card Slot (SD-Card up to 1TB)
Rear Cameras	64MP Primary Sensor (OIS) 2MP Macro (f/2.4) Video 1080p@30/60fps 4k@30fps
Front Camera	13MP Selfie Shooter (f/2.0) Video 1080p@30fps
3.5mm Jack	Yes
Stereo Speakers	No, Single Speaker
Carrier Aggregation	Yes, 4 x 4 MIMO.
Bluetooth Version	5.3 Version
Wi-Fi Version	6.0
FM Radio	No
NFC	No
5G Support	Yes, 6 5G Bands N1, N3, N8, N28A, N77, and N78
Sensors	Fingerprint (In-display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass
Fingerprint Sensor	In-Display Fingerprint Sensor
Battery	4,500mAh (non-removable) 44W Wired Charging 0% to 50% in 25 Minutes
Weight	175 Grams
Colors	Norway Blue and Black
SAR Value	1.15 W/kg (head)     0.84 W/kg (body)
Model Number	I2207

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