iQOO Z7 hands-on review

iQOO unveiled the iQOO Z7 in India earlier this week and adopted up with one other Z7 in China, which has totally different specs. The Chinese Z7 is but to go on sale, however the Indian Z7 is already out there for buy. It begins at INR18,999 ($230/€215) and has two coloration choices – Norway Blue and Pacific Night. We spent a while with it and listed below are our impressions.

Let’s examine the iQOO Z7’s retail field first, whose design is much like the extra premium iQOO quantity collection’ packages, however has a smaller footprint. It features a SIM ejector instrument, a protecting case, a USB-C cable, a 44W energy adapter, and the same old paperwork.

The iQOO Z7 is constructed round a 6.38″ FullHD+ AMOLED display with a 90Hz display refresh charge and 1,300 nits peak brightness. The show is protected by Schott Xensation Glass and has a fingerprint scanner beneath, which we discovered to be quick and correct within the quick time we spent with the telephone. Although we would have favored it to be positioned a tad larger for ease of attain.

While we respect iQOO for providing an in-display fingerprint reader on the Z7 as an alternative of going with a side-mounted scanner like another manufacturers do regardless of their telephones packing AMOLED panels, we’re not as keen on the waterdrop notch for the 16MP selfie digital camera as an alternative of a punch gap like its Chinese counterpart. This feels dated in 2023.

On the upside, the iQOO Z7’s show helps HDR10+ and the telephone comes with Widevine L1 certification, enabling 1080p video streaming on OTT apps. Talking concerning the display refresh charge, you get three choices below the iQOO Z7’s Settings > Display & brightness > Screen refresh charges menu – 60Hz, 90Hz, and Smart Switch.

The first one retains the display refresh charge locked at 60Hz on a regular basis, whereas the 90Hz mode bumps up the refresh charge to 90Hz in supported apps. The Smart Switch mode additionally will increase the refresh charge to 90Hz, but it surely would not carry it again to 60Hz if you aren’t interacting with the display, which is bizarre since different iQOO telephones decrease the refresh charge after just a few seconds of inactivity on this mode. This may very well be a bug, and we hope it is going to be mounted quickly.

Some apps, together with Google Photos, stay at 90Hz within the 90Hz mode however swap to 60Hz in Smart Switch mode no matter whether or not you might be interacting with the display or not. Hence, we advise you persist with the 90Hz mode for the smoothest scrolling expertise potential.

Turn the iQOO Z7 round, and also you see an oblong two-step digital camera island overlaying barely greater than 50% of the panel’s width. The prime plate has a shiny end and homes the 64MP major digital camera with OIS and 2MP depth sensor. The second one has a matte end and sports activities an LED flash.

The Z7’s digital camera island causes it to wobble on flat surfaces, and the bundled case would not repair it.

The iQOO Z7’s rear panel is made from plastic, but it surely hardly attracted any fingerprint smudges throughout our utilization. The again cowl of our Norway Blue model has a glittery sample and displays a number of colours at totally different angles, which appears fairly cool. However, the flat design might not be most popular by everybody, and we, too, would have the again with curved edges for a greater dealing with and ergonomic expertise. Regardless, the iQOO Z7’s Norway Blue mannequin is a looker, and we prefer it.

The total construct of the iQOO Z7 is first rate, with the quantity rocker and energy key being clicky sufficient.

Ports and controls

Talking concerning the {hardware}, the Indian iQOO Z7 has the Dimensity 920 SoC below the hood with as much as 8GB RAM and 128GB storage, expandable as much as 1TB by way of a microSD card. The smartphone runs Android 13-based Funtouch OS out of the field with the February 2023 Android safety patch. However, a software program replace requiring a obtain of about 320MB bumped it as much as March 2023 degree. iQOO has promised three years of safety updates and two years of Android model upgrades, which means the Z7 will obtain Android 15 ultimately.

Like most different iQOO smartphones, the Z7 additionally comes pre-installed with third-party apps, and happily, nearly all of them could be uninstalled if you don’t need them.

Fueling your entire bundle is a 4,500 mAh battery charged via a USB-C port at as much as 45W. It’s marketed to go from 1% to 50% in 25 minutes and 100% in 64 minutes. The remainder of the iQOO Z7’s highlights embody Motion Control, an IP54 ranking, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and Wi-Fi 6.

The iQOO Z7’s 6GB/128GB mannequin is priced at INR18,999 ($230/€215) and the 8GB/128GB model at INR19,999 ($240/€225). You should purchase it from iQOO India’s official web site and Amazon.in. Note that this Z7 will stay unique to India, and the Snapdragon 782G-powered variant, which is at present out there in China, is predicted to debut in Malaysia quickly. You can head this strategy to examine the detailed specs comparability of the Chinese and Indian iQOO Z7 fashions.