iQoo Z3 review: A Powerful Smartphone at the Right Price

Vivo’s sub-brand iQoo is not any stranger to 5G. It has launched 4 smartphones in India up to now, and all of them (together with the Z3) assist 5G. Since networks have but to turn into operational in India, it makes a whole lot of sense for smartphone producers to not rely solely on high-speed knowledge as a promoting level. The truth is, each producer providing a smartphone priced between Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 22,000 has managed to convey one thing extra to the desk. Xiaomi presents a 108-megapixel digital camera on its Mi 10i (Review), Realme’s X7 5G (Review) will get you twin 5G standby and a 120Hz Tremendous AMOLED show, and the checklist goes on.

This being iQoo’s first inexpensive smartphone for the Indian market, it has gone with the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G processor, which ought to stay unique for some time. In a smartphone phase that is crowded with units from many producers, has iQoo carried out sufficient to attract consideration to its latest providing?

iQoo Z3 design

I acquired a Cyber Blue unit of the iQoo Z3 for evaluate. The smartphone’s body and rear panel are manufactured from plastic. The matte again panel feels clean, and is sweet at not choosing up fingerprints, however permits mud to construct up simply. The Cyber Blue end has a rainbow-like multicolour pearlescent end that appears completely different when considered from completely different angles. These on the lookout for one thing extra delicate ought to go for the Ace Black end, which encompasses a gray and black gradient.

The iQoo Z3 encompasses a 6.58-inch LCD panel with thick black show borders

The telephone seems fairly slim and is comfy to carry provided that it encompasses a 6.5-inch show. There’s a 3.5mm headphone jack on the backside together with the one speaker, the first mic and the Sort-C USB port. The fingerprint reader is embedded within the energy button, which sits on the suitable aspect, together with the amount rocker positioned above it. The fingerprint reader is simple to achieve and unlocks the gadget immediately.

iQoo Z3 specs and software program

The iQoo Z3 is the primary smartphone in India to characteristic the Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G cellular platform. Like many smartphones on this phase, the iQoo Z3 helps two 5G bands (n77, n78), but it surely doesn’t provide twin 5G standby. The Snapdragon 768G is a barely up to date model of the 765G which made it to a number of mid-range smartphones such because the Vivo V20 Pro (Review) and the OnePlus Nord (Review) in 2020. So, iQoo providing it in a sub-Rs. 20,000 smartphone is certainly fascinating.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G options an octa-core setup with one 2.8GHz Kryo 475 Gold core, one other 2.4GHz Kryo 475 Gold core, and 6 1.8GHz Kryo 475 Silver cores. In comparison with the Snapdragon 750G processor utilized in many different smartphones at this worth level, the 768G presents larger CPU and GPU clock speeds and is constructed on a 7nm manufacturing course of (as an alternative of 8nm).

The Cyber Blue iQoo Z3 has a rainbow-like multicolour pearlescent end

iQoo has launched the Z3 in three configurations in India. There’s a 6GB RAM +128GB storage variant, an 8GB RAM + 128GB storage possibility, and an 8GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. All of them assist as much as a 1TB microSD card for enlargement utilizing the hybrid SIM slot.

The iQoo Z3 makes use of Vivo’s FunTouch OS. At the moment at model 11.1, it’s based mostly on Android 11, and my unit was operating the Might 2021 Android safety replace. On the time of scripting this evaluate, iQoo has but to announce something a couple of transfer to Vivo’s next-gen Origin OS, which is already out there on the Chinese language variant of this telephone.

The iQoo Z3’s fingerprint reader is embedded in its energy button, which sits on the suitable aspect

FunTouch OS seems quite a bit like inventory Android when it comes to look, however presents a number of customisations that almost all different Android skins often do not. You may change the animations for the unlock display, facial recognition, charging, USB insertion, and even placing the telephone into standby and waking it. Alternatively, there isn’t a solution to customise the icon form, like on Oppo’s ColorOS or Realme’s Realme UI-powered smartphones. There are additionally a number of iQoo-branded apps (together with Notes, Video, EasyShare and many others.) and iQoo has retained its personal dialer and SMS apps on the Z3. Bloatware is restricted to simply three apps – Snapchat, Dailyhunt and Moj – and all of them might be uninstalled if not wanted.

iQoo Z3 efficiency and battery life

The 6.5-inch FHD+ LCD on the iQoo Z3 encompasses a refresh charge of 120Hz and a contact sampling charge of 180Hz, which is beneficial whereas enjoying video games. It makes use of strengthened Panda glass, which picks up fingerprints simply, and these are additionally fairly laborious to wipe off. The show will get sufficiently vibrant in daylight. Colors seem a bit saturated however textual content and pictures look sharp. The 120Hz refresh charge made the software program really feel fairly fluid in on a regular basis use. iQoo claims that the show is HDR10 licensed. I used to be capable of stream HDR content material on the Youtube app, however Netflix didn’t assist it.

The iQoo Z3 makes use of Vivo’s FunTouch OS, which is at the moment at model 11.1

Basic efficiency was top-notch with no stuttering or lag. The brand new Snapdragon 768G SoC confirmed a noticeable bump in scores in our benchmarking checks. The iQoo Z3 managed a rating of 4,45,029 in AnTuTu, in addition to 710 and 1,985 in Geekbench 5’s single and multi-core checks. The processor positively carried out higher than the Qualcomm Snapdragon 750G within the OnePlus Nord CE 5G (Review), which managed scores of three,91,813 in AnTuTu together with 639 and 1830 in Geekbench 5’s single and multi-core checks.

The Snapdragon 765G was a very good processor for mid-level gaming, and the 768G additionally presents good graphics efficiency. The iQoo Z3 carried out effectively when enjoying Name of Obligation: Cellular on the default Excessive graphics and Excessive body charge settings, operating easily and displaying no indicators of overheating. The telephone began to heat up after switching the graphics and framerate to Very Excessive (with anti-aliasing on), however maintained efficiency within the sport. Asphalt 9 Legends additionally ran impressively at Excessive High quality with no stutters or lag.

The one speaker on the backside will get fairly loud, however sounds tinny. It’s adequate for gaming, however not a lot for watching motion pictures or listening to music. At the very least iQoo has given this telephone a 3.5mm headphone jack for individuals who want higher audio high quality.

The iQoo Z3 encompasses a single speaker that will get fairly loud, however sounds tinny

The 4,400mAh battery fees up fairly shortly, going from no energy to 67 % in half-hour and finishing the cost in 60 minutes. As for battery life, the telephone achieved a formidable rating of 19 hours and 32 minutes in our HD video loop check. With an hour of gaming, some images, telephone calls, and continuously checking social media apps, the telephone managed most days with 30-40 % left within the battery at night time, which is kind of good.

iQoo Z3 cameras

The iQoo Z3 encompasses a triple rear digital camera setup with a 64-megapixel f/1.79 main digital camera, an 8-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide digital camera, and a 2-megapixel f/2.4 macro digital camera. The selfie digital camera encompasses a 16-megapixel sensor with an f/2.0 aperture. The digital camera interface is what you’d discover on most iQoo and Vivo smartphones. The default seen digital camera modes might be swapped for no matter you’ll often use.

The iQoo Z3 encompasses a triple rear digital camera setup, which features a 2-megapixel macro digital camera

When capturing in daylight, images got here out a bit saturated with a good quantity of element within the textures. Noise was below management and the shadows had loads of element, however there was noticeable purple fringing within the brighter areas of scenes. The ultra-wide-angle digital camera shot satisfactory images however was not capable of seize a lot element. There was additionally loads of purple fringing when capturing in vibrant settings. The 2X digital zoom mode surprisingly produced photographs with a very good quantity of element. Portrait mode images had a bit extra saturation and good edge-detection.

iQoo Z3 daylight digital camera samples. High to backside: Extremely-wide, customary, 2X digital zoom (faucet to see full dimension)

Photographs shot in low mild had noise below management, however element within the shadows was poor, primarily in scenes that had some type of lighting within the neighborhood. The Night time mode managed to brighten up scenes and produce the highlights below management.

The two-megapixel macro digital camera captured odd-looking color tones, so I most popular cropping photographs taken with the first digital camera as an alternative.

iQoo Z3 low-light digital camera samples. High: Auto mode, backside: Night time mode (faucet to see full dimension)

Selfies shot in daylight got here out clear, however appeared a bit too vibrant. Nonetheless, the entrance digital camera managed to reveal topics and backgrounds effectively. In low mild, the selfie digital camera did a good job so long as there was a supply of sunshine within the neighborhood. Night time mode messes issues up and applies some form of make-up to faces (even with beautification switched off) making folks look textureless and artificial.

iQoo Z3 selfie samples. High: daylight, backside: low-light (faucet to see full dimension)

Movies shot in 1080p at 30 and 60fps utilizing the first digital camera confirmed good element and stabilisation. Similar to with images, I seen a whole lot of purple fringing when capturing movies with the ultra-wide-angle digital camera. In low mild, video recorded at 1080p 30fps appeared a bit blurry and EIS resulted in a nasty shimmering impact when strolling.

Movies recorded in 4K appeared to have some irregular color saturation when capturing in daylight and in low mild. The identical movies additionally lacked stabilisation, so that they ended up wanting jerky if recorded when strolling and when panning.

Verdict

With the Z3, iQoo now has a strong contender on the larger finish of the finances smartphone phase. Its primary {hardware} characteristic, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 768G processor, presents higher efficiency than the competitors, but it surely’s not an enormous leap.

There’s additionally a vibrant 120Hz refresh charge show and best-in-class charging with a 55W adapter within the field. Regardless of its plastic body and again, the telephone nonetheless seems fairly good in its Cyber Blue end, and can be considerably future-ready as a result of it helps 5G. The one draw back is its common low-light digital camera efficiency.

The iQoo Z3 presents unimaginable worth for the {hardware} that it presents, priced beginning at Rs. 19,999. Its closest competitor is the Realme X7 5G (Review) which presents a 120Hz OLED show and 50W charging together with twin 5G standby on each SIMs.