The year has just begun and smartphone launches are coming in thick and fast. A device I have been looking forward to is IQOO 11 5G because in the past the brand has offered a memorable mix of camera chops and processing power. What has changed and how does it stack up against, say, the latest Redmi Note 12 phones (though IQOO 11 is in a higher price segment, Redmi makes quite a few claims on its cameramodule)? Here’s what I found out over 10-odd days.
Raw power
The first element about the phone that hits the eye is the vegan leather back panel, which helps grip the phone better, especially during gaming. It ensures that you don’t have to use a case. The biggest design element is the large camera cutout, which is slim and when the phone is kept on the desk, it doesn’t wobble, unlike the just-launched Redmi Note 12 Pro+.
Powering the phone is Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, besides 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS4.0 storage. Both RAM and storage are the fastest you can find in the market at the moment, so read/write speeds are very high. The benchmark tests come out quite well but don’t go by these figures because it’s the real-world usage that counts. Throw any game at the phone, the performance is buttery smooth, complete with highest graphics settings. Heat management is also excellent, which you will feel playing Genshin Impact. First, the vapour chamber cooling works well and the vegan leather back works as a barrier, cutting off much of the heat. More importantly, there are no frame drops. Sustained performance takes the gaming experience a notch or two higher.
Clear display and camera magic
But what good is performance without a great display? It’s a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh rate and it’s 2K resolution as well. This is a high-resolution screen on which thumbing through any social network feed feels fluid. By default it’s set to ‘Smart Switch’ or a scenario where the machine can choose the appropriate refresh rate depending on what you are doing. But go ahead, set it to 144Hz by default to get the max out of the display.
If you look closely at the camera module, there is a mention of V2. It’s a chip that helps take care of quite a few things, one of them being a smoother feel on the display, besides helping out with the cameras.
To the biggest feature of the phone — the camera. You get three cameras on the back — 50MP main, 8MP ultra-wide and 13MP telephoto+portrait (with 2x optical zoom). It’s a very interesting set-up. Instead of going with the number game of offering 108MP or 200MP, it’s a well-tuned 50MP camera with optical image stablisation and GN5 sensor. The sensor has a proven track record, found on some of the best smartphones in the world.
Needless to say, there’s no shutter lag. Pictures come out full of vivid details and though the colours are slightly punchy, I think it will make most users happy, especially if you are big on social media. We took the phone to Mysore Palace where everything is colourful and the camera did justice to the scene. There is little in terms of colour shift when you move from the main camera to the ultra-wide. What has impressed me the most is night photography. When most phones in the price segment crush details hiding within shadows, the IQOO 11 highlights tough spots. The ultra-wide shots here are far better than those on the new Redmi devices. Portrait shots have enviable background separation while 2x zoom shots give a feel of a DSLR. The telephoto lens works well even at night. There is enough sharpness and detail as well as solid dynamic range.
Video recording is another area one needs to talk about — you can record 4K at 30fps or 60fps and even move to 8K videos (30fps). Remember, 8K videos take up a lot of space. Having OIS on the main camera helps while audio pick up is flawless. The quibble I have with the camera is video on the selfie camera, which is restricted to 1080p.
Should you buy it?
For a slim phone such as IQOO 11, it packs a massive 5,000mAH battery. It easily lasts a day. I used Google Maps a great deal since I was travelling around Bangalore and Mysore. Plus, there was enough content viewing and some gaming. The 120W charger in the box can juice up in around 22 minutes, which means we can’t even give you the 30-minute charging test results. It’s that quick. Compared to previous phones from the brand, the number of pre-installed app has been greatly reduced. There are apps like Byju’s, LinkedIn, Spotify and so on but these can be deleted. Out of the box, it comes with Android 13 (on top of Funtouch OS 13). Overall, IQOO 11 is a well-rounded and premium device with solid camera performance.
The main camera on the phone comes with GN5 sensor, one of the best in the market
At a glance
Device: IQOO 11 5G
Price: Upwards of Rs 59,999
High notes
- Top-quality AMOLED display 144Hz refresh rate
- Excellent processing power
- High fast-charging speeds
- Comes with Android 13
- V2 chip makes night photography shineMuffled note
- 1080p video recording on selfie camera
Muffled note
- 1080p video recording on selfie camera
Colours come out slightly punchy but the overall feel is just right for social media feeds
The texture on surfaces shine through when you zoom into photos
The shot was taken after midnight. Details hiding within shadows are well captured
