iQOO Z10 5G was launched in India earlier this month at a starting price of Rs 21,999. The smartphone has a loaded spec sheet, rocking a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor, a 6.77-inch AMOLED display, a massive 7,300mAh battery, and more. Many would argue that these specs are hard to beat in the price segment that this smartphone operates in. To test this out, we used the smartphone as our daily driver for a week. Here is our in-depth iQOO Z10 5G review.
In This Article
iQOO Z10 5G Review: Design and Display
Here’s what you get inside iQOO 10’s retail box.
- Smartphone
- Power adapter
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Clear plastic case
- Quick start guide
- Warranty card
iQOO has completely reinvented the aesthetic of its latest Z series offering. Compared to the Z9 (our review here), the iQOO Z10 feels a lot more premium with its glass back and giant camera cutout. We got our hands on the ‘Glacier Silver’ variant, which has a wavy pattern and a subtle matte finish. The matte texture is more prominent on the Stellar Black colour variant. The camera module resembles the Vivo X200 Pro with its central positioning and steel rim.
The glass back panel curves ever so slightly towards the plastic frame. This curved frame houses the side button and volume rocker keys on its right edge. The SIM tray, USB Type-C port, primary microphone, and speaker grille are positioned on the bottom edge. The secondary microphone finds its way to the top of the frame. There is no secondary speaker outlet on the device.
The 6.77-inch curved AMOLED display has a 120Hz refresh rate and can reach a peak brightness of 5,000 nits. It is able to overcome the harsh noon sun and maintain excellent legibility. The 120Hz refresh rate provides a fluid scrolling experience. The optical fingerprint scanner does its job well, even if it is placed slightly below its ideal position. The display is surrounded by very slim bezels.
The AMOLED panel has a 1,080 x 2,392p resolution. It does a great job of relaying crisp, HD visuals and packing all the important details. The images displayed on the screen exude natural colours and have a tasteful contrast. There is an option to optimise the colour and contrast of the images within certain apps (like YouTube, Netflix, etc.) for more vivid display effects.
iQOO Z10 5G Review: Performance and Cameras
The Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset lies at the heart of the iQOO Z10. The smartphone is available in 3 RAM + storage variants:
- 8GB + 128GB: Rs 21,999
- 8GB + 256GB: Rs 23,999
- 12GB + 256GB: Rs 25,999
Here is how the smartphone performed on the Geekbench 6 test:
- Single-core: 1,168 points
- Multi-core: 3,135 points
The iQOO Z10 delivers a good everyday performance. Routine tasks like calling, messaging, social media browsing, multimedia streaming, and navigation are handled well. The apps take ever so slightly longer to load since the smartphone does not have the fastest storage configuration onboard. However, the difference is only noticeable to the trained eye. Compared to other phones in its category, the Z10 puts up an above-average performance.
We played titles like Call of Duty Mobile and Asphalt Legends Unite to test the iQOO Z10’s gaming performance. The gameplay experience was satisfactory, but nothing out of the ordinary. We stuck to medium graphics and a 60fps frame rate for a fluid and smooth gameplay. With high graphics, we noticed that the smartphone started warming up faster than usual. One of the cool things about this smartphone is that it has the Bypass Charging feature, which is commonly found in gaming-centric devices.
iQOO Z10 runs the Android 15-based Funtouch OS 15 out of the box. It is promised to receive 2 major OS upgrades. Funtouch OS 15 is a well-optimised skin that is very snappy to use. The animations for apps and pages are on point. On top of that, you get plenty of customisation options for elements like the lock screen, fingerprint scanner icon, app icons, charging animation, screen transition, and more. The smartphone is equipped with a handful of AI features, the most notable ones being Circle to Search, Gemini Assistant, and AI eraser.
The biggest highlight of the smartphone is its massive 7,300mAh battery. This is the biggest battery we’ve ever seen on a smartphone. Since it is a Si/C unit, it is quite sleek compared to its capacity. We’ve talked about several smartphones offering a 2-day battery life before, but that phrase rings more true than ever on this smartphone. This is because you don’t need to be smart or conservative with your usage to extend this device’s battery life to 2 days. During the review period, we racked up a 7-hour screen time over the course of two days on the iQOO Z10. Our daily tasks consisted of calling, texting, media streaming, and even a bit of gaming. The smartphone supports 90W fast charging, and using the power adapter provided in the box, we were able to fully replenish its battery in just over an hour.
Moving on, the iQOO Z10’s giant rear camera module houses a 50MP Sony IMX882 primary shooter and a 2MP depth sensor. Up front, an 32MP selfie camera is housed inside a punch-hole cutout.
The 50MP primary shooter takes good pictures in outdoor daylight conditions. The images showcase deep, rich colours and great dynamic range. On top of that, the final results exude good clarity and sharpness. In limited lighting conditions, the sensor lets in a lot of light and does a good job of brightening the scene. The dedicated Night Mode in the native Camera app gets rid of the noise in the images and assigns them vibrant colours.
The Portrait Mode in the Camera app offers 3 zoom levels: 1x, 1.5x, and 2x. The portraits taken with the primary shooter are vivid and well-focused. We were quite pleased with the background blur that the smartphone applied to the images, especially at 1.5x and 2x zoom levels. Lastly, the 32MP front-facing camera takes good selfies and keeps the skin texture and tone correction effects to a minimum. However, the selfies are a little soft. The front and rear cameras can record 4K videos at 30fps and 1,080p videos at 30/60fps.
Read Also: How to Use ChatGPT’s Image Library on Phone and PC
Verdict
The iQOO Z10 5G is one of the best ‘value for money’ smartphones you can buy right now. The star of the show is the massive 7,300mAh Si/C battery that provides the smartphone with enough juice to last 2 days on regular usage. On top of that, the glass back panel is a big step-up from the plastic back of the iQOO Z9. The curved AMOLED display curates a brilliant viewing experience while also offering a phenomenal touch response. The 50MP primary camera delivers a good performance in different lighting conditions. While an ultrawide camera would have been a nice addition to the smartphone, the Rs 21,999 price tag doesn’t really leave much room for complaints.
Pros
- Glass back
- Nice design
- Good camera performance
- 2-day battery life
Cons
- No secondary speaker
- No ultrawide lens
