iQoo introduced their latest affordable smartphone, the iQoo Z9 Lite, in India. It is the latest 5G offering by the company that comes with a 6.56-inch display and 90Hz refresh rate. We spent over a week with the device to understand what makes it tick and what makes it talk. Let’s see how well the device performs given its low pricing on our test bench. This is the iQoo Z9 Lite review that you should read before buying.
In This Article
iQoo Z9 Lite Review: Design and Display
The retail box is shipped with the following:
- Of course, you get the phone.
- Some paperwork/guide
- Soft TPU case
- USB Type-A to Type-C charging cable
- A 15W charger
- SIM ejector tool
You won’t even be able to tell or notice that this phone is so inexpensive at first glance. The iQoo Z9 Lite has a colour-changing shimmering effect on its back panel. While the gadget is available in the Aqua Flow colour choice, we have the Mocha Brown colour variant for review. Within a glossy, shiny rectangular camera module with a dual-tone look are two metal-accented camera lenses located in the upper left corner.
The camera layout is flush, meaning it is entirely flat rather than protruding.
For a gadget in this price range, the nicest features are that the rear panel is entirely matte-finished and the body is made of plastic. Hence, there is a decreased chance of dents, scratches, and breaking of the phone. A nice feature in this price range is that the phone has an IP64 certification, which means it can resist dust and water splashes. The panel’s matte texture prevents fingerprints and smudges while providing a pleasant, in-hand feel.
On the left side of the plastic frame are the power button, which also functions as a fingerprint scanner, and the volume rocker. The primary speaker grille and the USB Type-C slot are located on the bottom frame. The hybrid SIM tray is located on the left side. This slot allows you to insert both an SD card and two dual 5G SIM cards. The phone is made fairly nicely. The phone is quite well-built.
It appears slightly dated from the front, with a water drop pattern in place of the more contemporary punch-hole notch. The iQoo Z9 Lite 5G’s 6.56-inch HD+ LCD screen has a refresh rate of 90 Hz and a resolution of 720×1,612 pixels.
With HBM, the screen brightness is raised to 840 nits. According to the company, when the amount of ambient light exceeds 10,000 lux, the high brightness setting gets activated automatically. HBM is automatically turned off to save on excessive battery usage when the ambient light falls below 10,000 lux or the phone temperature rises.
Moreover, the smartphone has passed the TÜV Rheinland Low Blue Light Certification.
This device has excellent touch response. When using the smartphone for web browsing, there were no lags or stutters. The display features vibrant colours and an extensive range of details. We streamed video from Netflix, YouTube, and Prime without seeing any picture quality problems.
Although the single speaker has an incredibly loud output and can be made even louder with the audio boost feature, wired headphones are still a better option for high-quality audio.
Also Read: Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 Review: Foldable with AI Features? What a fantastic combo!
iQoo Z9 Lite Review: Performance and Cameras
The iQoo Z9 Lite is powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 6300 5G chipset with a Mali-G57 GPU. It is available with 4GB of RAM with 128GB of storage, 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage variants. The internal storage can be further expanded up to 1 TB using a microSD card. The phone runs on Android 14-based Funtouch OS 14 out of the box. We are reviewing the 6GB RAM with 128GB storage variant, which is available for Rs 11,499 right now. The 4GB RAM model costs Rs 10,499.
There were no problems at all when using YouTube or browsing Instagram and Facebook feeds. The phone performed well throughout every step of the way. The way everyday tasks were handled was excellent, including video calling, texting, sending an email, multimedia streaming, and navigation.
The iQoo Z9 Lite performs best while gaming in situations where it is not overwhelmed. We played Subway Surfers and Call of Duty Mobile at lower settings. Even when playing COD Mobile for prolonged gameplay sessions, we did not have any overheating problems. We were pleased with the outcome and the way everything proceeded.
It is important to note that the phone can handle light gaming, but there will be stutters and lags when the settings are amped up. Having said that, iQoo flagship devices are ideal for intense gaming if you’re an avid gamer because they’re made for it.
The gadget has a lot of bloatware, including apps from Facebook, PhonePe, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Amazon, and more. Fortunately, it is possible to delete or uninstall these unwanted applications from the device. In addition, the phone has excellent value for the price, with three years of security patches and two years of guaranteed Android updates.
For photographs and videos, there is a dual rear camera configuration with a 50-megapixel Sony AI primary camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a 2-megapixel bokeh lens with an f/2.4 aperture. For selfies, the Z9 Lite 5G has an 8-megapixel front-facing camera with an f/2.0 aperture.
Though the colours are perhaps a bit too vibrant for comfort, this isn’t necessarily a deal-breaker, particularly for this particular category.
When the iQoo Z9 Lite is in portrait mode, it captures good close-up pictures. While the subject separation is passable, there is some need for improvement with the backdrop blur effect.
When the iQoo Z9 Lite is in portrait mode, it captures good close-up pictures. While the subject separation is passable, there is some need for improvement with the backdrop blur effect.
You must use the night mode when there is little or no light. The primary camera produces decent images that require a significant amount of editing to look natural and bright. The pictures still seem a bit blurry. The smartphone, however, does a fantastic job of lighting up the subject and giving it the right colours. Something it has borrowed from its Vivo siblings.
Although the selfie camera works well for video calls, taking selfies with it is not recommended. You’ll likely get some decent daylight selfies.
With normal to heavy use (emailing, messaging, video calling, music playback, video streaming, online browsing, and light gaming), the 5,000mAh battery easily lasted us a day and a half. The huge battery is supported by a slow 15-watt charger. Reaching a 50% battery life requires almost an hour, while fully charging the phone from 0% to 100% takes almost three hours to complete.
Verdict
Overall, the specs are respectable given the price. The battery life of the iQoo Z9 Lite is outstanding. The phone provided fluid and engaging light gaming and performed a decent job of controlling the internal temperature. The processor and the battery are the device’s strongest assets, and the very low-resolution display is probably made to keep costs down. On the other hand, charging the battery is a chore. Considering that you probably won’t need to charge the phone more frequently, it’s not a deal-breaker. We still wish it had a faster charging speed and a higher-resolution display, though.
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iQoo Z9 Lite pros
- Stylish dual-tone design
- Ideal for light gaming
iQoo Z9 Lite cons
- Display looks dated
- No fast charging
- Average camera performance
