And after using the incredible Vivo X200 Pro, I have been daily driving this guy – the IQOO 13! This phone is gathering a lot of hype in the tech world, coz this right now is the cheapest phone with the flagship Snapdragon Elite chipset! It's even cheaper than the Realme GT7 Pro which I reviewed a few weeks ago!  So, great work by IQOO on the pricing part! However, there are some shortcomings that other reviews have missed which I believe you need to know before thinking of getting one for yourself! It's quite an interesting find! But, first, let me talk about all the positives in this review.

iQOO 13 Specifications

• Design: Flat screen and frame, curved back panel, Monster Halo on the camera bump, IP68 and IP69-rated
• Dimensions: 163.37 mm x 76.71 mm x 7.99 or 8.13 mm
• Weight: 207 or 213 grams
• Display: 6.82” 8T LTPO AMOLED Panel, Q10 lighting material, Up to 144Hz refresh rate, 1.07B colour depth, DCI-P3 colour gamut, ΔE≈0.27, JNCD ≈ 0.24, 1,800 nits HBM peak global brightness, 510 PPI pixel density, TÜV Rheinland Circular Polarisation certification, DC-like dimming, Up to 2,592Hz PWM dimming, Crystal Optical Glass
• Resolution: 2K (1,440 x 3,168 pixels)
• Chipset: Octa-core Snapdragon 8 Elite (3nm) + Q2 dedicated gaming chip
• RAM: 12GB or 16GB, LPDDR5X, Quad channel
• ROM: 128GB, 512GB or 1TB, UFS 4.0
• OS & UI: Android 15 with OrginOS 5 on top (China-only)
• Rear Camera: Triple Camera (50MP Primary with VCS Bionic sensor + 50MP Telephoto + 50MP Ultrawide)
• Front Camera: 32MP Camera (Centre-aligned hole-punch cutout)
• Security: In-display Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, Face Unlock
• Battery: 6,150 mAh silicon carbon cell with 120W fast charging, OTG reverse charging
• Connectivity: Dual SIM, 5G, Tri-band WiFi 7, Bluetooth v5.4, NFC, five-way navigation, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C
• Colour Options: Track Edition, Nardo Grey, Isle of Man, Legendary Edition

iQOO 13 Review

Design

Here, for what it's worth, we get a gorgeous-looking design. It's very similar to the one we got last year in IQOO 12 with a matte glass back, classy BMW branding and a similar-looking camera bump! This time, we also get these RGB around the camera module that lights up when you get a notification, calls, when you are charging and even playing PubG. Pretty Neat!  But probably the biggest design upgrade of the IQOO 13 is that we get an official IP68 and IP69 rating! I don’t know if the prices to include IP ratings on phones have gotten cheaper these days, Or Gen Z’s are just too clumsy, but late into 2024, more and more brands are including more robust ingress protection on their smartphones!  Anyway, I also like the fact that we get an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor here, which is located just in the right position, it's fast, more secure, and it can even unlock when my hands are wet – which is something you can't do with an optical sensor!  However, like the IQOO 12, the IQOO 13 is also a bit slippery partly because of its smooth back! It doesn't catch fingerprints and smudges, but multiple times I have dropped it, so yeah you got to put a nice cover here for a better grip.  Plus, to keep the price lower, IQOO has also gone with an inferior Schott Xensation Alpha display protection, which we all know is not as robust as Gorilla Glass Victus. So, this is also another compromise I found here! 

Display

The actual display quality of the IQOO 13 is very good though – Almost Flagship-like. As you can see, the bezels are extremely thin here and hence IQOO is able to make it slightly bigger at 6.82-inch – without making the phone too large.  This is a BOE-made OLED panel that's flat around all four edges, perfect for gaming! It has a sharp 2K resolution, 10-bit colour depth, 144Hz LTPO refresh rate, high PWM dimming and HDR 10 support on Netflix and Prime Video. So, yeah a flagship kinda display, except for Dolby vision support which is sadly missing here! Anyway, this display is just so smooth and responsive to interact with, and it can get plenty bright outdoors! It's not as bright as the VIVO X200 Pro, but sunlight legibility isn't an issue here!  Plus, IQOO says it uses a circular polarization tech to minimize screen reflections, and I found it doing a decent job while using the phone outdoors on a sunny day! It’s not as good as the anti-glare display we get on the S24 Ultra, but not a bad implementation! 

Haptics and Audio

IQOO has also improved the vibration feedback here. It's more precise and tighter than before! And the speaker is much louder too. It also sounds richer, more fuller and more detailed! So, not just good for watching videos, but also playing games! 

Software and UI

I also noticed that the software side of things is more refined now! The animation is smoother, there are no garbage apps like Hot Apps / Hot games! And you get 4+5 years of updates, which is not bad!  But having used both the Origin OS which is for the Chinese market, and the FunTouch OS, I think the Origin OS is slightly better in terms of icons and UI layout. Anyway, with Android 15 out of the box, we practically get all the AI features here like on Samsung phones! The AI eraser works surprisingly well, you can copy text from an image flawlessly, circle to search, and everything. 

Performance

Ok, now let's talk about the performance – the USP of this phone, just like last year’s IQOO 12. The Snapdragon 8 Elite here is coupled with DDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, hence you can expect great gaming performance here! It's not a big leap compared to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, but the stability and sustained performance on all the latest AAA titles I have tried here are now much better!   IQOO has also fitted in a larger Vapor Chamber cooling system this time around, which I found to be doing an extraordinary job of keeping thermals in check! It runs cooler by 1-2 degrees compared to the Realme GT 7 Pro which has the same 8 Elite chipset! So, yeah, you don’t have to go for phones like the Asus ROG 9 or the iPhone 16 Pro Max to get the best fps numbers. A 50,000 phone in 2025 will do an equally good job! 

Battery and Charging

IQOO 13 also comes with a pretty big 6000mAh Si-Ca battery Vs 5000mAh unit we got on last year’s IQOO 12. This means I was able to get more “Screen on time”! Typically, on an Android phone with a 5000mAh battery, the endurance is like 7 or tops 8 hours of SOT, but on IQOO 13, I am easily getting 8 or 9 hours of SOT in a similar usage pattern!  IQOO has also included a 120W PD charger with a Type C to C cable inside the box, with which it can charge the phone from 0 to 100% in just about 32 minutes.  And even with the 65W U-green PD charger that I use to charge everything, the IQOO 13 charges rapidly! So, I didn't need to carry the official charger with me, which is something quite handy while travelling.  I almost forgot to mention, IQOO has included a USB 3.2 Type C port, which means data transfer is insanely fast here and I can connect it to my monitor, project it and play games! Something gamers will definitely appreciate!  Ok, so far. The IQOO 13 nails all the departments – The design, display, software, battery, and performance – All get a solid A! But, the camera here is just a “B” or a “B+” if I am being completely honest! 

Camera

In this area, I expected more from IQOO since this is a VIVO phone and we all know how special the VIVO X200 Pro camera is! IQOO has used the same 50MP triple camera setup here as the VIVO V40 Pro so yes it does have inferior hardware compared to the X200 Pro, but still, the software optimisation could have been better!  Even comparing its photos against the Realme GT 7 Pro, I found Realme producing a more consistent camera experience than the IQOO 13. During the daytime, both these phones can capture vibrant images with a nice dynamic range, but more than often, IQOO tends to over-brighten the images to lift the shadow areas, and in some images, you get this magenta tone which doesn't look eye-pleasing. On the contrary, Realme's contrasty output looks better and more natural.  Plus, there are a lot of optimisation issues right now with IQOO 13. For instance, if I zoom in on its photos, it comes out a bit soft, and if I click photos in direct sunlight, especially during the Golden hour, it just can't process the colour better.   Likewise, IQOO has also downgraded its telephoto lens! Last year with the IQOO 12, we had a 3X periscope lens but this time, we only have a 2X telephoto unit – which is just weird compromise to see!  With this 2X lens, IQOO does allow you to shoot portraits in 2 different focal lengths – the 50mm 2X mode and 100mm 4X mode. The 2X portraits are sharp and detailed and are better than the GT 7 Pro’s 2X portraits since Realme crops in the main camera for its 2X portraits.  But the 4X portraits, which is the focal length everyone loves to click because of the blur and subject focus it manages to capture, but here since we are not getting flagship-level hardware, it loses a lot of detail and the face part comes out soft & like a painting.  On the other hand, Realme has gone with a dedicated 3X lens, and its 3X portraits are much more detailed! Plus, you can also click nice macro photos from its 3X lens, which is something you can't with IQOO.  The zoom capabilities of IQOO 13 are also not very good. It can only zoom up to 30X. and anything above 2X zoom is not very good.  I was also expecting IQOO to upgrade their Ultra-wide sensor but it remained unchanged from last year. But for what it's worth, the IQOO 13 Ultra-wide camera does a decent job. Its photos are not as detailed as the primary camera, but the colour science between the two lenses is consistent, and this UW camera can click 4K 60fps videos as well as macro photos.  During nighttime, unlike the daytime, IQOO is marginally better than Realme since it’s brighter, sharper, and has better dynamic range. But yet again, there is this optimisation issue when I click photos in night mode as it over-brightens the photos as we saw during the daytime.   The new 32MP selfie camera, however, is a step up in the right direction. It’s much more detailed than last year, you can click 4K 60fps videos from it which the Realme lacks! The skin tone could be more consistent, but not a big issue.  

iQOO 13 Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Flagship performance
• Stunning display
• Fast charging

Cons:

• Camera processing issues
• Inconsistent zoom quality

iQOO 13 Review Conclusion

So, yeah, the only thing that’s average here is the camera. It has some issues with the processing, I end up getting inconsistent results, and the choice of the 2X telephoto lens is also bizarre. So I do see this as a missed opportunity for IQOO. It could have been the BEST well-rounded package. The true flagship killer, if the cameras were like an A-.  So, if you are looking for a better overall camera experience, and can compromise on the performance since you don’t game a lot, you can go with last year’s flagship like the S23 Ultra or even the Pixel 9 or iPhone 16 during sales. Or you can wait for the OnePlus 13 to come out in January because that phone should provide you with consistent cameras.  But overall, I got to admire IQOO. The way they have priced it and bringing in the best Android chipset with excellent sustained performance, some nice gaming centric features, a stunning display, excellent battery life, and a premium design. So, yes, a fantastic package that I can recommend to anyone looking for a top-tier Android experience. 

• Meanwhile, check out our review of the iQOO 12