iQOO 12 Review: A Headache for Flagships; Present and Future

Vivo’s sub-brand, iQOO, started out as a gaming phone brand but has, over the past couple of years, emerged as a brand with a knack for delivering extremely good specs at surprisingly affordable prices. And the latest flagship of the brand further consolidates this reputation.

The iQOO 12 is not only the first smartphone in the Indian market to come with the flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor but also offers it at a price that is likely to make it a headache not just for existing flagships, but also for just about every high-end flagship to be released in 2024!

Read on to find out why we are giving it such high praise:

iQOO 12 5G Design: Premium looks with just the right kind of shine

iQOO has always given its flagships very eye-catching designs, and the iQOO 12 is no different. We got the black variant, and it certainly looks very elegant. It does not have the tricolor stripes and BMW logo of its white sibling, but its flat Fluorite AG glass back glitters when light falls on it, giving it a rather starry appearance. In normal light conditions, it reverts to being an understated, sleek black.

The camera unit is squoval in shape (squarish with very rounded corners) with a very subtly engraved (you have to touch it to feel it) metal border all around it, and is said to be inspired by the portholes of spaceships. It definitely gives the phone a very distinct appearance, with the glitter and metal outline of the camera unit adding a touch of class to it. The sides are metal (aluminum alloy) and straight, and the front is a 6.78-inch tall display with tiny bezels.

It is a tall phone at 163.2 mm but is impressively slim at 8.1 mm, and at about 203 grams, it is light for its size. It comes with an IP64 rating, protecting it from dust ingress and water sprays. It’s not quite as good as IP68, which saves the phone from even dunking in water, but definitely a good touch. iQOO has not given any official statement on the kind of glass protection on the front of the display. Although it does come with a very basic screen protector, but we have been assured that it is of premium quality glass.

We think the iQOO 12 is a very good-looking phone, and the black version is particularly classy, with a very smooth feel to it. In fact, we think the black variant looks better than the white, even though it does not have those stripes and the BMW logo.

iQOO 12 5G Specs: Premium flagship level

It is a beauty for the eyes, but the iQOO 12 morphs into a beast when it comes to the spec sheet. The star of the show of course, is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the very latest flagship chip from Qualcomm, which is not available on any other phone in India at the time of writing. Accompanying this powerhouse chip are LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.0 storage, making this a phone that is clearly designed for speed. What’s more, the iQOO 12’s base RAM and storage variant is 12 GB/ 256, rather than the 8 GB/ 128 GB often seen at this price point.

The 6.78-inch display is an LTPO AMOLED one with 2800 x 1260 resolution (a little short of quad HD, but still quite impressive) and a refresh rate of 144 Hz, which is among the highest out there. That refresh rate also changes depending on the content being shown on it. iQOO claims that the display has a brightness of a very impressive 3000 nits, and it certainly is one of the brightest we have seen. Some might have expected a curved display at this price, but we like the flat one on the iQOO 12. The triple camera arrangement in that porthole-inspired distinct camera unit is a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, a 64-megapixel telephoto sensor with OIS and 3x optical zoom, and a 50-megapixel ultrawide. There is enough snapping power here to take pictures of the moon and stars and even take great macros.

In comparison with all this, the 16-megapixel selfie camera seems a little modest. The phone also has a 5000 mAh battery and supports 120W Flash Charge, with a 120W Flash Charger in the box as well, although there is no support for wireless charging. Running all this is Android 14, with the very feature-rich FunTouchOS 14 on top of it. You also get an in-display fingerprint sensor and stereo speakers.

In terms of processor, the iQOO 12 is hands down the most powerful Android phone in the market at the time of writing. And its other specs are right up there in the premium flagship zone

iQOO 12 5G Gaming and multimedia: A super trooper

We are going to make it simple: the iQOO 12 delivers the best gaming experience we have seen on an Android phone. The phone played the likes of Genshin Impact and Call of Duty at maxed-out settings without a hitch and without ever getting uncomfortably warm. A supercomputing chip is said to improve the gaming experience, and it certainly seems to have done a good job. There are also some motion control options in supported games if one uses the Ultra Game mode, thanks to the gyroscope.

We did not use them much, sticking to the conventional ones, but it is a handy option to have, and good to see brands adding more to the gaming experience. The combination of processor, display, and speakers is a very potent one for viewing videos and shows as well. The dual speakers deliver very good sound at a reasonably high volume – they are not in the iPhone league, but they are very good, nevertheless. This is a gaming and multimedia monster, capable of playing whatever you throw at it – high-end game, high-definition video, you name it.

iQOO 12 5G Cameras: Great snaps, good videos and a zoom surprise

The cameras on the iQOO 12 are a very pleasant surprise. iQOO’s flagships always had very good main sensors, but the supporting cameras were generally a long way behind. That changes with the iQOO 12. The 50-megapixel main sensor takes very good photographs and is surprisingly good even in low light conditions. Some might find the colors to be a little too saturated, but the results are always pleasant and rich in details. You can switch between vivid, textured, and real for different image styles. We stuck to vivid, which is the default mode, and got very good results.

However, for us, the real star of the show is the 64-megapixel telephoto sensor. It does give a very handy 3x optical zoom, but where it really shines is in delivering 10x lossless zoom. We found ourselves zooming to 10x time and again as the quality of the images was just so good. If you are the type that likes to snap animals and birds, this is a phone you are going to love. The phone also comes with special modes to shoot the moon and the stars, and they both work reasonably well, even in the smoggy Delhi sky.

The 50-megapixel ultrawide is slightly disappointing in comparison as it seems to lose out on details at times. While it lets you take images from as close as 5 centimeters in macro mode, we would recommend using the 3x telephoto for better quality images. Portrait mode works very well, too, and you also get the option to alter the aperture size. All three cameras can also shoot 8K videos, and once again, the telephoto sensor shines here, with surprisingly good quality even at night. If you are looking for the best results, we would recommend sticking to the main sensor, though.

The 16-megapixel selfie camera delivers very pleasant, if slightly over-smoothened selfies. This being an iQOO phone, you get dozens of effects and filters as well as editing and shooting options, including a very capable pro mode. In terms of overall performance, we would say that the cameras on the iQOO 12 are comfortably flagship level, with the telephoto sensor being a star.

iQOO 12 5G general performance: Terrific daily driver once you get used to Funtouch steering

With all that hardware on board, it is hardly surprising that the iQOO 12 is a star performer in day-to-day usage. That big and bright display is great for browsing social media and the web and is also handy enough for viewing documents and even odd presentations and spreadsheets. The phone feels a little heavy but is not inconvenient and while it is too large to be handled by a single hand (like almost all phones are these days), it is easy enough to use. The in-display fingerprint sensor works smoothly, and 5G connectivity works smoothly. The call quality is very good, too.

FuntouchOS is one of the more crowded Android skins in the market, and our iQOO 12 came with a number of preinstalled third-party apps, which might annoy some users. Funtouch OS also comes with a number of features and almost seems a little confusing at times, but once you get the hang of it, there is a lot you can do on this device. Stock Android lovers will not like the interface, but most mainstream users might actually welcome the additional functionality. We were quite comfortable with Funtouch OS within a week or so of using the device.

iQOO 12 5G Battery: Goes on all day, charges in a jiffy

The 5000 mAh battery on the iQOO 12 is good enough to see off a day of normal usage. That might seem a little low given the size of the battery, but factor in the brightness of the display, its high refresh rate, and the fact that you are likely to be tempted to take lots of pictures and indulge in longer-than-usual gaming sessions on the device, and the battery life seems decent enough. Cut down on gaming, make the refresh rate 60 Hz, and the iQOO 12 will get you through a day and a half of usage.

However, we do not think you should be worried about the battery of the iQOO 12 if you have the 120W FlashCharge charger handy – it can recharge the phone from virtually nothing to full in about half an hour!

iQOO 12 5G Pricing: Absolutely killer

The iQOO 12 is available at the following prices:

• 12 GB/ 256 GB: Rs 52,999
• 16 GB/ 512 GB: Rs 57,999

We dislike using cliches, but this simply is “killer pricing,” the likes of which we have not seen for a while. This is by far the most value-for-money pricing for a premium flagship, most of which start beyond Rs 55,000 and generally start with 8 GB RAM variants! For context, please consider that the iQOO 11, released almost a year ago, started at Rs 59,999 for an 8 GB/ 256 GB variant. iQOO has pulled a rabbit right out of its hat.

iQOO 12 5G Competition: Not many now, but 2024 awaits

In one sense, the iQOO 12 is in a league of its own – at the time of writing, it is the only phone in the market to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. The closest relatively new flagship to it would be the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, which starts at Rs 59,999 for 8 GB/ 128 GB and has a good display, clean design, and very good cameras, but is powered by the Exynos 2200 chip, which is not quite in the class of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, and also has slower charging and no charger in the box.

The OnePlus 11 5G is another contender, which starts at Rs 56,999 for 8 GB/ 128 GB, and although it runs the iQOO 12 close in most departments, it loses out on the processor (it runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, the predecessor of the Gen 3). The OnePlus 12, which is expected in a few weeks, might give the iQOO 12 some competition, but at the time of writing, the phone pretty much beats every other device out there.

iQOO 12 Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

With its specs, design, and price, the iQOO 12 is pretty much a no-brainer for anyone looking at a premium Android flagship or simply the most powerful phone in the market for about Rs 60,000.

The iQOO 12 is comfortably ahead of the competition, thanks to its combination of processor and pricing, and ticks most premium Android flagship boxes.

Of course, the coming days will see it face more competition as other brands also release Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor-drive phones, but it is likely to prove to be a thorn in their sides even then. Months down the line, anyone considering purchasing a premium Android phone will still think, “But what about the iQOO 12?” With that pricing and spec sheet, iQOO has pretty much set the benchmark for the 2024 Android flagship.

Buy iQOO 12 5G