Photography Meets Performance: Check out the iQOO 12 Review - Cameras and Power Unleashed!

The debut of the iQOO 12 5G in India has revived the smartphone scene, which had previously suffered a pause, and the grounds for the enthusiasm are well warranted. This handset takes the spotlight as the first smartphone in the country to use the leading-edge Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC. Beyond this technological accomplishment, the iQOO 12 promises a slew of improvements over its predecessor, the iQOO 11, including software, cameras, display, cooling system, and more.

With a starting price of Rs 52,999 in India, can the iQOO 12 actually provide value for money? Let us go into this review to find the solution.

The iQOO 12 easily holds the title of quickest Android smartphone currently on the market. Beyond its incredible speed, the gadget is praised for providing an outstanding viewing experience, with powerful speakers, impressive cameras, a long battery life, and lightning-fast charging speeds. However, it is worth noting the lack of wireless charging capabilities, and while the software has been refined, there is still potential for development.

iQOO12 pricing and availability in India

In India, the iQoo 12 starts at Rs. 52,999 for the 12GB + 256GB RAM and storage combination, while the 16GB + 512GB edition costs Rs. 57,999. The firm is providing a discount pricing of Rs. 49,999, which includes bank incentives from HDFC and ICICI Bank. The phone will be available on Amazon India beginning December 13 for those having a Priority pass, and others on December 14.

The Alpha variation of the phone has an AG Glass back panel, whilst the Legend model has a white porcelain enamel glass back panel.

iQOO 12: Design and Display

The design of the iQOO 12 has been significantly updated, giving it a more aesthetically pleasant and luxurious appearance. This tactile feeling is noticeable as soon as you grasp the device, owing to the mix of a glass back panel and a sleek aluminum frame that provides a secure grip. While the frame lacks a matte coating to prevent fingerprints, smudges, and slipperiness, the rear panel, at least on the white edition under review, is pretty clean.

Adding to the aesthetics, the iQOO 12's rear panel features etched inscriptions such as 'iQOO' and 'Fascination Meets Innovation,' complimented with tricolor patterns. These pieces contribute to the overarching design story while also adding a sense of individuality. The handset's IP64 water and dust resistance classification is a remarkable feature, which adds longevity and peace of mind.

In terms of I/O, the phone features a USB Type-C connector on the bottom edge that serves both charging and data transfer purposes. The gadget also includes an optical fingerprint scanner, which ensures quick and safe unlocking. However, one minor negative is that the fingerprint scanner is somewhat lower on the screen. An modification to a little higher position might improve accessibility and user experience.

At the forefront, the iQOO 12 has a power-efficient 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display that can dynamically adjust its refresh rate between 1Hz and an impressive 144Hz depending on the presented content. The display has a resolution of 1,200 x 2,800 pixels, which provides a visually clear experience. The display has up to 3,000 nits of brightness, 2,160Hz PWM dimming, and HDR10+ compatibility, resulting in brilliant colors, deep contrasts, and an immersive viewing experience.

While the display has received great praise, there is one minor concerns: the selfie camera punch-hole. It takes up more screen space than typical punch-holes seen on phones in the same category. However, this is a subjective aspect that may vary depending on personal tastes.

iQOO 12: Performance and Software

The iQOO 12 is powered by the cutting-edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC, Qualcomm's most recent and sophisticated offering. Unveiled at Qualcomm's summit in November 2023, this SoC improves on its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2, in areas like as gaming, audio, and camera functionality. 

The iQOO 12's performance, it clearly outperforms its predecessor, the iQOO 11. The gadget performs smoothly, with no stutters or slowdowns under any circumstances, as seen by its benchmark results. Notably, the iQOO 12 scored an amazing AnTuTu score of 21,07,004, which is unsurpassed by any other smartphone in the country. Furthermore, its Geekbench single-core and multi-core scores of 2,223 and 6,799, respectively, highlight its strength in both single and multi-core processing capabilities.

While conducting benchmark tests, the iQOO 12 experiences a minor temperature increase, resulting in a 20% loss in performance during the CPU Throttle test with 50 threads for half an hour. Despite this, it outperforms the iQOO 11 in the CPU Throttle test.

In real-world circumstances, the iQOO 12 accomplishes tasks smoothly and without fatigue. The gadget has a large 6,010mm square vapor chamber technology, which ensures efficient heat dissipation and keeps the temperature low even during prolonged gaming sessions. I put the gadget to the test by running BGMI at its highest available Ultra HD graphics and frame rate settings, and it never got too warm.

To improve the gaming experience, the iQOO 12 has the SuperComputing Chip Q1, which provides greater resolution and frame rates for certain games with low latency and battery consumption. Furthermore, the gadget includes crucial gaming capabilities seen in gaming-specific devices, such as Motion Control, Gyroscope improvement, 4D Game vibration, and others. These features combine to create an immersive and smooth gaming experience on the iQOO 12.

In conclusion, the iQOO 12 stands out as an excellent alternative for people looking for a performance-focused smartphone. The smartphone has two RAM and storage configurations: 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB. Unfortunately, the storage is not user-expandable, however there is a unique function that allows virtual RAM enlargement up to 16GB by utilizing a portion of the phone's storage.

In terms of software, the iQOO 12 comes pre-installed with the newest FunTouchOS 14 based on Android 14. This upgraded skin presents itself as an incremental improvement over the previous version, with a number of small enhancements. Notably, there's less bloatware and ad alerts. The animations have better transitions, and additional lock screen customizations have been added, including the ability to see recently opened applications in both normal carousel and horizontal tile formats. general, iQOO shows promise by simplifying the program, reducing clutter, and improving the UI's general usability.

The firm has made a praiseworthy promise to deliver three years of major OS upgrades and four years of security updates for the iQOO 12. While this assurance is notable, it falls slightly short of the prolonged support provided by several other top products on the market. Nonetheless, this timetable guarantees that consumers receive continuous software and security upgrades, which contribute to the device's overall durability and usability.

The iQOO 12 has a 5,000mAh battery, which retains the same capacity as its predecessor but benefits from an upgraded screen and CPU. This produces a good battery backup. In my use, which included an hour of BGMI, streaming, surfing, and social media scrolling, the device comfortably lasted a day and a half between charges. Users with somewhat higher needs, such as navigation, may observe a tiny loss in battery life, but it should still last until the end of the day. The device performed admirably in the PC Mark battery test, clocking 14 hours and 14 minutes.

The iQOO 12 is well-equipped for charging. The gadget has a unique 120W fast-charging solution, which means that even if you put it in at the last minute, you can get a complete charge from 0 to 100% in just 27 minutes. To your joy, the charger is easily included in the box. This speedy charging option significantly improves the iQOO 12's overall user experience.

iQOO 12: Camera

iQOO intends to build its latest flagship not only for its amazing performance, but also for its photographic capabilities. To do this, the iQOO 12 comes with flagship-grade cameras, including a 50MP main sensor, a 50MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 64MP telephoto lens with 3x optical and 10x lossless zoom. The camera system produces remarkable results, taking photographs with detailed, crisp, and well-saturated quality under a variety of lighting circumstances. The dynamic range and contrast ratio are also outstanding. However, some photography lovers may be dissatisfied with the cameras' tendency to overprocess photos, resulting in severely squashed shadows.

Aside from those problems, I have no significant complaints regarding the camera arrangement. The 50MP primary camera outputs 12.5MP photos by default and offers 2x digital zoom, albeit the latter may appear to be of low quality. Similarly, the 50MP ultra-wide camera delivers 12.5MP photos, with acceptable results and negligible distortion around the frame's corners. However, indoor images may contain some noise.

Moving on to the 64MP telephoto lens, it impresses with its 3x optical zoom capability. The photographs show detailed detail, bright colors, and a fair dynamic range. While the 10x lossless zoom images may not be as striking as the 3x optical zoom, they are nonetheless useful in well-lit scenes. Although the lens can zoom up to 100x, performance beyond 50x are mediocre, and the camera lacks steadiness.

The iQOO 12 excels in low-light photography, capturing detailed images with deceptively low noise and well-balanced colors. All three cameras can automatically identify available lighting conditions and activate the night mode accordingly. This function produces brighter photographs with a touch of smoothing to reduce noise, improving the overall quality of low-light shooting.

Portrait photographs captured with the primary and 3x telephoto lenses are crisp and show a clear separation of the person from the backdrop. The bokeh effect provides a natural quality to the photographs. The device has a 16MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls, which produces somewhat beautified images with good face details. Overall, the iQOO 12's camera system demonstrates versatility, providing remarkable performance in a variety of circumstances.

Final Thoughts on iQOO 12

The iQOO 12 has surely surpassed my expectations. As a prior user of the iQOO 11, the iQOO 12 stands out as a significant enhancement. The smartphone has a more polished and luxurious look, as well as a display that provides superior graphics thanks to increased brightness and dynamic refresh rate. While the cameras have not yet approach Pixel-level quality, they are far from bad. All of the cameras on the iQOO 12 reliably provide beautiful photographs in a variety of lighting settings. The battery life is remarkable, and it is matched with a fast charging speed that guarantees the phone is recharged quickly.

While I would have rather that the smartphone come with fewer or no pre-installed applications, the attempts to reduce clutter and marketing are admirable. These software enhancements considerably improve the phone's overall performance, which is its main selling point. The inclusion of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC strengthens its status as a smartphone to watch. It remains to be seen whether India's future Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 smartphones can compete with them. For the time being, the iQOO 12 remains the top choice for best-in-class performance, among other impressive features.