The budget 5G smartphone market is rapidly evolving, with manufacturers finally realizing that users want more than just basic functionality at this price point. iQoo, a popular brand known for its gaming-centric devices, has thrown its hat into the ring with the Z9x. Priced under ₹15,000, the Z9x promises to deliver an impressive 5G experience without breaking the bank. But how does it stack up against the competition, and does it live up to the hype? In this in-depth review, we examine the iQoo Z9x’s design, performance, cameras, and battery life to see if it’s the perfect budget 5G option for you.
iQoo Z9x Review: Price in India
The iQoo Z9x is priced strategically, starting at ₹12,999 for the base 4GB RAM and 128GB storage variant in India. The 6GB RAM option is available for ₹14,499, while the 8GB RAM variant is priced at ₹15,999. The phone comes in two colorways: Tornado Green and Storm Grey. For this review, we tested the 8GB RAM variant in Storm Grey.
iQoo Z9x Review: Design
The iQoo Z9x isn’t designed to make a bold statement. Its Storm Grey finish leans towards a more functional aesthetic. The design bears a resemblance to both the mid-range iQoo Neo 9 Pro and the premium iQoo 12, with its flat sides and a squircle (rounded square) camera module. If you prefer brighter colors, Vivo’s T3X offers more vibrant options with essentially the same specifications.
The Z9x’s rear panel and frame are constructed from polycarbonate, which isn’t exactly premium but feels sturdy. Its iridescent matte finish adds a subtle shine when viewed at an angle, but unfortunately, it also attracts smudges and dust like a magnet.
The polycarbonate construction contributes to a lighter device, despite its large battery, weighing in at 199 grams. The 7.99mm thickness adds to the phone’s comfortable grip.
While the polycarbonate material might seem unremarkable, the Z9x boasts an IP64 dust and water resistance certification, a significant upgrade for a budget smartphone. This means the phone can withstand dust and debris and handle splashes of water. Feel free to take it to the beach or in a light drizzle, although complete immersion should be avoided. It’s essential to remember that while the IP64 rating offers protection, it’s not a guarantee against accidental drops or water damage.
The Z9x’s display follows the trend of thin borders on the top and sides, but there is still a noticeable chin at the bottom.
iQoo Z9x Review: Specifications and Software
The iQoo Z9x is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC. Here’s a breakdown of its key specifications:
iQOO Z9X SPECIFICATIONS
- Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1
- RAM: 4/6/8GB
- Storage: 128GB (expandable to 1TB)
- SIM Slots: Hybrid Dual
- Connectivity: 5G, BT 5.1, Wi-Fi 5
- Battery: 6,000mAh
- Charging: 44W wired
The iQoo Z9x runs Funtouch OS 14, built on Android 14. While the software is typical of budget smartphones, be prepared for plenty of spammy notifications, especially from the native browser app. There’s also a considerable amount of preinstalled third-party apps, but thankfully, these can be uninstalled.
Funtouch OS is heavily customized and offers a wealth of customization options. It does have a learning curve, but once you delve into the Settings app, you’ll unlock features like changeable fonts, accent colors, themes, and a dedicated Dynamic Effects section for fine-tuning everything from touch screen animation to screen on/off animation.
iQoo Z9x Review: Performance
Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 SoC and 8GB of RAM, the iQoo Z9x delivers decent performance for its price point. The phone performs remarkably well, scoring 5,59,900 on AnTuTu, 940 in Geekbench’s single-core test, and 2,838 in the multi-core test. In terms of graphics, the Z9x outperforms the Moto G64 5G (its main competitor in this price range) in GFXBench’s benchmark suites, scoring 92, 39, and 20 in the T-Rex, Manhattan 3.1, and Car Chase tests, respectively.
Gaming performance is excellent for a budget 5G smartphone. iQoo has optimized the Z9x for smooth gaming. I tested Call of Duty: Mobile and experienced a fluid gameplay experience with Medium graphics and High frame rate settings (default). Asphalt 9: Legends also runs flawlessly at 60FPS with high-quality graphics settings.
The display offers a dynamic refresh rate in Auto mode, switching between 60Hz, 90Hz, and 120Hz based on content to conserve battery life. During my testing, the refresh rate usually remained at 90Hz during active use and dropped to 60Hz when idle or watching videos. While not the brightest in this segment, the Full HD+ resolution display is sharp enough for casual usage. However, there’s a noticeable yellow tint at the bottom edge of the display, more prominent when viewing white content.
The Z9x supports Widevine L1 certification, allowing you to stream content in sharp, Full HD quality. The phone features stereo speakers, offering a more immersive sound experience compared to a single speaker. While the volume is sufficiently loud, the sound quality is a bit hollow and tinny, making wired earphones or TWS earbuds a better choice for a rich audio experience.
iQoo Z9x Review: Battery Life
Battery life was a highlight of the Z9x. With casual usage (no camera or gaming), the phone easily lasts two days. Even with heavy usage (camera, gaming, and calls), the Z9x can comfortably last over a day. In our battery loop test, the Z9x achieved an impressive 22 hours and 35 minutes with the screen’s refresh rate set to 120Hz/High.
When the battery eventually runs low, the 44W charger quickly replenishes the power. It takes 30 minutes to charge the phone to 35 percent and 1 hour to reach 71 percent, with a full charge taking 1 hour and 39 minutes, remarkably fast, especially considering the large battery capacity.
iQoo Z9x Review: Cameras
Although it features a dual camera setup, the iQoo Z9x has only one user-accessible rear-facing camera.
IQOO Z9X CAMERAS
- Primary camera: 50MP (f/1.8), AF
- Depth camera: 2MP (f/2.4)
- Selfie camera: 8MP (f/2.05), FF
The 50-megapixel camera captures 12-megapixel photos by combining pixels, resulting in images with saturated colors and decent detail, but they often lack sharpness and sometimes appear soft, even in daylight. Details are fine when the subject is a few feet away from the camera but diminish as the distance increases, causing textures to appear flat or blurry. White balance can be inconsistent, resulting in varying color tones from shot to shot.
Focussing on objects or subjects can be slow, even in daylight, contributing to the softness of photos. The camera struggles to maintain dynamic range in bright scenarios, often clipping highlights, leading to uneven lighting and contrast. Even though the phone lacks a macro camera or dedicated macro mode, it can capture objects up to 10 centimeters away, proving useful for getting closer to the action.
In Portrait mode, the Z9x takes decent photos with acceptable detail and edge detection, provided there’s sufficient light on the subject. However, skin tones aren’t always accurate, and backgrounds, especially in contrasted scenes, can experience clipping.
Low-light images tend to be soft and lack detail due to increased noise. Surprisingly, the dedicated Night mode doesn’t improve the situation, resulting in even softer photos with minimal detail.
Selfies captured in daylight are decent at best and often lack the desired sharpness. Bright backgrounds also pose a challenge for the selfie camera, and low-light selfies are plagued by noise.
The phone offers 4K 30fps video recording only on the 8GB RAM variant. The other variants are limited to 1080p 30fps video recording, which seems restrictive considering the price. 1080p 30fps footage appears smoother with better stability than 4K 30fps footage, although 4K captures better detail.
iQoo Z9x Review: Verdict
The iQoo Z9x is a solid contender in the budget 5G smartphone market in India. However, it falls slightly short of the Moto G64 5G in several areas, including price.
The Moto G64 5G, priced at ₹13,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant, even offers a 12GB + 128GB variant for ₹15,999, directly competing with the 8GB variant of the iQoo Z9x.
Besides pricing, the G64 5G boasts an attractive design, a cleaner, near-stock experience with Android 14, and a primary camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) and an ultrawide camera.
Samsung’s Galaxy M34 5G, launched last year, offers a strong alternative at a starting price of ₹14,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. It features a 120Hz AMOLED display, upgraded to Android 14, and three rear-facing cameras, including a primary camera with OIS. However, it lacks the budget gaming performance, IP rating, and fast-charging capabilities of the Z9x and G64 5G.
The iQoo Z9x sets itself apart with its IP64 rating and fast 44W wired charging. If these features are a top priority when choosing a budget 5G smartphone, the Z9x should be high on your list. However, for a more well-rounded package, Motorola and Samsung seem to offer a better overall experience.
