vivo’s sub-brand iQOO mainly works on the “flagship killer” category smartphones assuring value and performance for the users. The vivo iQOO Neo 8 Pro was released on 23rd May in China. So how does it differ from the Neo 7 Pro? And is it going to seal the title of flagship killer for 2023? Let’s find out.  Key Specifications of the vivo iQOO Neo 8 Pro   Design and Build Quality  The first thing that stands out is the design and build quality of the smartphone. There are three color variants on the 8 Pro, red, black, and mint. The red one uses a deep orange shade of vegetable tan leather on the back which provides a great texture and hand feel. The rectangular camera housing on the red variant has a distinct carbon fiber-like texture. The contrasting design elements on the back give the device a unique look.  Dimension-wise, the device comes in at 164.7 x 77 x 8.5 mm. The device is on the lighter side at just 192 gm. The even weight distribution makes it easy to hold for a long time without hand fatigue. The frame of the device is made from plastic with a glass front and leather (red) or glass back. There’s no protection rating for the front glass which can be an issue for many users.   Read more: Walton Xanon X20 Review: Is it a value-for-money gaming phone? The device comes with the standard ports and buttons. Additionally, there’s an IR blaster on top so if you have IoT devices in your home, the phone can serve as a secondary remote. The Type C port and the sim-slot are placed at the bottom. Unfortunately, there’s no micro SDXC support on the 8 Pro. But the 256 GB base variant should be more than ample for most users.  Overall, the 8 Pro is reiterative of the iQOO design elements. It doesn’t reinvent itself much which may very well be its strongest suit in terms of design elements.  Display  The display on the iQOO Neo 8 Pro is a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with 1260 x 2800 resolution. The unusual resolution brings the display to around 453 ppi with a 20:9 aspect ratio. In addition to that, the display supports 1B colors, 144Hz high refresh rate, HDR10, and 1300 nits of peak brightness.  Read more: Benco S1 Pro Review: Elegance within Budget The high refresh rate combined with the 1.5K resolution makes it a crystal clear sharp display. The chins and perimeter bezels have also been significantly reduced to make way for an 87.5% screen-to-body ratio.  In typical use, the display is perfect for media consumption. The HBM helps with outdoor visibility with reduced glare and sharp contrast. The high refresh rate and touch sampling also elevate the gaming experience on the 8 Pro.  Overall, the display is one of the strong elements of the device. It easily takes one up over the 7 Pro with better resolution and a higher refresh rate.  Read more: Samsung Galaxy Tab S9 Ultra Review: Is it really the ‘iPad killer’?

The iQOO line of smartphones was launched by BBK electronics in 2019 to be part of Vivo’s affordable performance smartphone series including mid-range and flagship android devices. Their latest offering Vivo iQOO Neo 7 was launched on October 20, 2022. It is the successor to iQOO Neo 6. Here’s a detailed take on the Neo 7 so you can decide whether the device is worth the buck.  Key Specifications of iQOO Neo 7   Design and Build Quality  From a strict design perspective, a lot has stayed the same on the Neo 7 from the Neo 6. You still get that squared-off camera housing on the back with an overall plastic build. But the main distinguishing difference this year has to be the leather textured back.  Even though the device is completely made of plastic, the use of vegetable tan leather brings a premium hand feel, at least for those who will use it without a cover. Other than the back, everything appears to be the same as it was on the Neo 6.  Read More: HONOR 70 5G Review: Is it worth high midrange price Another distinguishing feature is seen on the front camera. The Neo 6 boasted a colored ring around the punch-hole camera on the front. Many users complained that it was a bit distracting while watching content as the ring was a physical thing. iQOO seems to have listened to the complaints as the Neo 7 doesn’t have any ring around it. Overall the screen dimensions have also increased as the chin, and side bezels look remarkably smaller than they used to be before. There are no headphone jack and expandable storage on the Neo 7. But the model comes in a host of storage options up to 521 GB.  Overall the design is a markup on an already great device. What was lacking in the previous iterations has surely been made better this time around.  Read More: Vivo T2x Review: Should you consider this midrange gaming phone? The Display  On paper, the iQOO Neo 7 has the same display as its predecessor. However, there has been a slight increment in size thanks to the reduced chin. Spec-wise, the display is an AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, 120 Hz refresh rate, and HDR 10+ support included. It’s the perfect upper mid-range panel with crisp and sharp contrast and vivid color reproduction.  Even though it’s completely identical to the Neo 6, everything seems to be a bit better than the previous iteration. That is because iQOO has used a dedicated display chip on the Neo 7 which works to brighten and sharpen contents on the panel.  The viewing angles on the panel are also great. We did not notice any kind of color shift or flickering issues. The high refresh rate combined with fast animations makes for impressive day-to-day usage with the Neo 7.  Read OnePlus 10R Review: Is it a worthy Midrange Flagship Killer? The Camera  The iQOO Neo 7 uses a 50 MP primary sensor combined with an 8 MP ultrawide and a 2 MP macro shooter. The camera on paper is a bit of a downgrade from the Neo 6 as it came with a 64 MO main shooter. But that’s about it. Even though the main lens has a lesser megapixel count, it doesn’t fall short in performance.  In our testing, the main camera performed pretty well. Daylight photos came out excellent, with great contrast and sharpness. The details were also on point especially the edge detection in portrait mode. The dynamic range seemed to be a hit or miss at times as it sometimes captured great details and washed out completely at others.  But like most other android devices, the performance falls short in indoors or artificial lighting conditions. The images don’t look grainy as iQOO has a variable shutter speed built into the camera app but it tends to overexpose the subject at times.  As a result, pictures come out looking artificial.  Read More: Motorola Edge 30 Review: What’s special about this upper midrange phone? On the videography end, the Neo 7 is capable of shooting up to 4K at 30 fps. The front camera has a generic 16 MP shooter that produces passable results. The videography on the front camera is limited to 1080P at 30 fps.  Processor and Performance  The processor is where the iQOO Neo 7 surpasses all its competitors. The devices come equipped with MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ based on a 4 Nm architecture. The octa-core processor has a chip design of 1 3.2 GHz Cortex-X2 and 3 2.85 GHz Cortex-A710 and 4 1.80 GHz Cortex-A510. The balanced design between higher and lower power chips makes it a highly efficient processor.  In day-to-day usage, it is almost impossible to slow the device down. We tried playing call of duty, PUBG, and Asphalt 9 on the Neo 7. Needless to say, the device was able to crunch each of the games at max graphics settings without any hiccups. Though the device got heated a bit after about 30 odd minutes.  Read More: Xiaomi Redmi K50i 5G Review: Performance Centric Mid-range Phone This device would be the perfect pick for anyone looking for a powerful device on a mid-range budget. It will easily deliver all your processing needs and then some more.  Battery and Charge Time The Neo 7 comes with a 5000 mAh battery on board. The battery coupled with the highly efficient chip can easily run for around 8 to 9 hours of continuous usage. But that’s not even the best bit about the Neo 7. There is a 120W fast charger included in the box that can charge the device from 0 to 50% in just 9 minutes.  Price of iQOO Neo 7  The iQOO Neo 7 comes in four different storage options – 8/128 GB, 8/256 GB, 12/256 Gb, and the maxed 12/512 GB. The price of each of the variants is 27,540 INR, 31,140 INR, 34,140 INR, and 35,940 INR, respectively. That brings the price to around 35,469 BDT, 40,105 BDT, 43,969 BDT, and 46,287 BDT respectively (1 INR = 1.29 BDT). However, the official price of the Vivo iQOO Neo 7 may vary due to tax and other issues. Read More: Xiaomi Redmi Note 12 Pro Review: Know the Pros and Cons Final Words  The iQOO Neo 7 is the perfect mid-range smartphone that will offer a near-flagship-level experience for half the price. And not to mention the premium build quality it brings this time around. The phone has made excellent improvements in the display, battery, and performance section over the Neo 6. But the camera is still not up to the mark if you compare it with the competitors. Overall, the Vivo iQOO Neo 7 is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to pick up an all-around performance smartphone.