The IQOO Z7 is a recently launched smartphone that has garnered a lot of attention in the market. I have been using this phone for the past three weeks for gaming, entertainment, and office work, and I must say that I am impressed with several features of this smartphone. However, there are a few areas that could have been better. If you are planning to buy a smartphone under 20,000, then let’s find out if this phone is the right option for you.
Out-of-the-Box Contents
The box of the IQOO Z7 includes a phone, a plastic case, a 44W charger, a USB cable, and a sim ejector tool.
Design and Build
The IQOO Z7 comes with a boxy design and a plastic build. The phone feels solid in the hand, and due to its lightweight, it is comfortable to hold for long hours, while gaming or watching movies.
On the right side of the phone, we have the power button and volume controller. The button placement is good, making it easy to adjust the volume or press the power button.
What I like about this phone is the on-screen fingerprint sensor which is quite fast and responsive. I did not face any issues while using it. As soon as I lifted the phone, the sensor would blink up, making it easy to unlock the phone.
Display
The IQOO Z7 boasts a 6.64-inch AMOLED display that supports a 90Hz variable refresh rate and HDR10+. With the 90Hz refresh rate, the phone feels quite smooth while gaming or scrolling through Instagram and Reddit. Even in outdoor conditions, the screen visibility is good, thanks to its peak brightness of 1300 nits.
Speaker
The phone has a single speaker on the bottom side that is sufficiently loud to attend phone calls on loudspeaker. Due to the speaker being single, we cannot expect the bass level to be too high, but it does the job.
Performance
The IQOO Z7 is powered by a MediaTek 920 processor that comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The phone performs well in day-to-day tasks, and I did not face any lag issues while frequently switching between apps.
Even while gaming on high and medium graphics, I did not face any lag or heating issues. I played games like Call of Duty and Asphalt 9 for long periods, and the phone worked well even at 60fps on high graphics.
The phone comes with a hybrid sim slot, allowing you to expand the storage to 1TB and the RAM to an additional 6GB.
Camera
The iQOO Z7 boasts an impressive camera setup, featuring a 64 MP main camera with a 2 MP depth sensor that offers both EIS and OIS. In our testing, we found that this camera takes decent photos in both day and night conditions, with good dynamic range and colour saturation in post-processing. However, we did notice that the front-facing 16 MP camera with a wide-angle lens had some processing issues, resulting in selfies that don’t look quite as realistic as we’d like.
When it comes to video recording, the iQOO Z7 doesn’t disappoint, allowing users to capture footage in up to 4K at 30fps – a feature that’s rare at this price point. Unfortunately, we did notice some issues with skin tones, even with the beauty mode turned off. In our tests, skin often looked washed out and lacking in accuracy.
Battery Backup
iQOO Z7 packs a 4500 mAh battery that can last for a full day of normal usage on a single charge. However, charging the device with its 44W charger can take some time, which is something to keep in mind if you’re frequently on the go and need a quick top-up.
Software
The IQOO Z7 runs on the latest Android 13, which works smoothly on the phone. What I liked about the phone is the implementation of Android 13, where we get a unique look by picking the wallpaper color, and the phone icons, settings, widgets, and notification bar are all available in the same color pallet theme.
The phone comes with a promise of two years of software updates and three years of security updates, making it an excellent option for those who want regular updates.
What Could be Better?
The only thing I disliked about this phone was the bloatware experience. We get several pre-installed apps that make the first-time experience of the phone unimpressive. With pre-installed bloatware apps, we also get entire dedicated folders like hot apps and hot games that promote unwanted apps to install.
However, we can remove both folders by long-pressing them and turning them off in the settings, and we can even uninstall bloatware apps.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the IQOO Z7 is a solid mid-range smartphone that offers impressive performance, a stunning display, and a great camera experience. It’s a perfect phone for those who are looking for a budget-friendly smartphone that can handle heavy gaming, streaming, and productivity tasks with ease.
However, the bloatware experience on this phone could be better, and it may take some time to set up and customize the phone according to your preferences. Nevertheless, the ability to remove bloatware and access regular software updates makes the IQOO Z7 a great phone that can offer you a seamless and enjoyable smartphone experience.
If you’re in the market for a smartphone under 20,000 INR, then the IQOO Z7 is definitely worth considering. It packs in a lot of features, performance, and value for its price range, making it a great choice for anyone looking for a mid-range smartphone that won’t break the bank.
