On May 23rd, Beijing time, the all-new iQOO Neo8 Pro smartphone was officially released. This marks the debut of the “Pro” edition in the iQOO Neo series and the industry’s first product featuring the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 flagship chipset.
So, how is the experience with the iQOO Neo8 Pro? And what about the gaming performance brought by the flagship dual-core chipset?
Next, Gizcoupon will provide a detailed review and experience of this product. For interested readers, let’s delve into it together!
Part One: iQOO Neo8 Pro Exterior Design
Let’s start with the color options. This time, iQOO Neo8 Pro offers three color variants: Match Point, Night Obsidian, and Surfing. These three colors are a continuation of the geometric black, impression blue, and Pop orange spirits from the iQOO Neo7.
The three color options of iQOO Neo8 Pro possess completely different textures. The “Match Point” version features a delicate texture of lychee-grain leather on the back cover. Its touch is exquisite, complemented by the customized “Time to play” inscription. The “Surfing” version, on the other hand, utilizes ceramic enamel glass on the back cover and has a particularly vibrant color tuning. It leaves a lasting impression with its high level of recognition.
The “Night Obsidian” is a relatively calm color option. Its back cover is made of rock crystal glass with a subtle frosted texture. Moreover, Under the light, it appears dynamic and three-dimensional, with a touch of brilliance. It can be described as “composed yet not dull.”
Gizcoupon received the Match Point and Night Obsidian color versions. But personally, I prefer the Match Point color. On the one hand, the fine leather craftsmanship brings a more premium texture, and on the other hand, the bright orange color adds vibrancy. It is paired with a black imaging module featuring a carbon fiber texture, creating a striking visual impact with the “red and black” contrast, making it difficult to go unnoticed.
Furthermore, the Match Point version is even lighter, weighing only 192.3g, while the Surfing and Night Obsidian versions weigh 196.9g. The use of the word “only” is justified because it is indeed challenging to keep the weight below 200g for a performance-oriented smartphone equipped with a dual-axis linear motor.
iQOO Neo8 Pro design details
In terms of design details, iQOO Neo8 Pro continues the iconic design elements of the Neo series. For example, it incorporates more geometric graphic elements in the pixel characters and camera module design.
Moving to the front, iQOO Neo8 Pro features a 6.78-inch flexible AMOLED straight screen.
It supports a 144Hz four-speed variable refresh rate (60/90/120/144) and a 1200Hz instantaneous touch sampling rate. Additionally, it boasts a resolution of 2800×1260, a blue diamond pixel arrangement, and 452 PPI. It also offers a maximum 2160Hz PWM high-frequency dimming (with support for 90Hz scenes). It possesses a brightness adjustment range of 1.6 million levels and excels in color accuracy with JNCD≈0.23 and ΔE≈0.28.
Overall, it is a relatively impressive flexible display, making it highly suitable for enthusiasts of a flat screen design and gaming enthusiasts.
In terms of design, iQOO Neo8 Pro adopts a centered hole-punch design on the screen while retaining the plastic frame. The overall screen-to-body ratio is well-controlled. The upper, left, and right bezels are almost imperceptibly narrow, while the bottom bezel is slightly wider by a small margin.
Other design aspects are quite familiar, including the plastic middle frame, speaker opening at the bottom, infrared port at the top, and volume and power buttons on the sides.
Finally, the packaging design remains consistent with the iQOO family’s style. The accessories include a Type-C 120W charger, data cable, protective case, SIM card pin, instruction manual, and warranty card.
Part Two: iQOO Neo8 Pro Performance Testing
In terms of core configuration, iQOO Neo8 Pro debuts with the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ hailed as the “strongest flagship chipset of 2023.” The whole series is also equipped with 16GB LPDDR5X as standard, supplemented by UFS 4.0 storage. Additionally, it offers 256GB of storage and is accompanied by the self-developed V1+ chip. This set of specifications can be considered top-tier in the industry.
The Blue Factory (referring to MediaTek) is indeed quite “impressive.” Now, the configuration of the Neo series is on par with the numerical series. Moreover, the standard 16GB of RAM can be hailed as a conscientious move.
Dimensity 9200+ chipset specifications
The Dimensity 9200+ chipset was released earlier this month. Specifically, the CPU and GPU performance of the Dimensity 9200+ has significantly improved compared to the previous generation. The octa-core CPU includes one large core, the Arm Cortex-X3, with a clock speed of up to 3.35GHz, three big cores, the Arm Cortex-A715, with a clock speed of up to 3.0GHz, and four power-efficient cores, the Arm Cortex-A510, with a clock speed of 2.0GHz.
As an upgraded version of the Dimensity 9200, the Dimensity 9200+ offers a 10% performance improvement for the performance cores and an 11% improvement for the power-efficient cores. Both the large core and the big cores have been upgraded to clock speeds of over 3.0GHz, showcasing its overall strength. In terms of benchmark scores, the CPU performance of the Dimensity 9200+ is currently leading in the Android camp.
Furthermore, the Dimensity 9200+ features an 11-core GPU, the Immortalis-G715, with a peak frequency increase of up to 17%. Its powerful performance meets the demands of users for the smooth operation of mobile games and complex applications.
Now let’s take a look at the benchmark scores of the iQOO Neo8 Pro
As shown in the above image, the iQOO Neo8 Pro achieves an AnTuTu overall score of 1,329,820. This is a remarkable performance that reaches the ceiling of the Android camp. For comparison, the scores of Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen2 and MediaTek Dimensity 9200 generally hover around 1.2 million.
In the GeekBench5 benchmark, the iQOO Neo8 Pro achieved impressive results. A single-core score of 1533 points and a multi-core score of 4849 points. Its single-core performance even surpassed the highest level in the Gizcoupon benchmark database. This clearly demonstrates the significant improvement in CPU performance brought about by the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset’s large and high-frequency cores.
The iQOO Neo8 Pro also boasts outstanding flash storage performance. Its write speed reaches 3885MB/s, while the read speed reaches 3044MB/s. This speed far exceeds the approximately 1800MB/s achieved by UFS 3.1. In the storage test conducted by AnTuTu, the device scored over 120,000 points, which is considered the ceiling level for Android devices.
As for charging, the iQOO Neo8 Pro continues to support 120W fast charging. With the super flash charging mode enabled, the 5000mAh battery can be fully charged in less than 30 minutes.
Gizcoupon also conducted a real-world charging test, starting from 1% battery level with the screen turned off. Within the first 5 minutes, the battery reached 30% charge; within 10 minutes, it reached 55%; within 15 minutes, it reached 73%; within 20 minutes, it reached 89%; and within 25 minutes, it reached 100%. During the charging process, the iQOO Neo8 Pro achieved a remarkable peak power of nearly 110W in the first minute. Even when the battery level exceeded 50%, it still maintained a power output of nearly 50W.
With such charging performance and a 5000mAh battery capacity, the iQOO Neo8 Pro effectively addresses any concerns regarding battery anxiety.
Part Three: iQOO Neo8 Pro Game Experience
Now let’s take a look at the gaming performance of the iQOO Neo8 Pro.
Genshin Impact
Gizcoupon conducted a 30-minute test using the graphics-intensive game “Genshin Impact” at the highest graphics settings. The test was conducted in an air-conditioned room at around 22°C. The game test involved outdoor exploration and combat scenarios, with combat scenes accounting for over 40% of the total gameplay time. The phone was set to Monster mode.
After a thorough 30-minute test, the results showed that the iQOO Neo8 Pro maintained an average frame rate of above 59fps.
As shown in the graph, during the 30-minute gameplay session of “Genshin Impact,” the iQOO Neo8 Pro did not experience any frame rate drops. There was only one noticeable frame rate fluctuation throughout the entire gameplay. For the rest of the time, the frame rate remained stable at around 60fps, with the frame rate during combat scenes ranging between 49 and 60fps.
The thermal performance of the iQOO Neo8 Pro is also impressive. This can be attributed to the combination of the MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset’s relatively good power consumption performance and the extensive heat dissipation measures implemented by iQOO Neo8 Pro. According to official information, the iQOO Neo8 Pro boasts the largest heat dissipation area ever seen in iQOO devices, including a VC heat plate with an impressive area of up to 5002mm².
After the 30-minute gameplay session of “Genshin Impact,” the highest temperature recorded on the iQOO Neo8 Pro was just over 40°C. In comparison, similar flagship devices typically reach temperatures of around 42°C. The noticeable 2-degree temperature difference on the iQOO Neo8 Pro is evident.
Call of Duty Mobile Games
Now, let’s turn our attention to “Call of Duty Mobile Games,” with smooth graphics quality and a 90fps frame rate. The game mode selected was a 10v10 domination match.
After approximately 3 minutes of gameplay, the iQOO Neo8 Pro achieved an average frame rate of 89.96fps, almost reaching the full 90fps frame rate.
The iQOO Neo8 Pro is equipped with a self-developed chip called V1+, which not only enhances the camera capabilities but also provides significant gaming performance gains. As a frame interpolation chip, it offers “frame rate enhancement” and “high frame rate with low power consumption” for various games.
The impact of the self-developed chip V1+ on the game
Let’s take the game “Genshin Impact” as an example, which has a maximum frame rate of 60fps. However, by enabling the “frame rate enhancement” feature through the V1+ chip, the iQOO Neo8 Pro can achieve a high-refresh-rate gaming experience of up to 144fps through frame interpolation.
As shown in the graph, the first 3 minutes of gameplay are in the default mode, where the frame rate is 60fps. When the “frame rate enhancement” is enabled through the sidebar, the GPU rendering on the iQOO Neo8 Pro drops to 48fps. Then, with the help of the V1+ chip’s 3x frame interpolation, the final result is a game effect with a frame rate of 144fps.
In games like “Arena of Valor,” you can also leverage frame interpolation to achieve a “high frame rate, low power consumption” gaming experience. After enabling frame interpolation, the GPU’s required frame rate actually decreases. The V1+ chip takes care of the remaining frames, resulting in a certain degree of power consumption reduction.
Therefore, the inclusion of a dedicated chip for gaming enhancement is not just a gimmick. It indeed improves the overall gaming experience. Especially for high-power-consumption games, it adds an extra layer of excellence.
In addition to increasing frame rates and reducing power consumption, the V1+ chip also brings visual enhancements to the iQOO Neo8 Pro gaming experience. It supports the Original Mode and Universal Filters. The former allows players to experience near-original quality in different games. At the same time, the latter applies a filter to the game, utilizing visual differences to help you quickly spot enemies hiding in shadows or dark areas, akin to a visual cheat.
“Under-display dual control pressure sensitivity” feature
Furthermore, the iQOO Neo8 Pro continues its “under-display dual control pressure sensitivity” feature. This functionality greatly enhances the gaming experience. The iQOO Neo8 Pro has X-axis linear motors on the upper and lower sides of the device. In landscape mode, both the left and right areas of the iQOO Neo8 Pro’s screen support pressure-sensitive inputs. This operation logic is similar to the side buttons on some gaming phones. They provide additional inputs through pressure-sensitive actions.
However, the advantage of “under-display dual control pressure sensitivity” lies in the ability to free up both hands, as demonstrated in games like “Call of Duty Mobile Games.” For example, the actions of aiming and shooting used to require players to tap the screen twice to complete the entire shooting process. But with pressure-sensitive buttons, you can map the pressure sensitivity to the “aim” button. So even when swiping on the screen, you can simply press down with your finger to aim.
Once familiar with this operation, the experience and efficiency can rival the “six-finger method” technique used by professional players.
Moreover, in games like “Arena of Valor,” the two X-axis motors can also provide “customized vibration.” For example, at the start of a match, vibration can be used to create an atmosphere, and certain heroes can trigger vibrations based on the direction of their skill releases, adding a sense of direction.
Part Four: iQOO Neo8 Pro Imaging Experience
In terms of imaging specifications, the iQOO Neo8 Pro features the Sony IMX866 VCS main camera. Additionally, it features a 1/1.56-inch sensor, an f/1.88 large aperture, and supports OIS optical stabilization. This IMX866 has already appeared in several blue factory flagship machines. For example, the vivo X90 is regarded as the flagship decentralization.
The other is an 8-megapixel ultra-wide-angle without a 2-megapixel secondary camera. Either way, put the rest of the cost on the main camera, and don’t do “rain and dew evenly.” But the most frequently used lens in daily life must be the best in its class.
Thanks to the adoption of a flagship sensor and advanced imaging algorithms, the main camera of the iQOO Neo8 Pro delivers impressive performance. It belongs to the top tier among devices in the same category, or at the very least, in the first echelon.
Let’s take a look at the proofs directly:
In well-lit environments during the daytime, the iQOO Neo8 Pro exhibits a transparent and pristine display. The color reproduction leans towards a cooler and more captivating tone, making elements such as brick walls and green plants appear more vivid than in reality. Furthermore, the device’s ample dynamic range allows for impressive tolerance in capturing backlit scenes, avoiding overexposure in highlights while retaining an abundance of detail in shadowed areas. The overall mastery of light and shadow contributes to a noticeable sense of depth and dimensionality.
Third, the f/1.88 aperture has a good close-range blur performance, and the blurred proofs are very textured.
In the night environment, the IMX866 sensor and optical stabilization once again demonstrate their full charm. The sample photos captured at night possess remarkable clarity and cleanliness, devoid of any noise, even in the sky. The color reproduction is also fairly accurate, and the overall look and feel are remarkable.
As for the performance of the ultra-wide-angle lens, it can be described as satisfactory but not exceptional serving its purpose. But after all, it has a resolution of 8 million, which cannot be enlarged. In addition, there is still a certain color difference between the main camera and the main camera. After all, it is not the main image flagship product. Considering the price point, it’s not a problem.
Part Five: iQOO TWS Air Pro Initial Impressions
During the iQOO Neo8 series launch event, iQOO also introduced a new earphone product—the iQOO TWS Air Pro. This product is also taken out very separately.
First and foremost, the iQOO TWS Air Pro stands out as one of the rare half-in-ear earphone designs available on the current market, offering active noise cancellation capabilities. Among the major smartphone manufacturers, only Huawei has persistently pursued the concept of “half-in-ear noise cancellation.” It is truly commendable that iQOO has joined this race as well.
With its active noise cancellation and half-in-ear design, the iQOO TWS Air Pro not only provides a comfortable wearing experience but also delivers impressive noise reduction. When activated, it can effectively block the noise from air conditioners and the bustling crowd. In my personal experience, the active noise cancellation of the iQOO TWS Air Pro is quite noticeable. For instance, in a noisy office environment, with the noise reduction turned on, the low-frequency background noise and conversations in the hallway are effectively suppressed. However, as it is not an in-ear noise cancellation system, it is less effective in attenuating high-frequency sounds such as loud distant chatter or the tapping of a mechanical keyboard, which is more apparent.
Furthermore, the lightweight design of the iQOO TWS Air Pro is truly impressive. The combined weight of the charging case and earphones is only 38.5g, similar in size to a small pebble. It is noticeably smaller than traditional TWS earphones, exhibiting a delicate and refined appearance. Additionally, each earphone weighs approximately 4g, ensuring a comfortable long-term wearing experience without any sense of foreign objects.
The audio aspect of iQOO TWS Air Pro
In terms of audio performance, the iQOO TWS Air Pro features a custom 14.2mm full-range sound driver. It boasts the largest driver size among products in its price range and incorporates design elements such as an independent rear cavity sound-guiding channel. In terms of sound reproduction, the iQOO TWS Air Pro delivers powerful and well-extended bass, achieving a natural balance across the entire frequency range.
For gamers, the iQOO TWS Air Pro offers customized Monster Sound esports audio effects. Additionally, it incorporates 3D panoramic audio functionality, tailored to be compatible with the iQOO Neo8 series smartphones. When watching movies or playing games, the soundstage becomes wider. It provides a more immersive spatial experience.
As for the latency, which is of utmost concern to gamers, the iQOO TWS Air Pro supports Bluetooth 5.3 high-speed transmission protocol. The overall gaming latency is reduced to a minimum of 88ms, while earphone latency is as low as 42ms. This makes the game connection faster and more stable.
In other aspects, the iQOO TWS Air Pro boasts an impressive battery life of up to 30 hours. It supports AAC and SBC audio protocols, Bluetooth dual connection, in-ear detection, one-tap quick pairing, call announcement, real-time translation, earphone tracking, and IP54 dust and water resistance, among other features.
Summary
As the first “Pro” product in the iQOO Neo product line, the iQOO Neo8 Pro truly lives up to its “Pro” designation with its overall performance. Firstly, its top-tier performance is evident with the MediaTek Dimensity 9200+ chipset, 16GB of RAM, 120W fast charging, and a 144Hz display, elevating the iQOO Neo series to the top tier of Android smartphones. If you’re in need of a high-performance smartphone, the iQOO Neo8 Pro is an excellent choice.
Secondly, the iQOO Neo8 Pro offers a series of gaming enhancements such as the Dimensity 9200+ chipset, V1 + game frame insertion, X-axis dual-pressure sensitivity, and game visual enhancements. These features make the iQOO Neo8 Pro competitive in the gaming experience, rivaling even dedicated gaming smartphones on the market. So, if you are an avid gamer, but don’t like the exaggerated, rough design and weight of game phones, then choosing iQOO Neo8 Pro will not make you regret it.
In addition, the iQOO Neo8 Pro features flagship-level optical image stabilization for its main camera, distinctive color options, and a reduced weight body, showcasing its comprehensive competitive advantages.
With the approaching Chinese shopping festival, 618, iQOO has come prepared with such a product. Whether you are a student or a user planning to make a purchase, as long as you have requirements in terms of performance, gaming, design, and imaging, the iQOO Neo8 Pro is definitely worth considering in the 3K price range.
The price information is as follows:
In terms of pricing, the iQOO Neo8 Pro is available in 2 versions:
- The 16GB+256GB version is priced at approximately $466 (first sale price approximately $438).
- The 16GB+512GB version is priced at approximately $508 (first sale price approximately $480).
