Pros
- Good design
- Strong performance
- Good battery life
Cons
- Lacks 3.5mm headphone jack
- Average camera performance
The iQOO Z6 Pro 5G is yet another performance-oriented smartphone for the masses. It provides everything you could possibly want in a good mid-range device including the Snapdragon 778 5G chipset, an AMOLED display, and a triple rear camera system. But is it worth buying? We will try to answer that in the full-fledged review below.
Design
The iQOO Z6 Pro has a distinctive rear appearance, complete with two large circles holding three camera sensors. This is one of the first things that will instantly grab your attention. The phone has a polycarbonate body with a matte finish that is smooth and sparkly and looks beautiful in the light. It also keeps its beauty even after a long day by not allowing dust or fingerprints to stick to it.
The phone is boxy in design and has narrow curves around the corners. The frames are metallics adding to the durability. The phone is fairly lightweight and comfortable to hold. We had a decent experience with single-hand usability. Notably, the iQOO Z6 Pro 5G is available in Legion Sky and Phantom Dusk colors. We have received the latter for review.
The smartphone’s camera module is arguably the most distinctive component. Three camera sensors are housed tucked inside two large rings. The big square module has a glass finish giving the rear panel a dual-tone finish. The primary camera is kept in the top ring, and the ultrawide and macro lenses are in the bottom ring.
It provides a unique and different design approach than the hundreds of similar-looking smartphones on the market.
The selfie camera is housed in a tiny punch-hole cutout at the center top. On the right panel, there are keys for volume and power, while the left panel is left empty. The SIM slot, the USB Type-C port, and the speaker grille are located at the bottom of the iQOO Z6 Pro 5G.
Display
The iQOO Z6 Pro 5G has a 6.44-inch AMOLED panel with a 90Hz refresh rate. This time, iQOO chose an updated panel that contributes to better gaming graphics. The AMOLED display of the Z6 Pro 5G has a pixel density of 409 PPI and a 1080 x 2404 FHD+ resolution. It was surprising that iQOO did not give the smartphone a 120Hz refresh rate as both the predecessor, i.e., the iQOO Z5, and the cheaper iQOO Z6. However, this is definitely not a deal breaker. You will likely not notice the difference. But it would have made sense to provide a higher refresh rate in this price range similar to what the competition delivers.
The iQOO Z6 Pro 5G has high brightness levels. It not only improves the display experience but also ensures that visibility isn’t low outdoors. This bright screen is typically found on premium phones, so its inclusion here is welcome. It does come with HDR10+ support to provide a high-quality streaming experience and has a good viewing angle. The content you view including videos, movies, and games looks great on this panel. Overall, our experience with the display was quite pleasant.
Performance
The iQOO Z6 Pro 5G continues to use the Snapdragon 778G SoC, which is one of the best chipsets in the segment, so no complaints there. The chip is paired with up to 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and up to 128GB of UFS 2.2 storage. Although there is no storage expansion, the phone allows an addition of up to 4GB of unused storage as virtual RAM thanks to the Extended RAM 2.0 feature.
We put the phone through a number of demanding tasks during our time with it, including playing top-tier games like Call of Duty, Asphalt 9, and Shadow Fight IV and it did not even flinch. We also took Zoom calls while switching through apps and doing multiple tasks simultaneously and it was still able to keep up without any lag.
In terms of games specifically, the experience was pretty positive. We played Call of Duty at the highest graphics setting and Asphalt 9 in HD or Ultra HD with high frame rates. The game load times and the response times were quite fast. Despite playing games for more than two hours, we didn’t face any overheating-related issues.
The phone is further powered by FunTouchOS 12, an Android 12-based operating system. Even if Android 12 is welcome, many mid-range devices are still shipped with the less-prized version of the OS, which includes bloatware.
Camera
The iQOO Z6 Oro 5g’s rear camera sports a 64MP primary sensor, an 8MP ultrawide camera, and a 2MP macro camera. The 16MP selfie camera is located in the waterdrop notch on the front. Both 4K and 1080p videos at 60fps can be recorded with the smartphone.
In bright light, the iQOO Z6 Pro’s primary 64MP camera produces decent images. These images have good dynamic range, vibrant colors, and strong detail. While HDR was often quite effective, the camera also doesn’t overexpose pictures or blow out the highlights. While the main camera is fairly effective in daylight, as the light diminishes, the results alter.
We observed the main camera provide softer, less-detailed photographs in the late evening. Using night mode at night will yield marginally better results. The amount of detail can be increased while scenes are brightened and some noise can be reduced by switching to night mode. However, you’ll need enough ambient light and still objects for night mode to produce passable results.
The 8MP ultrawide unit on the Z6 Pro 5G can produce consistent color in the daytime. The ultrawide does a decent job of preserving detail during the day for a mid-range smartphone.
The Z6 Pro 5G’s 16MP selfie camera produced images with good detail and clarity. Edge detection in portrait selfies was also decent, and skin tones appeared natural. In daylight, the main camera can also capture 4K video at 30fps with reliable results.
Battery
With a 4,700mAh battery, the iQOO Z6 Pro 5G easily lasts a whole day. Under normal use, the phone’s battery lasted long until the following day. But, under excessive use, things were different. Even after a long gaming session, messaging on WhatsApp and Instagram, watching videos on YouTube, and browsing Chrome, the phone still lasted a full day.
Additionally, it has 66W rapid charging capabilities, which can provide a complete charge in under an hour. The 66W charging is an improvement over the iQOO Z5’s 44W charging.
Final Verdict: Is iQOO Z6 Pro 5G A Worth Buy?
The iQOO Z6 Pro 5G is fundamentally a performance-focused phone. And even while the smartphone has shortcomings, we’d be dishonest if we said such flaws did not at all detract from the overall smartphone experience.
Yes, some people may find the absence of a 3.5mm connector, and the average camera performance to be a little disappointing. But it’s fairly obvious what it actually offers in terms of performance, gaming, multimedia experience, and other smartphone activities. The price of the iQOO Z6 Pro 5G is set at Rs. 24,999 and delivers a ton of value. The Snapdragon 778G in the phone beats out the rest of the opposition.
