Since its debut five years ago, iQOO has built a formidable reputation in the Indian smartphone market. Often regarded as a brand known for producing top-tier gaming phones, iQOO has consistently shown that while performance is still at its core, it also aims to push boundaries in other areas such as camera quality, battery life, and AI features, without demanding a premium price.
The upcoming iQOO Neo 10, which also marks the debut of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC in India, promises to deliver a well-rounded flagship experience at a price point that’s rarely seen for this level of hardware.
Ahead of its official launch on May 26th, 91mobiles sat down with Nipun Marya, CEO at iQOO, to find out what users can expect from the iQOO Neo 10. During the conversation, iQOO confirmed that Neo 10 will be the “first in the industry” to provide 16GB of LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.1 storage under Rs 40,000. We also asked about the much-anticipated iQOO gaming tablet. While Marya didn’t confirm its existence outright, he did offer a promising glimpse of what might be on the way.
1. It’s been five years since iQOO launched its first phone in India. Leaving aside the upcoming Neo 10, what do you think makes iQOO phones stand out to customers, considering the fierce competition across all segments?
In one single sentence, choose iQOO if you care about performance and value, and you really want the best that technology can offer at a particular price point. That’s what we believe in.
We believe that innovation and performance are the two core things that iQOO stands for. A lot of consumers we meet today, who’ve used a phone for over two years, have complaints like: the phone is hanging. The storage is full. The storage is slow. Those are common complaints. And if you look at the root cause of all of this, it is primarily because you did not have a strong processor or a strong memory configuration. Those are the people who are ‘heavy users’ (suggesting the brand wants to target).
2. From the latest iQOO launches, we can notice that there’s a big focus on battery capacity. 5,000mAh battery seems to be a thing of the past. Do you agree?
I won’t say it’s a thing of the past, but I certainly see the trend shifting. The trend is shifting towards, ‘If we can give you higher power, then why not?’
That’s the way we are thinking right now. That’s also the reason why we are able to offer a 7,000mAh battery (on the iQOO Neo 10) in a very slim form factor, which is just 8mm thick. We see so many of our users, and the normal screen time is 8.5 hours. If you’re using the phone for so long, you require a battery, which can last for long. This is a clear user requirement that has always been there. The fact that technology is now supporting it via silicon carbon and lithium-ion batteries, we have slimmer batteries yet more power.
3. Traditionally, iQOO has been associated with gaming-focused smartphones, but it’s clear that it aims to build phones for all users. Do you think the brand is heading in that direction with the Neo 10? If so, how?
Yes, absolutely. While its (iQOO Neo 10) performance will be the best in the category, you will not be disappointed. You will be pleasantly surprised when it comes to the camera. The iQOO Neo 10 has a 50MP Sony IMX 882 sensor, but we tuned it with the ‘NICE’ algorithm and Vivo colour science. Therefore, the overall output that a consumer gets is totally delightful. We don’t want you to feel compromised, especially if you’re buying a phone worth approximately Rs 35,000.
4. iQOO never shies away from testing bold colours. What’s the user reaction to these sorts of colours?
We can’t paint all consumers with the same brush. There are consumers who will prefer this kind of bold design (referring to the Fiery Red variant). We also have a subtle colour (referring to the Titanium Chrome colour). I think the two are very complementary, and I’m sure you will like them.
5. The iQOO Neo 10 will ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 SoC. How’s this SoC tuned with the upcoming smartphone?
It is certainly taking the mid-level segment, performance-wise, to a flagship territory. It achieved an AnTuTu score of 2.4 million, compared to the 1.7 million achieved by the iQOO Neo 9 Pro. You’re also getting the Q1 chip, which aids both gamers and non-gamers. There’s also LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.1 storage. Therefore, these are really powerful specs, which people don’t imagine are possible. And, iQOO makes the unimaginable possible.
6. Can you share any details about the rumoured iQOO gaming tablet?
You will see when it comes. But I can share that this (iQOO Neo 10) will be the first in the industry to come with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage under Rs 40,000.
