The iQOO Neo 9 Pro launched in India this week as the successor to the iQOO Neo 7 Pro that debuted last year in July. The new iQOO phone comes with significant upgrades in the chipset, display, battery, and design departments. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro is also priced around the same, in the sub-Rs 40,000 category.
It hasn’t been even a year since the iQOO Neo 7 Pro launched so it’s worth figuring out what upgrades the new iQOO Neo 9 Pro comes with. Here’s a detailed comparison between the iQOO Neo 9 Pro and iQOO Neo 7 Pro to find out the differences.
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iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: specs at a glance
| SMARTPHONE | IQOO NEO 9 PRO | IQOO NEO 7 PRO |
| Display | 6.78-inch 1.5K 144Hz AMOLED display | 6.78-inch FHD+ 120Hz AMOLED display |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 | Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 |
| RAM, storage | Up to 12GB RAM, 256GB storage | Up to 12GB RAM, 256GB storage |
| Rear cameras | 50MP + 8MP | 50MP + 8MP + 2MP |
| Front camera | 16MP | 16MP |
| Battery | 5,160mAh, 120W fast charging | 5,000mAh, 120W fast charging |
iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: price
| iQOO NEO 9 PRO | iQOO NEO 7 PRO |
| Rs 35,999 – 8GB + 128GB | Rs 30,999 – 8GB + 128GB |
| Rs 37,999 – 8GB + 256GB | Rs 33,999 – 12GB + 256GB |
| Rs 39,999 – 12GB + 256GB |
iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: design
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro and iQOO Neo 7 Pro have a similar form factor but with some distinct changes in terms of design. With the Neo 9 Pro, iQOO has introduced a dual-tone design of red and white and a vegan leather finish. The ‘Conqueror Black’ variant has a subtle look as compared to the Fiery Red variant. One distinct change here is the rear camera module, which is now a squircle design.
The iQOO Neo 7 Pro comes in two colour options of Dark Storm (blue) and Fearless Flame (orange). It’s more boxy in comparison to the iQOO Neo 7 Pro. The smartphone has curved edges, and a punch-hole display up front. On this phone, the rear cameras are tucked inside a square box along with the LED flash.
The difference in design doesn’t seem to be too big between the iQOO Neo 9 Pro and iQOO Neo 7 Pro. So it might boil down to user preference to choose one of the two.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: display
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro features a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a maximum 144Hz refresh rate for gaming, and 3000 nits of peak brightness. The iQOO Neo 7 Pro sports a 6.78-inch FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, punch-hole cutout, slim bezels, and 1300 nits peak brightness.
There’s a visible upgrade here with the refresh rate and brightness. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro is well-optimised for streaming apps like Netflix, and the high refresh rate makes it a good choice for gaming. The iQOO Neo 7 Pro also has a good display but you get more with the Neo 9 Pro.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: cameras
iQOO surprisingly went for a dual-camera setup on the Neo 9 Pro. The setup is a 50MP Sony IMX920 primary camera with OIS and an 8MP ultra-wide camera. For selfies, there’s a 16MP front camera on the iQOO Neo 7 Pro. With the iQOO Neo 7 Pro, you get a 50MP primary camera with OIS, an 8MP ultra-wide lens, and a 2MP macro sensor. It also has a 16MP front camera for selfies.
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro is a good at taking photos in daylight, and portrait as well. Although the same 16MP front snapper, it’s still capable of capturing great selfies in daylight with crisp details. Since there isn’t much change in the camera department, the iQOO Neo 7 Pro also offers almost the same results as the Neo 9 Pro.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: performance
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 processor paired with Adreno 740 GPU. With the iQOO Neo 9 Pro, you get the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 SoC with Adreno 730 GPU. On both phones, there’s up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. But you get 12GB of extended RAM with the iQOO Neo 9 Pro for additional performance.
On paper, the iQOO Neo 9 Pro has a faster chipset, and in reality too it offers a significant performance improvement over the iQOO Neo 7 Pro.
iQOO Neo 9 Pro vs iQOO Neo 7 Pro: battery
The battery difference is quite minimal between the two phones. The iQOO Neo 9 Pro packs a 5160mAh battery with 120W fast charging support. With the iQOO Neo 7 Pro, you get a 5,000mAh battery with 120W fast charging support. So the charging speed is the same but you get a slightly bigger battery with the Neo 9 Pro.
Both phones give an all-day battery life with standard usage but you would need to charge it once if there’s some heavy graphical usage. That shouldn’t be an issue with the super-fast 120W charging speed.
Key takeaways
The iQOO Neo 9 Pro does offer some significant upgrades over last year’s Neo 7 Pro. But you can still consider the Neo 7 Pro since it’s only a few months old, and does most of what the Neo 9 Pro offers.
