iQOO Z9s

The iQOO Z9s boasts the same 50MP Sony IMX882 OIS + 2MP dual camera setup and a 16MP selfie camera as its predecessor, which captured some remarkable images in daylight. But, does it stand out against the latest competitors such as Samsung Galaxy M35 and OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite? Let's find out.DaylightThe OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite surpasses the iQOO Z9s and Samsung Galaxy M35 in daylight photography, delivering images with noticeably superior detail. However, its colour reproduction is less vibrant compared to the iQOO Z9s and Galaxy M35. The Samsung device also excels in dynamic range, while the iQOO Z9s struggles with underwhelming exposure in shadowy areas.PortraitsUnlike the Samsung Galaxy M35, the iQOO Z9s and OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite both come with a dedicated 2MP depth camera for portraits. The iQOO Z9s outshines with superior facial detailing and separation of subjects from the background with minimum distortion around the edges. The colours are also accurate on the iQOO smartphone.SelfiesThe iQOO Z9s excels at capturing selfies, outperforming its competitors by delivering finer facial details that the Samsung Galaxy M35 and OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite might miss. It also provides good exposure for background elements, though the skin tones can be slightly off. On the other hand, the Samsung device produces skin tones that are more true to life.Low light (night mode)The iQOO Z9s automatically switches to long exposure mode, or night mode, for low-light photography, and this setting cannot be turned off. While the results are decent, the handset outperforms the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite by delivering more detailed shots. However, it falls short of controlling the light flare as cleanly as the Samsung Galaxy M35, which also preserves more accurate colours and offers better dynamic range.

The iQOO Z9s is equipped with the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. Given the naming convention, one might expect it to outperform the iQOO Z9's MediaTek Dimensity 7200 SoC. However, this is not the case, and the iQOO Z9s delivered a lower AnTuTu score compared to its predecessor. However, its 7,02,347 score is miles better than most of its competitors, including the OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite and Samsung Galaxy M35 5G. It also performs well on Geekbench, with single-core and multi-core scores of 1,044 and 3,011 respectively. On the Burnout CPU Throttle test, the handset performed at a respectable 63.9 percent of its peak performance.While scrolling through the smartphone, there weren't any lags, app craze or freeze issues. The handset's optical in-display fingerprint scanner also works quite seamlessly, unlocking the device in a jiffy. For gaming, the iQOO Z9s handled 30-minute sessions of BGMI, Call of Duty, and Real Racing 3 with a 12.7-degree increase in temperature on aggregate. The handset's average FPS also remains on par with its competitors. The phone supports up to 2,000Hz touch sampling rate in Ultra Game Mode, '4D Game Vibration' for a realistic experience, and 'Motion Control' to control the characters in the game by tilting/ raising your device.The iQOO Z9s runs FunTouch OS 14 layered atop Android 14 out of the box. The software comes with loads of apps pre-installed – 51 in total, out of which six are third-party ones, making the app drawer look a bit cluttered. That said, the phone benefits from several software features, including App Retainer which keeps the selected apps up and running in the background, Split Screen, Hidden Photos, and Mini Window. The latter adds a floating window to your screen to easily track your ride, check your food delivery, or access important documents while multitasking.Pre-installed appsUpdatesiQOO Z9s512 years major + 3 years securityOnePlus Nord CE4 Lite502 years major + 3 years securitySamsung Galaxy M35524 years major + 5 years security

The iQOO Z9s features an upgraded 5,500mAh battery as opposed to 5,000mAh on the regular Z9. This resulted in an enhanced backup in both synthetic benchmarks and our lab tests. The handset recorded 16 hours and 11 minutes on the PCMark battery test, which runs a series of tasks until the battery life drops to 20 percent from 100 percent. This is better than the competitors too.In our 30-minute YouTube streaming test, the iQOO Z9s only consumed 3 percent of its battery. For gaming, the battery dropped by about 5.3 percent on average after 30 minutes each of BGMI, Real Racing 3, and Call of Duty. This suggests the phone should comfortably last a day with moderate to heavy use. However, the iQOO Z9s could benefit from faster charging capabilities. It supports a maximum of 44W, which is slower compared to the OnePlus Nord CE4. Using the included charger, the iQOO smartphone takes approximately 66 minutes to charge from 20 to 100 percent, which is 16 minutes slower than its counterpart.Charging speedCharging time (20-100 percent)iQOO Z9s44W66 minutesOnePlus Nord CE4 Lite80W50 minutesSamsung Galaxy M3525W96 minutes