iQOO Z11x first impressions: a promising budget offering that goes all out on battery

iQOO has just unveiled its first Z series smartphone of the year, the iQOO Z11x, in India. The handset is positioned as a long-lasting battery endurance midrange offering with heavy performance prowess. At its core lies MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Turbo SoC, and to keep things running, there is a large 7,200mAh battery. Starting at Rs 18,999, the iQOO Z11x rivals the Realme P4, CMF Phone 2 Pro, and Moto G86 Power.

Since we had the chance to get an early hands-on with the device, here’s what the iQOO Z11x brings to the table:

Hefty yet comfortable design

The moment you pick up the iQOO Z11x for the first time, you’ll notice that the smartphone’s corners are rounder than usual, especially compared to the iQOO Z10x. This lends a sense of confidence when held single-handedly. Flipping the phone over to its back, a rectangular elevated camera housing sits in place, comprising cameras, an IR blaster, an LED flashlight, a microphone, and a squircle LED light called ‘Dynamic Light’.

For our review, we received the Titan Black colour of the iQOO Z11x, which features a reflective matte-like finish that glimmers under direct sunlight. The handset also comes in Prismatic Green, a light green colour palette that also rocks box-like patterns at the bottom of the phone. Coming in at 218g, the phone feels noticeably hefty in hand, while the bundled transparent TPU case helps in offering a much better grip. We will be using the device as our daily driver to find out how it feels in everyday use.

Moving to the polycarbonate sideframe, the bottom of the Z11x houses the main speaker, Type-C charging port, and microphone, while the right frame houses the volume and power buttons. iQOO has also put a lot of attention on the durability of the iQOO Z11x, which comes with an IP68/69 rating and 5-Star Toughness Military-Grade protection. Both of these certifications could go a long way in limiting damage caused by water exposure or accidental drops.

A beefy battery and a bump in performance

7,200mAh battery

Just like several smartphone releases as of late, iQOO is betting high on battery endurance. As a result, the iQOO Z11x is equipped with a massive 7,200mAh cell, the biggest capacity under Rs 20,000. iQOO claims the cell can last over 15 hours when playing Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), 51 hours of 4G voice calls, or 40 hours of video playback. Since the phone packs such a large battery, it also supports reverse wired charging for topping up other devices, like your friend’s phone, TWS, etc.

For charging, the phone comes bundled with a 44W charging adapter in the box, which charges it from 20 to 100 percent in just over an hour, per our initial testing.

MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Turbo SoC and OriginOS 6

Since the iQOO Z series has always been about keeping raw power at the forefront, the Z11x carries one of the most popular and reliable midrange chipsets, the 4nm-based MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Turbo SoC. Per iQOO, the chipset scores 10,10,000 on AnTuTu benchmark, indicating strong mid-tier performance.

Compared to the iQOO Z10x’s Dimensity 7300, the latest iQOO Z-series smartphone should bring marginal improvements in performance, thanks to the improved clock speeds of the Dimensity 7400. The handset is backed by UFS 3.1 storage and 6GB or 8GB LPDDR4X RAM, depending on the variant you opt.

The iQOO Z11x runs OriginOS 6-layered atop Android 16 out of the box. It seems iQOO is not compromising on the features, bringing the same flagship-level animations and blur elements, which we saw on its premium and high-end phones. The handset is promised to get two OS upgrades and four years of security patch updates, ensuring the software stays up to date till 2030.

Several productivity-focused features also make the cut on the iQOO Z11x. These include the Office Kit for easy transfer of files, media, and documents from phone to PC or vice versa, Drag & Go for quickly sharing stuff by dragging the content to the Origin Island (iQOO’s version of Dynamic Island), and Private Space that secures your important data behind a lock.

LCD display instead of AMOLED

Even though AMOLED panels have been a common affair on phones priced above Rs 15,000, the iQOO Z11x is equipped with a 6.76-inch FHD+ LCD display. The decision to opt for an LCD panel over an AMOLED one could be attributed to rising component costs, where the company may have made a trade-off to prioritise core aspects, like a high-capacity battery and a reliable chipset.

The handset supports up to 120Hz refresh rate and 1,200 nits in high brightness mode. When watching videos and movies, the earpiece speaker of the iQOO Z11x acts as a secondary speaker for an immersive sound experience. When pressing the volume up button twice after touching 100 percent, the phone can reach up to 400 percent volume, thanks to the ‘Audio booster’ mode.

Standard camera setup

The minimal rear camera layout of the iQOO Z11x sports dual lenses – a 50MP Sony IMX852 primary camera with f/2.4 aperture and a 2MP bokeh sensor. Up front, the circular camera cutout houses a 32MP selfie shooter. The cameras support 4K 30fps video recording for a crisp quality. The handset also offers dual-View Video for capturing footage using the front and rear cameras simultaneously.

That said, those cameras don’t make the iQOO Z11x stand out from other smartphones in the segment. The setup is pretty standard for the price. It will be interesting to see how the iQOO Z11x’s cameras actually fare in the real world.

Summing up early thoughts

Furthermore, if you’re seeking a midrange phone with software that doesn’t hold back in providing fluid and snappy transitions, the iQOO Z11x could be your best bet. As for other core aspects, like the camera and battery, these require further testing and a deeper dive before reaching a strong conclusion. Stay tuned for our full review, which will cover every aspect of the phone in detail and should be up in a few days.