vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) review

The Vivo iQOO Neo 7 5G was recently launched in India and is the latest addition to the iQOO smartphone series. It is a premium mid-range smartphone that has been touted as the successor to the iQOO Neo 6. 

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Specifications

• Release date: 2023, February 16
• Colors: Interstellar Black, Frost Blue
• Dimensions: 164.8 x 76.9 x 8.6 mm.
• Weight: 193 g.
• Screen: 6.78" in, 1080 x 2400, AMOLED
• Camera : Triple, 64MP
• Chipset: Mediatek Dimensity 8200 (4 nm)
• CPU: Octa-core (1x3.1 GHz Cortex-A78 & 3x3.0 GHz Cortex-A78 & 4x2.0 GHz Cortex-A55)
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM
• Battery: 5000, Li-Po, non-removable
• Network: GSM / HSPA / LTE / 5G
• Operating system: Android 13, Funtouch 13
• Sensors: Fingerprint (under display, optical), accelerometer, gyro, proximity, compass

If you are curious to find out all the details before reading the full review, visit the page for vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Specs, where you will find even the smallest detail about the phone.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Design 

Vivo's latest smartphone, the iQOO Neo 7, has retained the square camera body and overall plastic construction from its predecessor, the Neo 6. However, the main distinguishing feature of the Neo 7 is its leather-textured back, which provides a premium feel in the hand, especially for users who prefer to use the device without a case.

The Neo 7's front-facing camera is also noteworthy. Unlike the Neo 6, which had a coloured ring around its perforated camera, the Neo 7 doesn't have any ring around it. Additionally, the screen dimensions have increased, and the chin and side bezels look remarkably smaller than before.

While the Neo 7 lacks a headphone jack and expandable memory, it comes in multiple memory options up to 521 GB. The device has a polycarbonate body, but by no means does it feel cheap. The Frost Blue color option has a matte finish that helps protect against fingerprints and smudges. The gradient that is visible when light hits the back panel gives the phone a premium look.

The weight of the iQOO Neo 7 is well distributed, weighing 193g and 8.58mm thick. In this era where many smartphones have a flat frame design, the iQOO Neo 7 5G continues to offer a curved back panel and frame, making it distinctive in terms of design.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global)  Display

The iQOO Neo 7 has a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel with FHD+ resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and HDR 10+ support. Although the display specs are similar to its predecessor, the reduced chin size has slightly increased the screen size. 

The panel delivers sharp contrast, vivid color reproduction and an impressive experience in everyday use with its high refresh rate and fast animations.

Neo 7 uses a special display chip that works to illuminate and sharpen content. It is identical to that of the Neo 6 but offers an overall enhanced viewing experience.

Viewing angles are great, with no noticeable colour shifting or flickering issues. The screen has thin bezels and a screen-to-body ratio of 93.11%. The "chin" is the thickest at 2.65mm. The screen is flat and everything looks slightly better than the previous iteration.

The screen supports HDR10+ and WideVine L1, offering a good multimedia experience, including quite loud speakers. The headphone jack serves as a secondary audio output, but there's some channel imbalance as it's not as loud as the main speaker at the bottom. 

The display is visible even in direct sunlight, with a maximum brightness of 1300 nits when playing HDR content.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Camera overview

The Vivo iQOO Neo 7 5G is a phone that is packed with great features at an affordable price. While it excels in most areas, the camera department is where it falls slightly short.

The phone is equipped with a 64-megapixel primary rear camera with optical image stabilization (OIS) support, a 2-megapixel depth sensor, and a 2-megapixel macro camera. The lack of an ultra-wide-angle camera can be taken as a drawback for those who like to shoot. 

The main camera did well when it comes to colors and details, creating vibrant photos with good details in the highlights and shadows. Dynamic range performance has also been improved by the software. Edge detection was also up to par in most cases, especially in portrait mode.

The iQoo Neo 7 also performed well in low-light shots, with shadows exposed well without overexposing the highlights. This feature helps improve dynamic range performance, resulting in good detail in low-light conditions.

The performance of the 16-megapixel front-facing camera is good, offering good detail and dynamic range in both standard Photo and Portrait modes. However, Portrait mode shots have softer skin textures with slightly higher exposures that do the subject justice. 

The iQoo Neo 7 5G can shoot up to 4K video at 60fps using the main rear camera. Colours and detail are decent, but the dynamic range performance needs improvement. The front camera only supports 1080p 30fps video recording, and dynamic range suffers losses. 

The company has introduced a new Vlog mode that has several templates to help users record videos using the front or rear camera. Users can capture multiple short clips to create a vlog. This mode allows you to apply filters, some of which must be downloaded separately.

Like most other Android devices, the iQOO Neo 7 fails to cope with indoor or artificial lighting conditions. Images don't look grainy, as it has a variable shutter speed built into the camera app, but it sometimes tends to overexpose the subject, resulting in artificial-looking photos.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Performance 

The MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ chipset, based on 4 Nm architecture, and is the main reason why the iQOO Neo 7 5G outperforms all its competitors. The octa-core processor has 1 3.2 GHz Cortex-X2 chip, 3 2.85 GHz Cortex-A710 and 4 1.80 GHz Cortex-A510. The balanced design between the higher and lower power chips makes it a highly efficient processor.

Unsurprisingly, games like Call of Duty: Mobile and Asphalt 9 offer a smooth gaming experience, but even in resource-intensive games like Genshin Impact, it can still deliver solid performance. However, there may be a few hitches due to the game's high resource requirements.

The iQOO Neo 7 5G has some exciting features for gaming enthusiasts, including 90fps support for PUBG: New State and Call of Duty: Mobile. 

The phone also features Ultra Game Mode, which offers some unique features such as Motion Gestures that can be customized for select games, and the ability to switch to Monster Mode to ensure maximum performance without throttling. However, using Monster Mode can affect the phone's temperature and battery life.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Battery life 

The Vivo iQOO Neo 7 5G has a large 5000mAh battery that can provide all-day use for routine tasks including media playback and web browsing. The phone's battery can last up to six hours of screen-on time (SoT) even when you push it to the limit, which is impressive for a device with a large display and powerful chipset.

During a week-long test, the iQOO Neo 7 5G delivered an average of 7.5 hours of screen-on time, which is commendable. This phone can offer excellent battery performance for most users, who will likely appreciate its long-lasting battery life.

The Vivo iQOO Neo 7 5G comes with its own 120W fast charger that can charge the battery from 0 to 100% in less than 25 minutes. In our test, the phone reached 50% battery in just 12 minutes, which is incredibly fast.

The Neo 7 also offers a "Fast Charge" switch in the battery settings that can further speed up the charging process. This feature allows users to quickly charge the battery without reducing its life.

In our HD video battery cycle test, the iQoo Neo 7 5G lasted an impressive 21 hours, a testament to its long-lasting battery performance. This phone can last long work hours, video playback and gaming sessions with ease.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Software

The iQOO Neo 7 5G runs the latest Android 13 based Funtouch OS 13 out-of-the-box operating system, which has come a long way when it comes to customization and personalization. 

The interface is easy to navigate, with all shortcuts and settings in their usual places. Users can dig into the settings app to customize animations for almost any task, such as booting, unlocking the phone with a fingerprint, toggling between the home screen and lock screen, and more. There are also options to change wallpapers, icons, and other UI elements.

Funtouch OS 13 supports Android's Material You theme engine, which means system icons and elements can match the color of your chosen wallpaper. You can adjust the colors in the Settings app. 

In addition to the pre-installed apps, like Byju's, Snapchat, and Spotify, there are a couple of app recommendation folders called Hot Apps and Hot Games. While it was previously possible to hide these folders using a toggle in the Settings app, Vivo has now moved this setting to its V-App Store, which is not available on the iQoo Neo 7 5G, so there's no way to remove these two folders.

It's worth noting that the iQoo Neo 7 5G supports three years of security support, and iQoo has promised to provide updates for the iQoo Neo 7 5G, including Android 14 and Android 15.

Compared to the Honor Magic 5 Lite, which runs the technically outdated Android 12, the iQoo Neo 7 5G runs the latest version of Android 13 based on Funtouch OS 13. 

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Price

Vivo iQOO Neo 7 5G has been launched in India in two RAM variants. The base variant of this phone comes with 8 GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128 GB UFS 3.1 storage and is priced at Rs. 29,999. 

The higher-end variant comes with 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage and is priced at Rs. 33,999.

The iQOO Neo 7 comes in four different storage options, giving users the flexibility to choose the one that best suits their needs. The prices for each variant of the iQOO Neo 7 vary as follows:
- 8GB RAM + 128GB storage - INR 27,540 (BDT 35,469)
- 8GB RAM + 256GB memory - 31,140 INR (40,105 BDT)
- 12GB RAM + 256GB memory - 34,140 INR (43,969 BDT)
- 12GB RAM + 512GB memory - 35,940 INR (46,287 BDT)

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) Conclusion:

The Vivo iQOO Neo 7 5G is a great mid-range smartphone that meets many requirements. It offers best-in-class performance with great battery life and fast charging. 

The large display and loud speakers make it ideal for multimedia consumption. Additionally, the iQoo Neo 7 5G comes with the latest software, unlike some other phones in this segment such as the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G.

The place where the iQoo Neo 7 5G falls short is in the camera department. While the cameras are decent, they aren't as versatile as some of the other options in this segment, like the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G. Additionally, if you want an ultra-wide camera, a unique design, and superior features like wireless charging and IP rating, you might want to consider the Nothing Phone 1.

However, if you are a gamer and have a budget of around Rs 30,000, the iQoo Neo 7 5G is a great option. It offers a near flagship-level experience for half the price, and the build quality is top-notch.

Overall, the Vivo iQOO Neo 7 is an excellent high-performance smartphone that can easily be recommended to anyone looking for a mid-range device. While the camera may not be up to par compared to competitors, the iQoo Neo 7 5G offers outstanding performance, display and battery life, making it an excellent value for money device.

vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) video review

Disclaimer: The information presented in this article is based on our team's personal experience with the vivo iQOO Neo 7 (Global) and third-party sources. While every effort has been made to provide accurate and reliable information, readers should keep in mind that this is a subjective assessment. The writing of this article was not paid for or sponsored by vivo.