iQOO 11 Long-Term Review: Pure Performance Monster

The iQOO 11 starts at Rs.59,999 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 256GB storage. Furthermore, another variant of the device with 16GB RAM and 256GB storage retails for Rs.64,999.

It is available in two colours: Alpha and Legend, on the iQOO India website and on Amazon.

The iQOO 11 comes with the following items inside the box:

• Phone
• 120W charger
• Type-C cable
• SIM ejector tool
• Documentation

Before we talk in detail about the device, let’s see what the on-paper specs look like:

• Display: 6.78 inches AMOLED
• Chipset: Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
• RAM & ROM: 8GB RAM 256GB Storage, 16GB RAM 256 GB Storage
• Software: Android v14
• Rear camera: 50MP + 13MP + 8MP
• Selfie camera: 16 MP
• Battery: 5000 mAh
• Weight: 208 grams
• Dimensions: 164.8 x 77 x 8.4 mm

The iQOO 11 has an industrial design, and the Alpha variant has a minimalist look to it, unlike the BMW Motorsport design on the Legend one. The Alpha, or rather black variant of the device, has a glass back with a matte finish instead of the vegan leather back on the Legend one.

The frosted finish does give it a premium look and does not attract any fingerprints or smudges. However, I recommend using a case as it is very slippery to hold in the hand.

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The back of the phone has a rectangular camera island in the top left corner that houses the triple camera setup. You also get a V2 branding referring to the Vivo V2 chip inside and Ultra sensing text below it.

The phone has a considerable weight of 208 grams and a thickness of 8.7mm. Despite the weight, it did not feel uncomfortable to hold in my hand as I got used to the large form factor. You also get an aluminium frame on the side, which feels premium and has a shine to it.

Coming to the ports and placements, you get the volume and power buttons on the right. While the left remains clean, the top houses the secondary speaker microphone and IR blaster.

On the bottom, you will be greeted by the USB-C port, SIM tray and speaker grille. Unfortunately, there is no IP rating or 3.5mm headphone jack despite the phone being marketed as a gaming device.

The iQOO 11 has a triple camera setup on the back with a 50-megapixel primary with OIS, a 13-megapixel telephoto and an 8-megapixel ultrawide angle lens. On the front, you get a 16-megapixel sensor for taking selfies.

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During the day, the 50-megapixel Samsung GN5 sensor can take impressive shots with excellent dynamic range and white balance. The photos have natural colours by default, but you can turn it off in the settings.

While the 13-megapixel 2x telephoto sounds limiting on paper, it can still take sharp and crisp photos with adequate details, although the colours don’t match the primary lens. On the other hand, the 8-megapixel ultrawide is average at best, with dull colours and decent sharpness.

When it comes to lowlight scenarios, the primary camera can take amazing shots thanks to the Vivo V2 imaging chip. The images have accurate colours and good details, although some softness is present in notably darker areas.

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For video recording, you get support for up to 8K at 30 FPS with the primary and 1080p at 30 FPS with the ultrawide and telephoto lens. The output is crisp and sharp enough with accurate colours.

Regarding selfies, you get a 16-megapixel camera on the front, which can capture accurate skin tones with good dynamic range. Overall, the iQOO 11 offers a well-rounded camera experience despite being a performance-oriented device.

The iQOO 11 packs a 5,000mAh battery with support for 120W fast charging. Due to the higher resolution 2K display with 144Hz refresh rate and the flagship 4nm chipset, battery life is average on the iQOO 11.

The phone can last 4-5 hours on normal usage and 3 hours during intense gaming sessions. However, you can reduce the resolution and refresh rate to get more juice from the battery.

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Furthermore, the included 120W charger can fully charge the device in just 22 minutes, which is impressive. You can reach up to 83 per cent in just 15 minutes, which is great if you want a quick top-up.

There is no support for wireless charging, which is disappointing for a phone at this price, but the fast charging makes up for it. Overall, the iQOO 11 has a decent battery backup with superfast charging, so you don’t need to worry about battery anxiety.

The iQOO 11 boasts a 2K 6.78-inch E6 AMOLED display with 144Hz refresh and LTPO support. Furthermore, the screen has Gorilla Glass Victus for protection and a peak brightness of 1800 nits.

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The phone has a unique 20:9 aspect ratio, which offers a “phablet” like experience reminiscent of the Galaxy Note lineup. The wider screen makes it ideal for tasks like reading and watching videos.

Moreover, the screen has a punch-hole cutout with slim bezels, which makes it feel premium. The 2K resolution results in a pixel density of 518ppi, resulting in a crisp and sharp display.

Speaking of content consumption, the colours are punchy and vibrant enough, resulting in an enjoyable experience. I binged Season 3 of Harley Quinn, and the screen is bright enough so you can view it easily under bright sunlight.

Navigating through the interface feels smooth and fluid thanks to the 144Hz refresh rate and LTPO support. However, the display can dynamically adjust it only from 1Hz to 120Hz and only reach 144Hz in certain conditions such as gaming.

You also get an in-display fingerprint sensor that is fast and accurate; however, I would have preferred an ultrasonic sensor instead of an optical one. The phone has a stereo speaker setup that is loud enough to fill an entire room, and there are no distortions, even at full volume.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 powers the phone paired with 16GB of LPPDR5X RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.0 storage. It was the first phone to arrive with the flagship chipset last year, and the 4nm processor still holds up well.

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When it comes to day-to-day tasks, the 8 Gen 2 blazes through them all with ease, keeping apps like Instagram, Snapchat, and Twitter in memory. Even opening and closing apps is super fast due to the UFS 4.0 storage on board.

Furthermore, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 can easily handle intensive tasks like gaming at the highest possible settings. You can play BGMI and CODM at 90FPS and 120 FPS, respectively, with iQOO’s V2 chip enabling Game Frame Interpolation on both games, boosting the frame rate to 144 FPS by adding frames.

However, I was able to activate the feature only on CODM, and it did not work on BGMI for me despite the company claiming support. Furthermore, I found it strange that Game Frame Interpolation worked for BGMI on my iQOO Neo 7 Pro, but there was no such support on the iQOO 11.

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Coming back to the native performance of the device, I even tried games like Wreckfest, Hitman Blood Money Reprisal, Diablo IV, GTA San Andreas Definitive Edition and Genshin Impact. I was able to run these games at the highest possible settings with no frame drops or heating issues.

The iQOO 11 is one of the few phones apart from the Poco X6 Pro that can handle games like Wreckfest and Hitman Blood Money Reprisal at their maximum settings. Thanks to the Game Frame Interpolation feature, you can even enjoy Genshin Impact at 144 FPS.

iQOO also offers plenty of gaming features such as dedicated game space, Monster Mode, 4D vibration in supported games, Esports Mode, Pressure sensitive mode and motion controls. It is a proper gaming phone that can compete with the likes of the ROG Phone series when it comes to features.

Regarding benchmarks, the iQOO 11 scores 2048 in the single-core and 5628 in the multicore test in Geekbench.Furthermore, the phone throttles to 93 per cent of its peak performance in the 15-minute CPU throttling test and has an AnTuTu V10 score of 1542958.

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It can achieve 93 per cent stability in the 3D Mark Extreme Wildlife Stress Test and has a score of 124237 in the AnTuTu storage test. Overall, the iQOO 11 is a solid performer that is powerful enough to handle any task or graphic-intensive game.

The iQOO 11 arrived with Android 13 last year, and the phone has now received the Android 14 update with FunTouch OS 14 on top. The company has promised three years of OS updates and four years of security patches, meaning the phone will receive updates till Android 16.

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FunTouch OS 14 feels more mature and refined than its predecessor, with a more modern look similar to OneUI. The quick settings panel has been redesigned with larger tiles and a brightness slider.

The animations are faster and smoother with under-the-hood optimisation that reduces RAM usage and keeps more apps in memory. A new mini window feature allows users to keep 12 small windows active in the background for better multitasking.

FunTouch OS 14 also brings lock screen customisation options with different clock layouts and font styles. In addition, you also get new video editing tools and filters in the gallery with the option to export videos with no quality loss. There is also support for extended RAM up to 8GB on the 16GB variant.

The only disappointing part is that the UI still has bloatware apps such as Byjus, Facebook, LinkedIn, Netflix, Spotify, etc, which can be uninstalled. There is also the inclusion of the Hot Apps and Hot Games folder, which is strange considering the company disabled them on the latest flagship, iQOO 12.

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Although you can disable it from the settings, there shouldn’t be one, especially for a flagship phone at this price. Moreover, you also get notifications from the V-App store, and the only way to disable them is to force the app to stop and clear its data.

Overall, the FunTouch OS experience has improved considerably over the last version with new features and better animations. However, the presence of bloatware and folders like “Hot Apps” and “Hot Games” still make it hard to recommend for those looking for a clean software experience.