Vivo Brings The LowLight Magic To Its MidTier IQoo 9T
Vivo does not carry the Apple or Samsung name and is not as popular in the West as Chinese brands such as Xiaomi or Huawei. But those who closely follow the Android market know that Vivo has released flagship phones with critically acclaimed camera capabilities. In fact, I think the Vivo X80 Pro has the best main camera of any smartphone right now, better than Apple, Samsung or Google.
Vivo's camera enhancements allow the X80 Pro to shine in HDR shots of high-contrast scenes thanks to the company's use of powerful optics with large image sensors and Zeiss T coating. But perhaps most importantly, the reason the X80 Pro's camera shines is because Vivo's developed imaging chip V1+, which allows the company to manipulate the entire image processing pipeline in a way that, for example, Samsung does.
Now Vivo has introduced this chip for imaging in mid-range phones under its sub-brand iQoo (pronounced "eye coo"). The iQoo 9T is currently sold mainly in Southeast Asia, including the growing Indian market, for about $630. It's not cheap, but it's also not very expensive by 2022 smartphone standards. For that price, you're getting a phone that, for most people, could be a four-figure flagship model.
The 9T features a bright 6.7-inch OLED display with up to 120Hz refresh rate, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, and a dual-tone glass back finished in black and white or with iconic BMW fonts (yes, iQoo). ). collaborated with BMW on the model). The BMW version is the flagship version but I think it looks classy and I prefer the black model.
The phone also has a camera system with a 50MP image sensor, f/1.9 GN5 with a relatively large 1/1.5 inch image sensor, images captured by this camera are processed by the aforementioned V1+ image chip. These are the best components and the phone performs at a high level.
Dig a little deeper, and those familiar with phone hardware may find what's stopping this phone from becoming a flagship: no wireless charging, no water resistance, plus a 12MP telephoto lens and a 13MP ultra-wide lens. Strong but invisible. Still, at $630, it's a fair trade-off.
With well-functioning parts, the iQoo 9T stands out. The Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip is the most powerful in the field of Android and features high efficiency to ensure long life of the 4700mAh 9T battery. This phone can run 13 hours a day with a little juice. The brand also has a 120W ultra-fast charger that charges the phone up to 100% battery in 20 minutes.
But what sets the 9T apart is the performance of the main camera. The 50MP sensor captures 12.5MP photos with four times more detail than normal, while the large sensor captures a lot of light so even night photos are noise-free, and the V1+ chip can find the right exposure in almost any situation. Lighting In the two sample images below, the 9T was able to correctly identify all of the highlights and produce a well-balanced, noise-free image, although the lighting conditions were not very good on both.
Elsewhere, the iQoo 9T is equipped with stereo speakers and runs Vivo's version of Android 12, and that's fine. Vivo called FunTouch is not my favorite Android theme; I find its aesthetic a bit dated, and it lacks the shortcut gestures seen on Samsung or Xiaomi's Android version. But it is functional and in perfect order.
The performance is first class. The phone clicks without stuttering and the vapor chamber cooling system (copper cooling pad) outperforms most phones in this price range and keeps the phone working hard even during intense gaming.
All in all, the iQoo 9T doesn't have much to offer at this price point. Do I want the best zoom lens? Sure, but phones with the best zoom lenses usually cost a bit more. In fact, the iQoo 9T surpasses the weight category thanks to the V1+ image processing chip ported from Vivo.
However, if you have to pay a little more, you should still get the Vivo X80 Pro, which has all the perks of this phone, including a higher zoom and an ultra wide-angle lens. However, in 2022, Vivo remains on top.
