The upcoming launch of iQoo’s Neo 9 Pro smartphone in India has sparked interest among consumers looking for a new high-end device. As a mid-range model from iQoo’s stable, the Neo 9 Pro boasts some impressive specs for its price point, including a dual rear camera setup.
I’ve had the chance to spend some hands-on time with a pre-release version of the phone, testing out its camera capabilities ahead of the official launch. Based on my experience so far, the Neo 9 Pro seems capable of taking detailed, vivid photos that can compete with phones beyond its price bracket.
At the rear, the Neo 9 Pro features a 50-megapixel main camera powered by a Sony IMX920 sensor and optical image stabilization, paired with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide angle camera. Between the two, the main camera is clearly the star of the show. It uses pixel binning to output sharp 12.5-megapixel photos by default, but also lets you shoot at the full 50-megapixel resolution if desired.
In daytime outdoor conditions, the main camera excels at capturing landscapes and architecture with excellent clarity, vivid color accuracy, and crisp detail even when zoomed in. The three shooting modes – Natural, Textured, and Vivid – allow you to tweak the look of your photos depending on your creative preferences.
Portraits also impress, with accurate skin tones and a depth effect that looks natural. The Neo 9 Pro intelligently keeps facial features sharp while softly blurring the background. You can adjust the strength of the blur before or after shooting.
Low light photos inevitably show some noise and loss of fine detail. The dedicated Night mode can eke out a bit more clarity and color if you can hold the camera steady for a second or two.
As for the 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera, it allows you to fit more into the frame, but shows more distortion around the edges. It also doesn’t match the dynamic range and detail rendering of the main lens. Still, it can come in handy for group shots or capturing sweeping landscapes.
These are just my initial impressions from testing a pre-production unit. Image quality could improve further with final production hardware and software tweaks before launch. And there are other aspects of the phone still to be evaluated, like the brand new Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, battery life, design and display quality.
But based on camera performance alone, the iQoo Neo 9 Pro looks very promising as an affordable flagship. Its versatile triple camera setup seems more than capable of keeping up with far more expensive rivals. I’m eager to spend more time with the phone and provide a definitive verdict, so stay tuned for Unboxed’s full review coming up soon.
