In the past few years, the idea of packing a powerful chipset into a low-cost phone has been abandoned. These phones will perform better than any other in their class, but the overall experience will suffer. Examples include the Poco F1, Realme X3, Apple iPhone SE (2020), and others. All of these either make use of cheap components or are based on older phones. With the iQOO 7 Legend, this is not the case.
The second attempt by iQOO to disrupt the smartphone market is a phone that uses BMW’s identity to establish itself in a market dominated by iPhones and OnePlus devices. The cheapest phone to use the Snapdragon 888 chip, it starts at Rs 39,990. Even though that is unquestionably the selling point, iQOO has placed a strong emphasis on the user experience by offering fast charging and powerful cameras.
What does it all mean for the Indian consumer of premium smartphones? Is the iQOO 7 Legend a better bet than phones from OnePlus that are priced similarly?
Design:
Those BMW stripes are a big part of what makes the iQOO 7 Legend so appealing to you, me, and the majority of Indians. iQOO is making the most of its partnership with the BMW M Motorsport DTM team by painting the phone in an intriguing color combination. As a result, the phone has such a distinct identity that you can’t help but use it without the case. It won the Red Dot Design award this year, so it was no surprise.
Because of its light color, the stunning white rear with racing stripes is made of matte glass and would easily conceal nicks and scratches. The rest of the phone has the same design language as modern Vivo smartphones, including a rectangular camera cluster, similar button placements, and a general resemblance to the Vivo X60 series, keeping the BMW aspect aside. Not bad considering that the phones in the X60 series are among the most beautiful.
The blue power key and the minimal camera hump protrusion contribute to the sleek design. However, the absence of the iQOO 3’s shoulder keys emphasizes the phone’s intention to be an all-around flagship rather than just a gaming phone. The display has no bezels and has flat edges. Strangely, a chrome highlight makes the camera cutout stand out.
The iQOO 7 Legend has a weight of 209 grams, but its bulk is not obvious. It is simple to hold thanks to the metal sides that have been cleverly contoured, and the matte rear aids in grip. iQOO provides a transparent TPU protective case with a few BMW logos and comes pre-installed with a display protector, both of which I recommend using to preserve the design.
What are your overall thoughts? The iQOO 7 Legend will unquestionably be elevated to the same level as the iPhone 12 and Galaxy S21 Plus. This phone is beautiful, and it appeals to the heart more than the mind.
Display:
With the Redmi Note 10 Pro series offering it as standard, a 120Hz AMOLED display has now become the norm for smartphones in 2021. A 6.6-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080p and a refresh rate of 120Hz is included in the iQOO 7 Legend’s design as well. I was able to see the content on the display even in the afternoon sun, as iQOO claims the display is very bright. An AMOLED display has the usual high contrast and increased saturation, but on the default color profile, it looks a little bluish next to an ROG Phone 2 and a OnePlus 9R. For me, the solution was to use the “Bright” profile with slightly warmer tones.
However, the iQOO 7 Legend’s display is among the most responsive I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. This phone’s 300Hz touch sampling rate makes gaming a pleasure. In Clash Royale: I can easily and quickly lock on to enemies while being mobile, and it’s a joy to adjust the scope on my sniper rifle. The OnePlus 9R similarly appears to be lagging. It’s not surprising that I scored higher on the iQOO.
Please keep in mind that the iQOO 7 Legend does not have the MEMC chip from the iQOO 7. The phone is unlocked fairly quickly by the fingerprint sensor built into the display.
Performance:
The iQOO 7 Legend is without a doubt the fastest Android phone on the market thanks to the Snapdragon 888 processor at its helm. This phone has 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM, 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage, and a well-optimized FunTouchOS 11 that may not know what lags are for at least the next two years. The snappy animations create a sense of urgency as everything that normally happens on a smartphone happens quickly.
I used multiple social media apps simultaneously on the busiest days. I participated in video meetings, dealt with emails in Outlook, made a lot of calls, texted on WhatsApp, took pictures, and listened to music through Bluetooth speakers. They were all made to appear to be simple tasks by the iQOO 7 Legend. This energetic performance keeps me from returning to my iPhone SE.
Of course, the majority of you are gamers, and the iQOO 7 Legend excels in this area. There is currently no game that can overwhelm the Snapdragon 888. Game of the Year: In “Very High” graphics and “Max” frame rates, mobile runs at its best at 60 frames per second. I haven’t noticed any frame drops or longer loading times even after an hour of wreaking havoc on its virtual battlefields, as is typical with Snapdragon 870-equipped phones.
Similarly, games like Shadow Legends 4 that feature high-definition graphics: Real Flight Simulator, Arena, CarX rally, F1 Mobile Racing, and Solar Smash run at their best. An hour-long game session does not result in any frame drops or hiccups, but it does significantly heat up the phone. The frame rapidly heats up, necessitating frequent idle time to cool down. This indicates that the large vapor chamber cooling system functions effectively, but I wish iQOO had devised a more effective means of removing heat.
There is no dedicated “game center” app for accessing all installed games, unlike the OnePlus 9R and ROG Phone 5. However, from the Game Assistant sidebar, you can turn on 4D vibration for COD Mobile, block calls, lock screen brightness, and activate “Pressure-sensitive touchscreen” while playing. Although the “Pressure-sensitive touchscreen” feature has a lot of potential, the dedicated shoulder triggers are more convenient. The immersive experience is definitely enhanced by the 4D vibrations.
It is regrettable that the iQOO UI from iQOO 3 will not be available on the 2021 models. However, iQOO may be able to speed up the rollout of the upcoming Android 12 update with FunTouchOS 11 (iQOO has not disclosed the update situation). FunTouchOS is still the same Android skin that is well-customized and simple to use. In the notification center and a few system menus, you can see a lot of the stock Android inspiration. The interface still lacks the overall fit and finish of OnePlus and Samsung phones, such as disorganized fonts and an unbalanced user interface layout.
iQOO has not put much effort into creating a one-of-a-kind user experience. On the outside, there are shades of BMW Motorsport, but inside, there are only three custom wallpapers. To commemorate the limited-edition model, there is no exclusive widget, theme, icon pack, or ringtone. While some of Vivo’s first-party apps cannot be deleted, there are a few pre-loaded apps that can be deleted at will. The theme store only sells paid items; perhaps Vivo can replicate Xiaomi’s MIUI by offering a few free samples?
The exquisitely tuned haptic feedback enhances the experience. The vibrations are powerful but well-controlled so that they can respond to input. With the custom effects, iPhone haptics are still better, but iQOO has managed to subtly use vibrations throughout the system to improve user experience. Additionally, the COD Mobile’s subtle vibrations aid in detecting enemy proximity.
The Legend has stereo speakers, which, in comparison to the iQOO 7, are adequate at best. Occasionally, the output is loud, but it lacks the finer audio details of an ROG Phone’s speakers. The wireless audio headphones’ output is as good as it gets right now, but there is no way to adjust it. During calls, the output of the earpiece is loud enough.
The Snapdragon 888 supports 5G networks, which are currently only referred to as such in spec sheets. The phone is future-proof because it supports up to seven 5G bands, which is good news. Although I occasionally experience call drops and interruptions, Jio’s 4G LTE network performance is satisfactory at the moment. Utilizing the VoWiFi greatly aids.
Cameras:
The iQOO 7 Legend excels in this area. It better tunes the Vivo X60 Pro’s camera hardware than it does its own. In daylight conditions, the same 48-megapixel Sony sensor exhibits exceptional color balance, brightness control, exposure balance, and saturation. There is a lot of detail in the pixel-binned photos. The HDR adds just the right amount of color to produce stunning results.
The main camera maintains its own exposure and color balance even when light levels drop. The camera aims for higher exposures, but there is a noticeable drop in details in challenging conditions. Even when the streetlights came on, I was consistently able to take good pictures after sunset.
In good lighting, there is a 48MP mode that improves resolution but reduces detail. At both 4K and 1080p resolutions, the main camera’s video output is satisfactory. Videos tend to have slightly higher contrast and saturation when lit properly. Despite the fact that you lose stability at 4K at 60 fps, stability is good thanks to OIS. In addition, the clarity and color retention of the 1080p video impressed me.
The Portrait camera has 13 megapixels and a 2X optical zoom. Compared to the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the magnification is limited, but photos can be used with up to 5x digital zoom. Although you might notice slightly washed-out colors and a decrease in sharpness when pixel peeping, photos taken with the zoom camera are almost as good as those taken with the main camera. According to iQOO, this is best used for portrait photography.
In most lighting conditions, the ultra-wide camera with 13 megapixels also performs admirably. It doesn’t have the great color profile of the main camera, but it does a good job overall. It can’t keep up with the main camera’s performance at night, and the details become softer as you zoom in. The macro function makes use of the extremely wide camera to get very close to the subject and produces excellent results. When compared to photos taken with dedicated macro cameras, macro shots look vibrant, sharp, full of details, and have a good color profile so long as you give your subject good light.
When it comes to taking selfies, the 16-megapixel front camera does a good job. High-quality image processing ensures accurate color tones, sharp facial features, adequate exposure, and effective subject separation. The camera had trouble identifying hair strands on busy backgrounds; iQOO can correct this issue with an update.
Battery:
By 2021 standards, the iQOO 7 Legend’s battery has a capacity of 4000 mAh. Therefore, if you use it moderately to heavily, you might need a refill late at night. The iQOO 7 Legend quickly exhausts its battery life when gaming for more than an hour. After an hour of playing Call of Duty, I typically observe a 25 increase: Mobile. Add in calls and browsing social media. By evening, I was on my way to the charger for some light photography and music.
Fortunately, once the battery is down to less than 10%, a full charge takes less than 25 minutes. For mobile gamers, the 66W charging solution is a blessing because it can charge your device almost 20-25 percent in ten minutes. Because it significantly raises the phone’s temperature, you will need to turn it off during and after charging to allow it to cool down.
Verdict:
The iQOO 7 Legend is a dependable and all-purpose flagship phone disguised as a gaming phone. In addition to being quick, it has impressive and dependable cameras, fast charging that is extremely convenient, a responsive display, and an attractive body. Although Vivo’s FunTouchOS 11 interface is not as polished as that of some rival phones, it is a minor flaw in the grand scheme of things.
The iQOO 7 Legend makes such a strong case for itself, starting at Rs 39,990, that its rivals seem insignificant. In contrast, the Xiaomi Mi 11X Pro lacks the features of the Legend and the OnePlus 9R, both of which are priced similarly. With its superior display and faster charging, it destroys the iPhone SE 2020 and XR. The cameras on this one appear to be more expensive than those on the Vivo X60 Pro.
The iQOO 7 Legend is a fantastic smartphone if you have Rs 40,000 available. As a value proposition, nothing even comes close to it at the moment; Don’t try to beat it. It’s not surprising that iQOO picked the right name for this one.
