[[[Foreword: iQOO Z series, back to flagship performance after a long absence]]
In May 2020, iQOO, which had just been established for more than a year, released the iQOO Z1, the first model of the Z series.
In all fairness, it's a product that totally deserves to go down in history. This is not only because it is loved by a large number of gamers for its extremely pure high-performance performance, but more importantly, as the first model of the Dimensity 1000+, iQOO Z1 has successfully laid an extremely important start for the rise of MediaTek's Dimensity family in the 5G era.
However, since then, the market positioning of the iQOO Z series seems to have undergone some subtle changes. Later models such as the Z3, Z5, and Z7 generally no longer use flagship-level SoCs, but begin to combine mid-range configurations with large-capacity batteries, focusing on low power consumption, long battery life, and affordable prices.
However, when the time came to the past two years, iQOO regained the "performance" nature of the Z series. The previous iQOO Z8 was equipped with the Dimensity 8200, which is equipped with high-power fast charging and a 64-megapixel main camera.
As its successor, the iQOO Z9 Turbo, which will be unveiled on April 24, 2024, has been greatly improved in terms of exterior design, performance configuration, gaming experience, and even graphics.
[[[Appearance: "Little iQOO 12" design, 144Hz high-brush domestic flagship screen]]
When you see iQOO Z9 Turbo for the first time, many of you may have a feeling of "familiarity".
After all, its exterior design this time pays tribute to its annual flagship model, the iQOO 12, on a large level.
Especially in the rear camera area, the iQOO Z9 Turbo uses the same design concept as the iQOO 12 with an eight-segment slightly curved "porthole" design.
It can be seen that the metal edging and the subtle texture of the back cover part are obviously much more refined than the previous generation in terms of shape and durability.
At the same time, the iQOO Z9 Turbo is available in three colors: "Midnight Black", "Starry White", and "Mountain Blue". According to the official information, the "Yao Ye Black" and "Mountain Wild Blue" use AG-like matte surface, which is more conducive to the feel of holding for a long time, while the "Starlight White" color scheme has a unique starlight reflection effect, which is more eye-catching visually.
Coming to the front of the fuselage, the iQOO Z9 Turbo is equipped with a 6.78-inch OLED straight screen with 1.5K resolution and 144Hz refresh rate.
This screen comes from TCL Huaxing, with a local peak brightness of 4500nit, and supports 3840Hz ultra-high frequency PWM dimming in low light and DC-like dimming with a brightness of more than 90nit, and has also passed SGC low blue light and low flicker certification.
Finally, under the premise of equipped with a flagship SoC solution, a large VC vapor chamber, and a 6000mAh large-capacity battery, the thickness and weight of the iQOO Z9 Turbo are also controlled at the level of only 7.98mm and 194.9g. Especially with the thickness of its body, it's hard to imagine what a high-performance model with a large battery can achieve.
[[Performance: third-generation Snapdragon 8s, the measured performance at room temperature is extremely outstanding]]
Now that we have talked about the performance of the iQOO Z9 Turbo, it is natural that we cannot fail to mention the hardware solution of this model.
It can be seen that the iQOO Z9 Turbo uses the Qualcomm third-generation Snapdragon 8s platform, which has recently become popular. As a new flagship solution, the third-generation Snapdragon 8s is also built on TSMC's 4nm process, and has a 3GHz X4 ultra-large core, four 2.8GHz A720 performance cores, and three 2GHz A520 efficiency cores in the CPU part.
At the same time, the GPU architecture of the third-generation Snapdragon 8s is also inherited and developed from the second-generation Snapdragon 8, and compared to the third-generation Snapdragon 7+ launched at the same time, it has hardware ray tracing features that the latter does not support, so it can provide better image quality in some games.
In addition, the third-generation Snapdragon 8s also has the same AI computing system as the top flagship SoC. It supports 10 billion large-scale language models on the device side, which is also incomparable to the Snapdragon 7 series sub-flagship. Judging from the AI test results of the Antutu review, the AI performance of the third-generation Snapdragon 8s is indeed far superior to that of other non-flagship platforms.
Of course, as the "fine tradition" of iQOO, the maximum LPDDR5X memory of 16GB and the UFS4.0 flash memory of 512GB are naturally the performance confidence of the iQOO Z9 Turbo. Judging from the measured results of the Antutu evaluation, it is also equipped with high-quality UFS4.0 flash memory particles, especially good random performance, which is very meaningful for both the game loading speed and the potential life of the product.
The 16GB+512GB iQOO Z9 Turbo we have in hand has a comprehensive score of 1,569,970 points in the Antutu evaluation at room temperature. In fact, among the mid-range models we have recently tested with similar configurations but different brands, the iQOO Z9 Turbo has the best measured performance in the same room temperature environment.
[[Game: Exclusive display chip Turbo blessing, high frame and high image quality can be both]]
In this case, for iQOO Z9 Turbo, gaming performance testing has naturally become an extremely important link.
"Honor of Kings" has an average frame rate of 119.9 and an average power consumption of 5056mW
"Glory of Kings" extreme image quality + frame interpolation The average frame rate is 60.4 (120 frame interpolation), and the average power consumption is 3943mW
As we mentioned earlier, the iQOO Z9 Turbo's performance release is very aggressive, so on the one hand, it ensures a consistently high frame rate in competitive games, but on the other hand, it also objectively brings a level of power consumption that is not low. Fortunately, it is also equipped with a "Turbo graphics chip", which can greatly reduce the load on the GPU while maintaining a high frame rate experience through additional frame insertion calculations, thereby optimizing the power consumption of games.
Genshin Impact has the highest image quality, with an average frame rate of 59.3 and an average power consumption of 6175mW
"Genshin Impact" has the highest image quality + frame insertion The average frame rate is 44.9 (90 frame insertion), and the average power consumption is 5816.6mW
In addition, in some games that do not support high frame rates, iQOO Z9 Turbo also supports inserting frames into 90 fps mode for a smoother picture experience than by default. And judging from the measured performance, the power consumption of the whole machine will decrease slightly at this time.
Diablo has a high image quality with an average frame rate of 59.5 and an average power consumption of 3878.4mW
The average frame rate is 60.5 and the average power consumption is 5967.4mW
Finally, we also tested some of the more traditional high-quality mobile games. Even without the support of frame insertion, the iQOO Z9 Turbo still runs them to full frame without any pressure. Obviously, for gamers who value for money, this new iQOO Z series is easily reminiscent of the grand occasion of the iQOO Z1 era.
[[[Image: Sony's new rear camera solution, the measured image performance far exceeds expectations]]
Finally, let's get to the image experience of the iQOO Z9 Turbo.
In terms of configuration, the rear camera of iQOO Z9 Turbo is composed of two cameras, which are a Sony LYT600 wide-angle main camera and an 8 million pixel ultra-wide-angle secondary camera. In addition, it is not difficult to find from the logo of the rear camera module that this main camera supports OIS optical image stabilization.
First of all, in the most basic zoom test, thanks to the architectural improvements of the new CMOS, the multi-frame synthesis accuracy brought by optical image stabilization, and the high ISP and AI computing power of the third-generation Snapdragon 8s, the "algorithm zoom" of the iQOO Z9 Turbo can support up to 10x equivalent focal length, and still provide usable resolution in at least 5x mode.
Although it is not positioned as a "video phone", the iQOO Z9 Turbo still offers three selectable tones. It can be seen that the color and brightness of these three modes are very different, whether they are intense, light, or restored, you can choose according to your preferences.
Although there is no special explanation at the hardware level, from the perspective of actual shooting performance, the main camera of the iQOO Z9 Turbo this time has a fairly good macro ability, and it also has a certain ability to capture photos.
When it comes to high-contrast low-light scenes, the iQOO Z9 Turbo even gives the "illusion" that it supports HDR imaging capabilities. As you can see from the examples, brightness is quite ample in the bright spots, while purity is good in the darks, with little noise or color patches visible.
Even in darker environments, the iQOO Z9's night brightening is noticeable, and even more surprisingly, it even delivers a 2x zoom utility even in this situation. Considering the product positioning of the iQOO Z9 Turbo, such imaging capabilities are obviously a great value.
[[Summary: Positioning has returned to the original intention, and the high-end layout of the brand has been completed]]
Overall, as a previous iQOO Z1 user, we must admit that the iQOO Z9 Turbo has indeed re-seen the new strength of the iQOO Z series in the field of "flagship performance".
And compared with the Z1 of the year, now iQOO Z9 Turbo not only has the top performance in the same period, excellent cost performance, it also has an exclusive independent display chip, has more imaging technology from high-end products, and at the same time, through the large battery capacity and extremely thin body design, it "shows" a technology in disguise.
Of course, the most important point may also be that through the iQOO Z9 Turbo, the iQOO brand is actually equivalent to realizing the "high-end, performance-oriented" layout of all its current product lines. From the digital series to the Neo series and then to the Z series, iQOO, a brand that was originally born from young people's pursuit of mobile entertainment, has now completely returned to its original intention, paving the way for the next stage of market competition.