iQOO Neo 10R Review: Excellent Value for Money?

Say no to a hard-line direct heir! Price-wise, the Neo 10R does not appear to be the true successor to the Neo 9 Pro- but neglect it at your own peril. Under reasonably-similar shells, the two phones are quite alike in terms of specs and features. Perhaps the “Pro”-less Neo 10R is leaving room for a glorified version of the Neo 9 Pro-an even more superior one! Each has something to offer. Thinking about the iQOO Neo 10R? Consider Neo 9 Pro too- here’s why it is a worthy alternative.

iQOO Neo 10R Design: Plain Jane

• Dimensions – 163.7 x 75.8 x 7.9mm
• Weight – 196g
• Durability – IP65

Down from the Neo 9 Pro to the 10R, it is like selling a sports car for a family sedan; it gets you there, but the experience is truly different. Going thin with the 10R, the build quality, however, is sadly…laid-back! No sleek appeal here; both the frame and the back are made of polycarbonate in that wacky “Raging Blue.” The frame holds up well, contributing to a nice weight balance. However, the back panel is a huge fingerprint smear and dust magnet. A few wipes and the dirt is gone, but rest assured, even a passing-by touch will smudge it again.

Polycarbonate: a necessary evil? Perhaps. The chocolate box of a grand battery requires some compromises on the exterior, and while the plastic treatment keeps some weight off, one can feel the 196 grams in the pocket. One has to choose between powerhouse endurance and featherweight finesse.

The iQOO Neo 10R’s Raging Blue finish is a very confusing colourway

Considering the price, an IP65 rating offers fair protection, although some competitors boast an enhanced IP68 dust and water resistance standard. Hint: Water damage voids warranty in most cases, no matter the IP rating.

That screen held all my attention, the almost nonexistent bezel being the main attraction. Those top, left and right edges coming off so fluidly just sucked me into the screen. Even the chin, something one often tends to complain about, turned out to be thin-a mute testimony to iQOO’s idea of clean, big viewing.

iQOO Neo 10R Display: Neat and tidy!

• Display size – 6.78-inch, 1,260 x 2,800 pixels, 1.5K, 452 ppi
• Display type – AMOLED, 60-90-120Hz
• Display protection – Schott Xensation Up

The display works in support of the product: Colors stay true in default calibration. Hogging every bit of crispness outdoors, the punchy 4,500-nit display seems very bright under glaring Sun. Interestingly, even with the iQOO holding the same peak brightness rating as the Nothing Phone 3a, the transparent glow remains longer.

The iQOO, while shielding the displays with Schott Xensation Up glass against scratches and smudges, does not provide any protection from an oily fingerprint or smudge marks. The rear panel, on the contrary, is a fingerprint magnet, leaving the screen almost free of oily smudges with its deft resistance.

Only with Widevine L1 support could there be crisp Full HD streaming, but yet the display took off with that idea and went out on its own to be HDR10 certified. Thunderous colors exploded into vibrant life in supported apps-a visual feast I had not foreseen.

The in-display fingerprint reader works as expected, and I had no trouble using it during the testing period.

iQOO Neo 10R Software: Something better

• Android version – Android 15
• Software – Funtouch OS 15
• Software commitment – 3 years of software and 4 years of security updates

The very heart of iQOO Neo 10R is Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15. Ditch mundane mobiles! Funtouch started a revolution by focusing on what other UIs neglected: a sprinkling of personalized fingerprint unlock animations and engaging charging animations. Then, Funtouch OS 15 gave a big bang to visual articulacy: imagine live wallpapers that breathe with the course of your day, icon styles that screamyouin glorious color, and always-on display effects to awe you. But the OS is not just for the eyes; it flows like liquid smooth and responds to your every whim.

The real charm? Even in the case of the most graphically demanding games, you can run those in a discreet pop-up window. That is for painful turn-based waits or working on full-screen tasks while your game slowly goes through the ordeal of loading.

Funtouch OS 15 gets Android 15, some AI tools and plenty of customisation options

The usual AI arsenal aside, some of these genuinely surprised. To put it simply, “AI Erase” is not always at its best but does an amazing job at removing any object. Sometimes, complex scenes trouble the tool. Seeing it slowly chip away at the unwanted object pixel by pixel is rather gratifying. For subjects and portraits, it sharpens detail and breathes life back into your subjects. The rest of the AI-based content creation tools work as expected.

What good news? My notification shade was kept free from any spam during testing. Less-than-thrilling news, though? In any case, there are going to be a handful of third-party apps installed for you from the get-go. Fortunately, nothing is standing in the way of a swift uninstall if they don’t sync with your happiness.

iQOO Neo 10R Performance: Great for its price

• Processor – Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3
• RAM – 8/12GB (LPDDR5X)
• Storage – 128/256GB (UFS 4.1, UFS 3.1 for 8+128GB)

Funtouch OS runs completely smooth and runs without hiccups through daily work. Heat would be a non-factor were it indoors other than for long Genshin Impact sessions. Once out the door, all systems remain cool until the camera begins the initiation. Temp rise starts there. The system remains so responsive even in these moments of thermal stress that it rivals the camera app’s performance. The heat, being on the front, somewhat spares the rear and the frame. Even when pushed to the very limit of recording 4K 60fps for a long duration, the phone never faltered; it never throttled performance nor limited camera functions.

Why-wise, gaming on it is a mixed bag. The Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 gives a fair experience-but do not hold up to expectations for being a real flag-bearer. Though strangely enough, the iQoo Neo 9 Pro with its older Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 sometimes manages to have the edge over it.

The iQOO Neo 10R has a dual rear camera setup

Call of Duty: Mobile ran butter smooth. One thing it didn’t do was to look and feel great as graphics were set on Very High and frame rates were maxed out. A 60-FPS experience doesn’t require breaking the sweat of the phone. Feeling bold, I decided to throw it a curveball with Genshin Impact. It held firm at 60 FPS on High settings; but once you started shooting over Very High frame rates, that was the intriguing part. Whatever slight 30 FPS feels like becomes shaky. This should be a reminder that only a very high-tier flagship phone can ever really challenge the limits of mobile gaming.

The iQOO Neo 10R doesn’t just play games; it conquers them. For a starting price of Rs. 26,999, you’re getting a mobile gaming beast that would brush their demanding titles aside like easy puzzles. Lag, in fact, the very word doesn’t exist for this phone: all power and none of menu. Talk numbers.

iQOO Neo 10R Cameras: Could have been better

• Primary camera – 50-megapixel, f/1.79, OIS, AF
• Ultrawide camera – 8-megapixel, f/2.2, FF
• Selfie camera – 32-megapixel, f/2.4, FF

Remember Nothing Phone 3a? I pit it against the iQOO Neo 10R. Find out if iQOO dominates at this price.

The Nothing Phone 3a’s primary camera (below) performs better in a basic daylight photo comparison

Right out of the gate, color management proves to be a difficult affair. While switching from the main generator to the ultrawide feels like switching between two different worlds, the ‘Natural’ mode acts as a strange audio mute to the main lens, while the ultra wide lens somehow supplies the most real colors. Is there more to it? Get in close, and the main camera’s saturate control randomly chooses strong strokes of either red or green for your close-up subjects. Depending on what you are shooting, it’s a real luck game.

The Nothing Phone 3a’s primary camera (below) shoots photos with better colour accuracy when shooting close-up photos

The main camera adds drama to the pictures through contrast enhancement during post-processing. This does lend that emotional feel, but the dynamic range ends up taking a hit. The sensor has a hard time capturing intricate details even under bright daylight. Resultantly, the images come out a little soft around the edges and are less than crisp.

The ethereal light cast by the streetlamps seems to make the main shooter of the iQOO Neo 10R fail the test as it paints a lot of soft and convolved images with very little detail-in contrast with what the eyes remember the nights to be. Comparing the two phones (top: iQOO Neo 10R, bottom: Nothing Phone 3a), it is fairly clear which one was rewarded with the power of clarity at night.

Is it about the ultrawide camera on the iQOO Neo 10R? Let’s say, the photos are soft-drone into a dreamy state, yet not in the pleasing way. Detail just vanishes, replaced by a fuzzy haze. Don’t start me on purple fringing-one of those bright areas must have been attacked by a flock of violet birds.

With the most extreme of low-light scenarios, iQOO Neo 10R really struggles to get a usable shot, while the Nothing Phone 3a goes ahead and gives a fight with perfectly acceptable photography. Forget about comparability; they are like night and day.

In daylight selfie sessions, there was passable edge detection, though sometimes the details would get lost in translation, providing an oversharpened yet ultimately soft look. Throw in some low-light conditions, and things can only go downhill: details nosedive even further. With screen flash acting as a relatively lame compensator, the end result will in all probability scream “over-processed,” with your selfie ending up artificial instead of artistic.

Such a camera shines under daylight. 1080p at either 30 or 60fps presents bold colors, smooth movement, and indeed steady shots. Going for 4K sees a crop of the image and thus feels similarly like 1080p, but there is this very subtle bump of detail. Want the very best? 4K at 60fps yields supreme resolution but locks you into usage of the main lens. In all the enchantment disappears when the tumultuous night descends. Low-light video suffers from obnoxious speckles of noise, speaking for pathetic soft and undefined visuals.

iQOO Neo 10R Battery: Fantastic

• Battery capacity – 6,400mAh
• Wired charging – 80W
• Charger in the box – Yes

In its laugh at battery life draining, the iQOO Neo 10R just bestows an hour. This phone isn’t just surviving a dark, it is conquering it. Heavy usage considered, expect rated at over a single day. And light users? Prepare for a sprint of one and a half days, comfortable.

Therein lies absurdity: The video loop test ran for an unbelievable 34 hours and 56 minutes, giving out visuals at half brightness pretty much with its last breath. And the PC Mark Work Battery test clocked in at an even longer duration: 24 hours and 38 minutes. In short, forget about any competition-any competition placed against this is not of any regard-for the iQOO Neo 10R can fly miles higher in its stand-alone bracket.

The iQOO Neo 10R charges very fast, given the high capacity of its battery

The gargantuan 6,400mAh battery feeds quick charging power by design. As supplied with the phone, the charger delivers an amazing jolt, charging up to 26% in just 15 minutes. Need a quick power boost? Half an-hour here will give you more than half (55%) of the charge. Empty to full usually takes around an hour, with the last three minutes ticked off while trickle charging. Consider this a quick fill-up for a marathon runner.

iQOO Neo 10R Verdict

The iQOO Neo 10R doesn’t just dip a little toe into the price-performance pond; it cannonballs right in! For a chokeful of money, this phone sets the stage for fast performance, gaming that will hold you in its grip for hours, and battery life that will not quit. Plus, charge fast enough to have you spend more time on what you love and less time on charging. Just give it a thought; performing in the camera was one line iQOO drew short.

The Nothing Phone 3a isn’t just another budget phone; it’s a statement. Boasting a camera setup usually reserved for pricier rivals, this device Review delivers impressive value. Forget raw power like the Neo 10R, the 3a prioritizes a smooth, unmatched software experience that’ll leave you wondering how you ever settled for less.

Leaving the iQOO Neo 10R aside for a moment, say hello to the Poco F6: a budget brawler that packs a punch. That’s to say that while working out the money matters, it doesn’t go easy on you. Its shooter mechanisms capture sharply detailed images, especially the main lens. On the other hand, heavy users who are glued to their screens or consider fast charging their religion should favor the Neo 10R. A punch in the face for the Poco F6, but when it comes to the endurance of the battery and charging speed, it is the Neo 10R that will knock you out.

Got Rs. 5,000 extra burning a hole in the pocket? Dump the iQOO Neo 10R and set the beast free: iQOO Neo 9 Pro. Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 power, a camera setup to net you Insta-fame, and a gorgeous vegan-leather finish… the battery lasts well, charging is rapid, but the real reason to pick up the Neo 9 Pro is that it is just a better experience. Don’t compromise. Get the Pro.

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