
iQOO 13 has launched in India at this time, bringing the model’s signature efficiency credentials at a aggressive worth. Whereas iQOO 13 brings a bunch of upgrades over iQOO 12, as per the model, it’s greater than a successor. The iQOO 13 is the primary flagship smartphone from the model that will get an ingress safety ranking, and it’s among the many first within the nation to sport Qualcomm’s top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. The checklist of upgrades is huge, and to stroll us via the product and provides us in-depth insights, Devices 360 sat with iQOO CEO Nipun Marya forward of the launch.
iQOO 12 and past
The iQOO 12 was a wonderful product, and it received accolades within the trade, together with the Finest Gaming Smartphone title at our NDTV Devices 360 2024 awards. We needed to know what shoppers ought to anticipate from the all-new smartphone from iQOO. Marya defined, “From iQOO, we are going to proceed to do some issues that we’ve got been doing, and they’ll stay fixed. And, in fact, some issues we are going to hold bettering. On the subject of issues we won’t change – our DNA, which is hardcore efficiency. We wish to stand true to what we are saying and consider that with iQOO 13, we’re actually taking the efficiency a number of ranges greater. Issues just like the Snapdragon 8 Elite and Q2 chip, amongst others, are the primary elements that ought to not change and aren’t altering with iQOO 13. Second is innovation and fixed enhancements. We wish to be actually near our group and shoppers. We like to get suggestions from our group and shoppers. We like to take suggestions from them about what they really feel is nice concerning the product and what might be additional improved.”
iQOO 12 that launched in 2023
Briefly touching upon offline growth, Marya stated that the iQOO 13 launch would have extra particulars and added that this was suggestions the model had obtained from its shoppers for a very long time. Gadgets 360 was the first to report that iQOO will finally foray into the offline market beginning in December. iQOO telephones can be out there through Vivo-exclusive shops and different retail channels.
Through the dialog, Marya additionally confirmed that the iQOO group reached one other benchmark of two million members. iQOO is amongst a handful of handset producers with an energetic group.
CEO Nipun Marya in the course of the iQOO 13 launch
What’s new in iQOO 13?
iQOO 12 was among the many uncommon merchandise on Amazon that obtained a 4.5-star ranking from shoppers. Nonetheless, if one has to nitpick and see how one can enhance, there have been sure areas the place individuals might need informed you to enhance additional. Marya added, “Issues like an IP ranking, so with the iQOO 13, we’ve got included the IP ranking, then USB 3.2 as content material creation and stay streaming are gaining a number of traction amongst our shoppers, so USB 3.2 was one thing we needed so as to add, and it’s now a part of the iQOO 13. The opposite factor is even on software program, final 12 months, for the primary time, we provided a 3+4 software program replace coverage; this 12 months, we’re taking it one step forward and providing 4+5 for iQOO 13. Speaking about innovation, this can include the world’s first Q10 2K with as much as 144Hz LTPO AMOLED show. So, general, the aim is to offer your shoppers a holistic consumer expertise.”
iQOO has at all times pushed its flagship telephones to be all-rounder gadgets that are not restricted to gaming or efficiency. What would you wish to add right here? “With iQOO 12, we had been speaking a couple of 2 million AnTuTu rating, which at the moment was thought of nice. Now, we’re speaking a couple of 3 million AnTuTu rating, which was definitely unprecedented earlier. See, it isn’t simply {hardware} and plenty of instances, we will not simply say 8 Elite SoC did the job. It is the correct mixture of what Qualcomm has performed and what iQOO R & D has performed, which is to take the facility of the chipset and optimise it to ship one of the best efficiency on your customers. And that is what we take a number of satisfaction in because it’s simply not becoming the chip or getting the quickest chip. However, it is about the way you optimise with software program in order that the expertise is absolutely good and quick,” stated Marya.
He additional added, “For avid gamers, iQOO turns into the primary selection, not only for avid gamers but additionally for individuals who do heavy graphic duties and heavy information on their gadgets. Not too long ago, I met a few IT professionals, and so they stated they’re on the go after they need to run a code or do some compiling work and for that, they want heavy computation, and iQOO can actually try this for them. So, these sorts of persons are tech-first energy customers. They’re those who like iQOO. So, in efficiency, there’s 8 Elite in iQOO 13, however we simply do not cease at 8 Elite SoC as we even have the Q2 chip, which extrapolates or with game-frame interpolation, we go to 144Hz that is once more an excellent expertise and never simply this, with VC cooling additionally you get a holistic heavy efficiency expertise.”
iQOO 13 comes with an all-new Halo gentle design across the digital camera
What’s new in design and digital camera?
iQOO 12 was praised for its design, so what do shoppers get on the iQOO 13? Marya, on the design, stated, “Individuals actually favored the iQOO 12 design, and in some ways, aesthetically, it is among the best-designed telephones we ever made. So we continued the great half from iQOO 12, however there have been some changes or minor enhancements that we thought might be performed. For instance, the digital camera bump has been additional lowered, and the general hand grip is significantly better now. So, Halo gentle is rather more apparent and aesthetically pleasing; one can simply discover it, however there are extra delicate small variations when a consumer begins utilizing, and one can actually really feel that.”
When requested concerning the digital camera enhancements on the iQOO 13, Marya stated, “On the digital camera entrance, we’ve got the Sony IMX921 sensor, which is tuned with VCS, which is the Vivo color science algorithm. We’ve got taken all the educational from the Vivo digital camera and put it into iQOO, particularly the software program bit. So, general, whether or not you discuss day photos, the ISP of the 8 Elite is rather more highly effective than the earlier generations. So, once more, it isn’t simply the chip or the digital camera sensor. The entire equipment is working to provide the output that is coming. So, whether or not you might be in search of portrait or, day or evening or journey photographs, iQOO 13 will do justice to the photographs you need. Moreover, some good AI options have been urged by our shoppers once more, so we’ve got added them as nicely.”
When will AI turn out to be the differentiator for shoppers?
AI is the brand new buzzword, and this 12 months, we don’t anticipate any product presentation at launches to finish with out a few slides of those AI additions. Marya gave us a couple of AI options which are a part of the iQOO 13. Options like AI picture Enhancer, the place AI intelligently optimises picture parameters routinely, enhancing readability and color with out the necessity for advanced handbook changes, and On the spot cutout, which permits customers to extract textual content from any picture, and On the spot Textual content, the place customers can simply extract a topic from a picture and separate it from its background. iQOO 13 additionally joins the membership of telephones with Circle to go looking this 12 months, lastly. Then, there’s Like Transcribe, which may convert speech into textual content. The function is claimed to help over 80 languages and dialects, with 9 offline languages. Lastly, there’s Reside Name Translate, which interprets cellphone calls in real-time instantly on the machine.
Then, we needed to know that smartphones are getting AI options, however are these sufficient to persuade shoppers to modify? Marya defined, “I’ve a barely contrarian viewpoint on AI. Firstly, AI is just not new and has turn out to be a advertising and marketing buzzword in 2024. It is simply that OEMs began selecting it up as a advertising and marketing lever and tried to leverage it. So, shoppers would possibly suppose that is new, however basically talking, the quantity of enchancment we’ve got seen in cameras in the previous couple of years might be attributed to AI. Then, the advance in gaming or cooling programs we see on telephones will also be attributable to AI. So, AI has been operating on our telephones within the background for a while; it’s simply that the entire world has warmed as much as AI. So, in smartphone advertising and marketing, it was additionally leveraged accordingly.”
Nonetheless, the subsequent query is whether or not it improves the general expertise, and the reply is sure, as per Marya. “Nonetheless, I really feel that they’ll hold bettering the general expertise over the long run is when individuals begin shopping for telephones to expertise AI. Proper now, it may possibly do a couple of nifty tips, so I do not suppose it’s strong basically so long as it’s trick solely. Proper now, it is sort of a low-hanging fruit that manufacturers are attempting to leverage,” he added.
iQOO 13 comes with IP68 and IP69 ranking
2025 is iQOO’s fifth 12 months in India: What to anticipate?
2025 can be iQOO’s fifth 12 months in India; how has the response been to the general merchandise, and what ought to shoppers anticipate from the model? Marya began, “Typically, the response we’ve got obtained for merchandise greater than ASP (common promoting worth) has been encouraging. Trade ASP is round 20K, whether or not you discuss our Z9s Professional, which was round 20K to 25K, or our Neo collection, which is 30K, or our flagship product at 50K. All are above trade ASP, and for a model that is as younger as ours, the type of response we’ve got obtained for these merchandise could be very encouraging. This implies persons are understanding what iQOO is doing.
It is also true that everybody is warming as much as the concept of upper ASPs, however seeing that development, the truth that persons are accepting us with greater ASPs and, actually, making us best-sellers in lots of instances, I feel that is very encouraging.
On iQOO 13 manufacturing and after-sales, Marya stated, like different merchandise from iQOO, the all-new iQOO 13 is being manufactured at Vivo’s Larger Noida facility. Speaking about after-sales service, he stated it supplies entry to over 670 company-owned service centres nationwide, guaranteeing handy and dependable help throughout the nation.
Simply to recap, the iQOO 13 has launched in India at Rs. 54,999 for the 12GB RAM and 256GB storage and Rs. 59,999 for the 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.