The iQOO 13 is a value-for-money flagship that builds upon the strengths of its predecessor. It’s a lot of phone for a lot less—and one of the few performance-centric phones with good cameras. A 144Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, triple 50MP camera setup, AMOLED display, and a large 6,000mAh battery—you name it, and the iQOO 13 has it.

The improved FunTouch OS is a welcome addition and feels snappier. After a week of usage, here are five things I like about the iQOO 13 and one that I don’t.

iQOO 13 Is Powerful

The new iQOO flagship is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, which outperforms its direct competitor, the Realme GT 7 Pro, in sustained workloads. It comes in two variants: 12GB LPDDR5X RAM + 256GB UFS 4.1 storage, and 16GB RAM + 512GB storage.

I played BGMI and Genshin Impact on this phone. The former didn’t have any lag or frame drops on high-graphics settings, whereas Genshin Impact ran surprisingly smoothly at the highest graphics settings. The phone remained cool even after 30-minute gaming sessions. It only gets warm in benchmarks.

Vivid And Comfortable On The Eyes Screen

The iQOO 13 features a 6.82-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. It includes a polarized sheet, referred to as the Ultra Eye Care Display, which is more comfortable on the eyes. While the display leans toward warmer tones, I found it enjoyable for reading and content consumption.

The screen isn’t the brightest out there but is sharp, vivid, and excellent to view indoors. Under direct sunlight, it is legible, but you might crave higher brightness. That said, I love the phone’s in-hand feel (it’s similar to the iQOO 12), and it’s one of the few phones I’d recommend using without a case.

Improved Camera Tuning

The iQOO 12 had good cameras, but their tuning had room for improvement. The iQOO 13 addresses this issue. In terms of hardware, you get a 50MP primary camera, a 50MP telephoto sensor with 2x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide-angle camera.

The iQOO 13 clicks very good photos in daylight, with impressive dynamic range and good-looking colors. While these aren’t as detailed as those from the Vivo X100 Pro or Oppo Find X8 Pro, I like the overall look. Portraits can be hit-or-miss, but with a stable subject, edge detection is good, and you can get some fantastic portrait shots.

There’s also a new Humanistic Street Mode, which boosts contrast and adds a vignette for a distinct aesthetic. I liked playing around in this mode.

The Fingerprint Sensor And Monster Halo

The iQOO 13 features an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor that is both fast and reliable. It unlocked the phone 10 out of 10 times without issues. You can also customize the fingerprint unlock animation in the settings. While Android 15-based FunTouch OS 15 still comes with a lot of pre-installed apps, it is now cleaner and packed with features and customizations.

Another notable addition is the Monster Halo notification light—a customizable RGB LED ring around the rear cameras. While it might not be the most useful feature for many, I’ve liked having it. I tend to keep my phone face down on the bed and I’ve added different colors for different notifications, so I know if I need to pick the phone or not from a distance.

iQOO 13 Offers Excellent Battery Life

The iQOO 13 packs a 6,000mAh silicon-carbon anode battery (6,150mAh in the Chinese variant), which, combined with Qualcomm’s efficiency, delivers great battery life. If you are a moderate phone user, you can expect up to 1.5 days of usage on a single charge.

The phone supports 120W fast charging, which can take it from 0 to 100% in just 35 minutes. Personally, a quick 25-30 minute charge each morning was enough to keep me going for the day.

A 3x Periscope Telephoto Camera Would Have Been Better

The telephoto camera’s low-light performance is the only letdown of the iQOO 13. Instead of the 3x periscope telephoto camera found on the iQOO 12, the company opted for a 2x optical zoom telephoto sensor.

While I like the camera tuning overall, the new zoom camera struggles in low light, producing soft images with fewer details. However, in bright daylight, images shot up to 5x remain usable.

iQOO 13 Review: Verdict

The iQOO 13 is priced at INR 54,999 (roughly $650) for the base 12GB RAM and 256GB storage variant. Even the higher-end 16GB RAM + 512GB storage model offers fantastic value for money. This is the first performance-centric phone in my experience that’s given me great photos from the camera (albeit the zoom in lowlight).

If you want a gaming smartphone that doesn’t compromise on build quality, battery life, display, or cameras, the iQOO 13 is a strong contender. It’s also likely to last long with IP68 and IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance, and promise of four Android OS updates and five years of security updates.

Overall, the iQOO 13 is a much-improved flagship over its predecessor and offers excellent value for money.

Pros:

• Comfortable to use
• Excellent performance
• Great battery life with 120W fast charging
• Improved cameras
• Longer software support
• IP68 and IP69 rated

Cons:

• Weak telephoto camera output in lowlight