iQOO 13 Review: Exceptionally Elite Experience

After the Xiaomi 15 and Realme GT 7 Pro, we now have the iQOO 13 joining the Snapdragon 8 Elite ensemble. These iQOO flagships we get every year, refreshed with Qualcomm’s best, are already expected to be speed demons. Nonetheless, the iQOO 13 this year presented a couple of unforeseen upgrades. From the iQOO throwing in a shiny little halo at the back to the front panel featuring new tech, this phone is more nuanced than I’d initially perceived. I began compiling my findings over the weekend that I spent with the phone, which eventually led to this full-fledged iQOO 13 review you’re about to read. So, let’s begin!

A Performance Narcissist

iQOO has never held back in delivering benchmark-shattering performances, and its latest phone isn’t an exception. I have with me the 16GB LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and 512GB UFS 4.1 storage variant, for your reference. Now, the iQOO 13 delivers solid scores across all the benchmarks, from AnTuTu to Geekbench and beyond. Here’s a rundown:

You can take a look at the Snapdragon 8 Elite benchmarks in detail if you want. But, yes, the 2,797,852 points in AnTuTu as well as Geekbench’s single and multi-core scores is the highest we’ve seen from any Snapdragon 8 Elite phone.

The Snapdragon 8 Elite’s stellar optimization here with the iQOO 13 is what makes it achieve those scores, while barely even getting warm when it’s at it. Even after a complete run of AnTuTu, the phone doesn’t cross 43°C and cools down quicker than a TikTok trend.

Thanks to all that performance, gaming is a delight as well. Moreover, thanks to the iQOO 13’s custom Q2 Chip, you get 2K 144Hz support in games. That coupled with Super Resolution 3.0 brings PC-level sharp textures to games like Genshin Impact, BGMI, and Call of Duty.

The 4D Game Vibration (which I adored the iQOO 12 for too) is always a joy. It elevates the experience in said games by quite a bit. Additionally, you also get gameresque features like Game Sound Effects, Frame Rate Priority, Super Gyroscope, and more to make use of.

And, just like on the Realme GT 7 Pro (review), I didn’t face any lags or stutters when playing these titles, achieving peak FPS consistently. With that said, here’s a rundown of the kind of graphics settings I got out of these games:

Most importantly, the phone remained surprisingly less warm even after playing Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile for around 2.5 hours or so, not crossing 40°C.

And, when it comes to regular usage, the phone barely ever hits 37°C. Talking about the daily usage experience, the iQOO 13’s Android 15-based Funtouch OS 15’s Priority Scheduling feature visibly improves the RAM management of the device. I have had multiple applications and even some games running in the background, only to find them open hours later.

Multitasking and jumping between apps is also more satisfying on Funtouch OS now, courtesy of more fluid animations throughout the UI. Some other favorite Funtouch OS 15 features of mine include Video Wallpaper, UI customizations, AI Image Lab which brings a new AI Enhance feature, and more.

Most importantly, software update support is up from 3 + 4 years on the iQOO 12 to 4 years of major OS and 5 years of security patches on the iQOO 13. Thank you for this, iQOO. Now, while Funtouch OS is much better now, it still isn’t the best skin out there.

It’s a good standalone OS for the most part. But when you take into account other skins like ColorOS 15, OxygenOS 15, Realme UI 6, and HyperOS 2.0, it starts paling out in comparison. It’s not the most feature-packed Android 15 skin out there, making it miss the mark by a bit. There are some minor bugs scattered across the UI as well. But, given how punctual iQOO is about upgrades, I have high hopes about these issues being fixed anytime soon.

Quite the Glow-Up

I have with me the iQOO 13’s all white Legend variant with me, with enamel glass at the back. The iQOO and BMW branding on this variant is now on the left instead of on the right (as seen on the iQOO 12), and I like this orientation better. Box contents remain the same. You get the same fast charger, clear silicone case, a Type-C to Type-C cable, SIM ejector, and some paperwork.

While iQOO 13 looks similar to its predecessor, it felt instantly different in my hands, in a good way. I like the new matte finish, which I’ve always preferred over glossy ones as they’re not fingerprint magnets. It does come at the cost of fogging out the cool light reflection that the iQOO 12 flaunts well.

Now, right at the edges where the frame greets the rear panel, the iQOO 13 is slightly more curved than its predecessor. While it may not seem like much at first, it makes the phone feel handier and less boxy.

Even with a bigger battery (more on this later), the phone is barely any thicker from last time, with dimensions of 163.37 x 76.71 x 8.13 mm. It weighs slightly more at 213 grams, but the weight distribution is such that I didn’t feel any of it. The volume rocker and power buttons are well spaced out on the right side of the metal frame. They are easy to reach in one-hand usage and have the right amount of tactile.

You get a way more resistant IP68 + IP69 rating too, this time around. So, I guess I can finally stop worrying about dropping it in the pool. Who knows, maybe even get some underwater videography in.

At the back, the camera module is sleeker now and does some magic with a new Monster Halo design. Simply put, this is iQOO’s version of the Glyph Interface, just subtler. And, I do dig this for how cool it looks. The added utility makes it all the more better, as you can set different colors for incoming calls and notifications, with the camera module lighting up as battery indication as well as music.

So, while the design is a sure glow-up from last time, the display received the biggest makeover. The 6.82-inch 144Hz LTPO AMOLED display is 2K (3168 x 1440) now, up from 1.5K. The bezels around are slightly sleeker too, contributing to a very impressive 93.87% Screen-to-Body Ratio. The display is also straight-up flat in contrast to the latest quad-curved trend. This will definitely make it easier to get a good-quality tempered glass for it.

When testing the device, I found myself dialing down the brightness from time to time, only to realize that it’s quite a bit brighter from last time. Turns out, the display now maxes out at 4,500 nits on-paper instead of 3000 nits. Using the Lux Meter at the office, I recorded a peak of 3,800 nits, which is insane. Meanwhile, the HBM (High Brightness Mode) is up from 1400 nits to 1800 nits now.

iQOO has also thrown in a commendable Ultrasonic Fingerprint sensor in the mix. This was only limited to the more flagship iQOO 12 Pro last time around. It’s super fast, reliable, and works with the sweatiest of hands too.

As for color reproduction, I didn’t find myself tweaking the display color modes out of the box, which is one less hassle. The Standard mode was good enough to lay my eyes to rest. However, if you want to enjoy more vivid colors than usual, Bright mode should do the trick.

Anyway, thanks to the 2K resolution, output is visibly sharp throughout. You get very rich blacks too, which made rewatching Damsel on Netflix a good time for me. Meanwhile, I read quite a bit of Manhwa too on this display, and the colors of Omnicient Reader’s Viewpoint came to life, big time. So did the diverse palette of those 4K HDR YouTube videos, as I could distinctly tell the different shades of each color apart.

What made it all the more impressive was the amazing sound output of the iQOO 13. Not only were the mids, highs, and lows very clear, there was a proper 50-50 audio separation in place that kept me from taking to my earbuds. Fantastic multimedia experience, overall.

One Hell of an Energizer Bunny

To power all that, there’s been a straight-up 20% increase in the battery capacity on the iQOO 13, treating you to a delicious 6000mAh unit. Given how power-efficient Snapdragon 8 Elite phones have been so far, the incredible battery performance of the iQOO 13 didn’t come as much of a surprise. Even after running benchmarks for 3.5 hours, I still had 20% of juice left to sip.

Meanwhile, around 2 hours of CoD Mobile brought down the battery from 100% to just 65%, which is bonkers. The 120W FlashCharge lives up to its claims of topping off the battery in 30 minutes. Overall, under normal usage, the iQOO 13 can easily last you 1.5 to even 2 days on a single charge.

Slight Optical Downgrade

The iQOO 13 features a triple rear camera as well, but the sensors are different this time. There’s a primary 50MP Sony IMX921 with OIS, paired with a secondary 50MP Sony IMX816 with 2x Optical Zoom and a third 50MP ultrawide with a 119° FOV.

Daytime shots turn out to be quite good, with the primary capturing good details and handling the HDR all too well. There’s some good image processing at play here, for you see mostly natural colors. The Dynamic Range is excellent too, with the shadows and highlights being accentuated well.

Additionally, the telephoto sensor comes in at a clutch when needed. You get to see good enough details upon zooming in. I’m also happy to see a proper 50MP ultrawide here, instead of an 8MP sensor, and it’s capable of capturing a lot of details.

However, it’s the night-time shots that can be a bit of a missed focus. The telephoto struggles the most though due to its lack of OIS. So, the shots can turn out to be quite blurry and smudgy at times. I also noticed that the primary sensor is not able to capture as many details. On the other hand, the ultrawide performs consistently well and really impressed me.

Talking about selfies, they can turn out to be slightly more sharpened than usual at times. A small optimization issue, that’s all. There’s good edge detection and depth mapping, so no complaints here.

Videos are very stable too, and I didn’t find any focus-hunting issues here. You can capture up to 4K 60FPS videos from both the rear and front cameras, so brownie points for that. But, overall, I still hold the iQOO 12’s camera performance in higher regard. And this time around, it feels like a bit of a downgrade.

Flagship, minus the Elite Price Tag?

The bigger battery, improved display, an additional year of software support, and performance that puts any other phone in the segment to shame all make this the most well-balanced flagship phone to buy right now. While the cameras are a bit of a letdown at night, it’s not that big of a deal and can be overlooked given how decent day shots turn out.

When reviewing the Realme GT 7 Pro, I said how it seemed like my next purchase. Well, strike that, for the iQOO 13 has just become my new target. For just $650, this is the cheapest Snapdragon 8 Elite phone right now, too good a phone to skip.