iQOO, which stands for — I kid you not — I Quest On and On, is an “independent” sub-brand of Vivo. Recently they launched the iQOO 11 5G, a name three numbers behind iPhone — so people don’t confuse the two — and with a redundant suffix.

In this write-up, I’ll do my best to translate all the “marketing-ese” nonsense used in the press release, which will be in curly brackets, into human language.

The Brains

The device is built on the American-owned Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform which has improved GPU, image processor, performance optimiser, and AI processor. The platform also supports 5G by default. To us, this means every device built on this platform is generally the same.

For memory, the iQOO 11 5G has 16GB of RAM that is faster and uses less power than the previous generation {4X} {LPDDR5X (Low Power Double Data Rate 5X)}.

It also has 256GB of storage which is faster than the previous generation {3.1} but still not as fast as desktop PCI SSD speeds {UFS 4.0 (Universal Flash Storage)}.

Both technologies are made by South Korea’s own Samsung.

The iQOO 11 5G also uses storage to expand its memory, a trick desktop PCs did decades ago. This specification is negligible on all devices {Extended RAM 3.0}.

Battery & Cooling

Powering the device is a standard 5Ah battery that has fast charging {120W FlashCharge}. — I like to use Ah instead of mAh because you don’t say 1,000mm when expressing 1m do you?

To cool all that hardware and to function properly, the iQOO 11 5G uses passive heat displacement and dissipation {Vapor Chamber Liquid Cooling System}.

The frame and structure of the device are said to be high strength and fatigue resistance {aviation-grade aluminium}.

Display, Gaming & Sound

The face of the iQOO 11 5G is a Samsung-made 6.78-inch with 1440 x 3200 pixels. It is better than the previous generation {E5} but still not as good as iPhones’ {2K E6 AMOLED}.

The GPU, which is built in by the platform, is hash rate-limited and hinders crypto mining. {V2 Chip}.

It can artificially increase the number of frames just like some TVs {Game Frame Interpolation}.

For gaming, the device splits the display into two pressure-sensitive touch zones {In-Display Dual Monster Touch} and has two vibrators {Dual X-Axis Linear Motor}.

The iQOO 11 5G also has two stereo speakers {Dual Stereo Speaker} and can fake a large soundstage {Sound Field Expansion Algorithm}.

Design

Both iQOO and BMW M Motorsport share an interdependent relationship which means they pay each other in money, advertising, or in-kind {Premium Partner}. Because of that, the iQOO 11 5G is designed with BMW M Motorsport branding {Legend edition}.

In an interesting twist, the back panel of the device is stain-resistant silicone leather instead of glass or polycarbonate like most devices.

Camera

The main camera on the iQOO 11 5G is the Samsung Isocell 50MP GN5 {Ultra-Sensing Camera}. So it can do whatever every other device that uses the same camera module can do, but a little bit better with the newer platform.

For example, it can shoot 4K video in low-light {4K Super Night Video}, and in RAW {Raw Video NR (noise reduction) 3.0 algorithm} features that most people won’t use and is wasted on social media.

The GN5 is a stacked CMOS which means it is fast, doesn’t have a physical shutter, no blackouts, and has minimal shutter roll {Zero-Shutter-Lag Motion Snapshot}. It also has an easy-to-replicate mode for taking panning shots, where the subject is still but everything else looks to be in motion {Night Camera Panning}.

It also uses the processing power of the Qualcomm chip and software to do standard stuff like artificially improve portraits {Studio-Quality Superb Portrait} by applying filters {AI Skin Retouching}, and increasing a photo’s resolution {AI HD algorithms}.

The other two are a 13MP Camera with a telephoto lens and an 8MP Camera with a wide-angle lens.

Price & Availability

The iQOO is available now for RM3,499.

In contrast, the starting price of an iPhone 14 is RM4,199 and the Galaxy S22 starts at RM3,299.