Vivo launches first gaming smartphone under sub-brand iQoo

Moneycontrol News

After many leaks and teasers, Vivo has launched its first smartphone under its sub-brand iQoo. The company launched the Vivo iQoo in China and has provided maxed out specifications targeting mobile gamers and photographers. 

The Vivo iQoo features a 3D glass body design, and the top-end variant of the smartphone has a faux-carbon fibre rear protected by a curved glass panel. The phone sports a 6.41-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a waterdrop-style notch. It has a resolution of 1080x2340 pixels and an aspect ratio of 19.5:9. The phone comes with an in-display fingerprint scanner.

Under the hood is where the smartphone boasts of the gaming smartphone features. It has a top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 that can be paired with multiple RAM options. Vivo has launched the phone with 6GB, 8 GB and 12 GB variants that can be paired with 128 GB and 256 GB of internal storage. The phone comes with a vertical LED strip that runs in the centre on the back cover. The LED strip lights up when the user achieves a milestone.

The iQoo also includes a ‘super liquid cooling’ which is basically a vapour chamber that cools down the phone during intensive usage. Vivo claims that the cooling system is capable of cooling down its gaming smartphone to up to 12 degrees without slowing down the performance. The phone also features pressure-sensitive buttons called Monster Touch shoulder buttons on the side panels for a better gaming experience. On the software front, Vivo has included a list of Multi-Turbo features that sync with the hardware and customise the performance of the phone as per the user’s requirement. The five modes in the smartphone are Cooling Turbo, Game Turbo, AI Turbo, Net Turbo and Centre Turbo.

For mobile photography enthusiasts, the iQoo is equipped with a triple-lens camera setup. It has a 12 MP primary sensor with an aperture of f/1.79 and a wide angle lens that is a 13 MP Sony IMX263 sensor. The phone also includes a 2 MP depth sensor whereas the waterdrop notch on the front display panel house a 12 MP lens for selfies. 

The iQoo includes a 4,000 mAh battery and includes the support for the company’s 44W SuperFlash charging technology. The fast-charging technology is said to charge the device to 50 per cent in 15 minutes, 85 per cent in 30 minutes and a full charge in 45 minutes. This feature, however, won’t be supported in the 6GB + 128 GB variant. The device runs on Android v9.0 on top of the company’s Funtouch OS 9. It supports 4G LTE, WiFi, GPS/ A-GPS, Bluetooth and Type-C port. 

Vivo has priced that phone at 2,998 yuan (approximately Rs 31,700) for the 6GB + 128 GB variant,  3,298 yuan (approximately Rs 34,900) for the 8 GB RAM+128 GB variant. The higher storage and RAM options which include 8 GB + 256 GB and 12 GB + 256 GB variants are priced at 3,598 (approximately Rs 38,000) and 4298 yuan (approximately Rs 45,500) respectively. The phones would be available starting March 6 and are expected to be launched in India soon.