When Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’s Ron Weasley said, “Not me, not Hermione, you,” he knew exactly who was the right choice to end Wizards Chess. Similarly, in the smartphone world, the spotlight is no longer on the Rons and Hermiones of the industry, even if they are geniuses or generational wizards. Instead, it’s the iQOOs and Realmes – the ones really worth noting – that are emerging as the best options on the market at the moment.

Lately, brands that are mostly known for their mid-segment offerings are slowly taking over the premium segment. The most recent example is the iQOO 13 which was launched at a starting price of Rs 54,999. Key Highlights: This is only the second phone to bring the latest Snapdragon 8 Elite chipset after the Realme GT 7 Pro launched in November. The phone has a large 6.82 inch display, 50 megapixel primary camera and 6,000mAh battery. Although we reserve our final thoughts for our detailed review, here are our first impressions of the iQOO 13.

Attractive design, great performance

The iQOO 13 follows the design language of its predecessor, the iQOO 12. The back panel has a square camera island with a three-shooter and a ring light. Although the phone is a bit thick (8.13 mm), it fits perfectly in my hand. This lightweight phone is even more attractive with BMW theme. I received the Legend version for review and I love it. The rear panel is sleek overall, and features the iconic BMW tricolor stripe. The matte white glass material offers a sophisticated and delicate feel.

The iQOO 13 design also features a new monster halo light around the camera module. The light serves as a notification indicator for calls, messages, and charging. It also works while gaming, and offers 72 combinations of RGB lights. You’ll have to wait for a detailed review to find out how well this can be used, but for now it sounds like a unique feature and we’re excited to learn more about it.

The display of the iQOO 13 is another highlight. It sets a new benchmark as it features the world’s first Q10 2K 144Hz Ultra iCare display. It also supports LTPO technology for dynamic refresh rate adjustment. For me, the display has been smooth and lag-free so far. Is it easy on the eyes, I’ll find out in my detailed review of the phone.

Powerful processor, big battery

The iQOO 13 is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and runs on FuntouchOS 15 based on Android 15. This latest processor is probably the most powerful SoC on the internet at the moment. It comes in two variant options: 12GB+256GB and 16GB+512GB. The company claims that iQOO 13 is the fastest smartphone in the country. Although I’m still in the testing phase, my initial impression is that it’s fast.

With iQOO 13, the company has targeted gamers. The phone uses a supercomputing Q2 chip, which ensures to handle tough games smoothly without any slowdown. After a few hours spent with the device, it looks like the phone will be able to live up to its claims. The rest we will know after going through some rigorous performance tests and benchmarks during the review.

Additionally, the iQOO 13 has several AI features like Image Cutout, Instant Text, which uses AI to extract text, subjects, and content from images. The phone also includes features like Live Call Translate, which translates phone calls in real time, and Live Transcribe, which converts speech to text to aid communication for the hearing impaired.

With such a demanding processor, the phone needs adequate battery life. And iQOO takes it up a notch. The iQOO 13 packs a massive 6,000mAh battery with 120W charging support. In a short period of time, I could only see fast charging. The device took only 22 minutes to charge from 37 percent to 100 percent.

Great shot in daylight

In terms of photography, the iQOO 13 comes with a triple camera system, a 50-megapixel Sony IMX921 primary sensor, a 50-megapixel telephoto lens, and a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens. The front camera is a 32-megapixel selfie shooter. I tried the rear camera for testing purposes, and it turned out to be the best in daylight. With adequate light, the camera clicks vivid and clear photos.

I’m still a little skeptical about low-light photos but I’ll share my final thoughts on it – good or bad – in the final review only.

I’ll also explore some of the interesting camera features that come with the iQOO 13, including multi-focal portraits, the NICE 2.0 algorithm for better night images, and an improved street photography camera. It also has AI features like AI erase.

Summary

The iQOO 13 is a beautiful flagship phone with a lot of interesting specs and features. For starters, this is the second phone in India to have the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, which makes it different. Additionally, the phone features a large 6.82-inch display, a 6,000mAh battery, and a triple-camera system with a 50-megapixel primary shooter. At Rs 54,999, these specs further increase the popularity of the phone. We’ll share our final thoughts in the full review next week, but so far, the iQOO 13 looks like a promising smartphone.