What we have today is here new iQOO Z11. Is it considered new? Well, I think the global variant that we have here is “new”. Well, if you look at GSM Arena, the phone is a completely different design but still called the iQOO Z11. Anyway, we’ll review our particular version of the iQOO Z11 with the model number I2512.
Performance
Alright, we’ll have to start with the specs as this is the biggest difference between the China version shown on GSM Arena and the global version that we have here. So, the global version comes with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. We’ve tested this chipset a few times before and well – the performance is pretty much the same as what we’ve expected.
At Genshin Impact, it cannot even sustain 60fps at the lowest graphical settings and it will stutter while in combat.
In Zenless Zone Zero… well, we did one some Shiyu Defense instead and yeah, it also can’t maintain 60fps at the lowest graphical settings. It hovers mostly around 30fps and the frame rate consistency is pretty okay, I’d say. My controller inputs are still working fine and there were no major stutters to the point that it is super distracting.
Wuthering Waves is going to be terrible here, as it can go down to the slideshow level of frame rates, even with the lowest graphical settings. Driving around… yeah, it’s not going to be smooth either and the frame rate is going to at most low 30fps.
I also did NTE this time around, and the frame rate is kinda okay-ish, but do know that this game is actually running at only 720p. So… the only thing I can say is that the optimization here is quite terrible. Probably at the same level of WuWa 3.0.
Again, the Snapdragon 7 series in general – even the current highest-end within the Snapdragon 7-series, the Snapdragon 7 Gen 4, cannot run these games smoothly at the lowest graphical settings.
That’s why I am absolutely disappointed with the iQOO Z11 coming to the global market with the 7s Gen 4 and not the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 found in the China version. The MediaTek 8000-series chipset is one whole tier above the Snapdragon 7-series.
Either way, if you want to watch the full gaming test of the iQOO Z11, then watch our full gaming test video at the top right corner there where we talk about the FPS over time, the temperature, power consumption, frame time, all of that.
Battery life
In terms of battery life, this is one of the main highlights of the iQOO Z11 as well. Luckily, it’s the same across the entire world – 9,020mAh or 33.56Wh in capacity. Using our standardized battery life test, the iQOO Z11 can last for around 27 hours. It’s an okay number, though I expected at least 30 hours.
Turns out, by doing some simple calculations, it averages at around 1.24W of power consumption throughout the entire PCMark 10 battery life test – which is a bit high.
Charging speed
As for the charging speed, the iQOO Z11 comes with a 90W charger in the box and it takes around 77 minutes to charge from 15% to completion. Quite fast considering the battery capacity is this huge.
Now, when we turned it up to the fastest charging speed in the settings menu, we can speed up the charging to take only around 65 minutes. Not a huge improvement, but still better nonetheless.
Then, using our own USB-PD PPS charger, it actually charges the phone the fastest – taking less than an hour to charge from 15% to completion. The temperature is a bit high though, at 42.5°C through the entire charging cycle. The highest power intake is only at 41W for the beginning part of the charging cycle but drops down to around 30W for a majority of the time. Still, very good support for USB-PD PPS.
Screen
Let’s now also talk about the screen. The iQOO Z11 comes with a 6.83-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2800×1260 pixels and goes up to 144Hz refresh rate too.
iQOO actually tunes their phones’ displays very well these days. With our tests, the iQOO Z11 can actually go all the way up to 1600 nits maximum, and down to 1.7 nits at the minimum. It’s a pretty good range though some other phones can do even dimmer.
This phone comes with 3 color profiles, but we’re testing using the default color profile first. It already covers 98.17% of sRGB and 93.83% of DCI-P3 color gamuts already – and very low ΔE numbers across the board.
We then did a second test using the Bright color profile which pushes the display to its maximum potential. This ups the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut coverage to virtually 100%, and the ΔE number is still good. The maximum ΔE should be an outlier since the average is still extremely low.
So, it basically boils down to how vivid you want the display to be.
Software
In terms of the software, there’s really not much to say here. With OriginOS 6, it is still very smooth to navigate around even with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4. The skin itself does come with ads here and there – and we can disable or uninstall most of it – which I think is fine.
Overall, OriginOS 6 works and I personally have no qualms with it. It’s actually a pretty decent skin, all things considered.
Camera
For the cameras, well, the iQOO Z11 practically only has one camera. I know the camera cutout design is different between the global and China variant – but they’re both essentially the same single-camera setup.
Anyway, I’m glad that iQOO chose to have only one great camera rather than two mediocre cameras. I took some random shots with it and I have to say – the images look super good. To have a look at all the pictures taken with the iQOO Z11, watch our video at the top of this review.
Design
All of what we said above is packed within this design of a phone. It’s rather thick and that is due to that massive 33.56Wh single-cell battery. While it is thick, it’s actually not heavy, and I can comfortably bring it around with me with no complaints.
This blue color actually looks really good and someone also asked if this is glass. I am here to answer that question – no, it’s plastic. We can clearly hear it by just knocking on the back panel. It doesn’t matter to me because plastic is much more durable than glass.
A few more things to mention
And of course, a few more things to mention about the iQOO Z11. It does have a USB 2.0 port at the bottom and there’s no display output capability, has dual SIM card slot as well which is great – but there’s no eSIM support so take note of that if you’re planning to buy eSIMs for traveling.
It does have an IR blaster at the top – and that is indeed a great feature to have.
Should you buy the iQOO Z11?
So, should you buy the iQOO Z11 then? At the official retail price of RM1,899 here in Malaysia, I’d say the price is… kinda a bit high? But iQOO Malaysia recognizes this and discounts the base version with 8GB RAM to RM1,599. That’s a bit more appropriate, I’d say. However, that 12GB variant at RM2,199 with no discounts – and that price is really difficult to swallow.
Now, if you say “8GB RAM is not enough!!! 😡” then calm down, sit down, and watch the other video that we did like 2 years ago. 8GB RAM is enough back then, and 8GB RAM is enough even for today. Your games will run fine, but if you open a lot of apps, then some of them will get suspended more often compared to having 12GB RAM. Again, not a big deal.
The iQOO Z11 does come with a super massive 9,020mAh battery – or 33.56Wh because Wh is a much better way to measure battery capacity – and that can last you for a really long time no matter what we throw at it. It’s just disappointing that the global version comes with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 instead of the MediaTek Dimensity 8500 like the China version – and honestly, that’s my biggest complaint about the iQOO Z11.
This is a pretty straightforward phone, so that’s about all that we have to share with you. Do let us know what do you think about the iQOO Z11 down in the comments section below. Will you buy this phone or not? I’d love to know your thoughts and opinions – hit that like and subscribe button while you’re on your way there, and we’ll see you guys in the next video. Thanks so much for your support! Bye!
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