iQoo Z9 Lite Review: Budget 5G 'Beauty' That Checks Some 'Beast' Boxes

iQoo Z9 Lite Review: The latest iQoo offering brings a beautiful design and a powerful processor to the budget phone zone, making it one of the best options for anyone looking for a 5G phone in the vicinity of Rs 10,000. However, do note that it does cut some corners, particularly in terms of charging speed and display resolution. Having said that, iQoo Z9 Lite still does enough to emerge as a terrific budget proposition. iQoo Z9 Lite Review: Quick PointersWhat we love:Beautiful designLong-lasting batterySnappy performance (even some gaming)IP64 rating What we don't:The HD+ display (in a full-HD era)Slow charging batteryWaterdrop-style notch (so 2020)Sharp Suit For Cheap PriceLet's get this out of the way - the iQoo Z9 Lite does not look like a phone that comes with a price tag in the Rs 10,000 range. iQoo has always had a good design touch and this is evident in the Z9 Lite. We got the Mocha Brown variant (there is also a lighter-coloured Aqua Flow variant) and while it seemed more plum than mocha, it is definitely a very good-looking phone and can pass off for something with twice its price tag. The carbonate back has a shimmering, satin-like feel to it, glimmering in the light, with a slightly glossy camera unit with metal-accented lenses adding a dual-tone element. It is rather classy without being loud, and combined with the straight sides, gives the iQoo Z9 Lite a very contemporary look. The phone is also relatively slim at 8.39 mm and at 185 grams, not too heavy for a tall phone (it is 163.5 mm tall). Its face, however, reveals its budget roots - while the front features a typically tall display, it comes with a waterdrop rather than a modern punch-hole notch. A closer look at the sides will also reveal a budget favourite - a 3.5mm audio jack, accompanied by a single speaker, and a display/power button that also doubles up as a fingerprint scanner. Keep its face hidden, however, and the iQoo Z9 Lite will turn heads with its subtle, shimmering appearance. It also has a reassuringly solid feel to it and comes with an IP64 rating, making it able to withstand water splashes and dust - a welcome feature at this price point. Lots Of Brownie Points, Sprinkled With Some ShortcomingsThat very good-looking design comes with a spec sheet that is typically budget in nature - there are some highlights and some compromises (at this price point, there almost always are). The strongest points of the phone are its Dimensity 6300 processor, which is in the same league as the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 seen in more expensive devices, a large 5,000mAh battery and a 50-megapixel main Sony sensor. The phone comes with RAM and storage variants of 4GB + 128GB and 6GB + 128GB, with support for expandable memory up to 1TB. You also get a 2-megapixel secondary sensor and an 8-megapixel selfie camera in that old-fashioned notch. The compromises are mainly in terms of the display, which is reasonably sized at 6.56 inches and is also impressively bright for its price, but has only HD+ resolution (no full HD) and a refresh rate of 90 Hz. It is also LCD, and not AMOLED, although the latter is rare at this price point. Similarly, the large battery is backed by a 15W charger, which is not the quickest. While you do get a 3.5mm audio jack, there is only a single speaker, although with a special audio booster feature. The phone comes with 5G connectivity on both SIM cards and runs on Android 14, with the slightly floated FunTouch OS on top of it. It is a decent spec sheet for the price, with the processor and chip being the strong points, with the relatively low-res display being a compromise for the price, we suspect.Solid Daily DriverThe iQoo Z9 Lite is a very capable daily driver. The display might not be full HD resolution but is impressively bright for its price and easy to read in sunlight. It is also great for viewing content, although the lower resolution hits you while browsing - you see lesser content in spite of a large-ish display. The MediaTek Dimesity 6300 gets you some decent gaming as long as you are willing to turn down graphics - you can play Call of Duty and BGMI reasonably well, and casual games run very smoothly on it. Multi-tasking also was generally good with the phone handling six to seven apps without any problems. The 50-megapixel main camera is a very pleasant surprise - it is not the fastest we have seen but if you are patient, you get very good, but slightly saturated results. We were particularly impressed by its ability to take clear closeup shots and even do a decent job in low-light conditions (unheard of at this price point). Colours are a little too bright for comfort at times, but that is not really a deal breaker, especially in this segment. The selfie camera is best used for video calls, as colours are a little washed out in videos and photographs. FuntouchOS runs smoothly on the iQoo Z9 Lite, and while some might find it a little cluttered, we have seen that users prefer lots of features and apps at this price point, and are likely to actually appreciate pre-installed apps like Snapchat, LinkedIn, Amazon, PhonePe and Facebook. The phone also comes with two years of assured Android updates and three years of security updates - very good for the price. Charging Speed Leaves A Lot To Be DesiredThe call quality on the phone is excellent, and the side-mounted fingerprint scanner works very smoothly. The single speaker is impressively loud and gets louder with the audio boost feature, but If you are looking for good quality audio, we suggest sticking to wired earphones over that 3.5mm audio jack. The iQoo Z9 Lite's battery life is excellent. That 5,000mAh battery easily got us through a day and a half of normal to heavy use, with a few hours of gaming thrown in. Use it carefully, and it could get through two days. Charging the battery, however, is a task. The 15W charger comes with FlashCharge support but is fast only in name. It takes close to an hour to get the battery up to 50 per cent and charging the phone from zero to 100 takes close to three hours. Well, it is not exactly a deal breaker as you are unlikely to need to charge the phone more than a few times a week, but it would have been convenient to have had some sort of fast-ish charging.iQoo Z9 Lite Review: Final VerdictThe iQoo Z9 Lite starts at Rs 10,499 for the base 4GB + 128GB storage variant, which makes it one of the best 5G phones out there at its price, where it actually does not face too much competition. It is a classic budget 5G smartphone in many regards, with a focus on generally smooth performance and good battery life. The Dimensity 6300 chip adds a bit of rare gaming muscle to it, but we really wish it had a higher-resolution display and faster charging. Even without them, the iQoo Z9 Lite delivers a decent dollop of performance packed inside a splendid design which can survive dust and water splashes. If you want a 5G smartphone that ticks (all the) beauty and (some of the) beast boxes, the iQoo Z9 Lite is perhaps as good as it gets right now.