Gaming phones are one of the trendier styles of smartphones nowadays, and now another company is getting in on the gaming phone segment.
The Vivo iQOO — which stands for "I Quest On and On" — is a new gaming phone with the type of high-end specs that you'd expect from a phone focused on playing games. It's got a Snapdragon 855 processor, up to 12GB of RAM, and up to 256GB of storage. The AMOLED display measures 6.41 inches and has a resulotion of 2340x1080. There's a waterdrop notch at the top of the screen that's home to a 12MP camera, and there's an in-display fingerprint reader included as well.
Since this is a gaming phone, Vivo has added some gaming-focused features to the iQOO, like pressure-sensitive shoulder buttons on the right side of the device. There's also a vapor cooling system and some software features to help prioritize system resources and switch between 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity. Finally, there's an LED strip running down the middle of the phone's 3D glass back that can also serve as a notification light.
Also on the back of the Vivo iQOO is a triple camera setup that includes a 12MP main camera with Sony IMX363 sensor, a 13MP super wide angle camera with a 120-degree field of view, and a 2MP bokeh camera.
Rounding things out is the 44W Vivo Super Flash Charge system. Available in all but the base 6GB RAM version of the iQOO, Vivo Super Flash Charge can recharge the phone's 4000mAh battery up to 50 percent in just 15 minutes or up to 85 percent in 30 minutes. Vivo says that the iQOO can reach 100 percent in in 45 minutes with Super Flash Charge.
The Vivo iQOO can now be ordered in China with Android 9 Pie in tow. Pricing starts at 2,998 yuan ($447 USD) for the base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. From there, it goes up to 3,298 yuan ($492 USD) for the 8GB/128GB model and 3,598 yuan ($536 USD) for the 8GB/256GB model. And then there's the top-end variant that comes with 12GB of RAM, 256GB of storage, and a faux carbon fiber finish on the back glass, and that version costs 4,298 yuan ($641 USD).
It's unclear when or if the Vivo iQOO will make its way outside of China, but it does look like a respectable gaming phone, and it's pricing is fairly aggressive for the specs that it offers. What do you think of the Vivo iQOO? Do you have any interest in owning a gaming phone?
