iQOO Neo 10R review: Gaming phone that won’t burn a hole in your pocket

Shortly after the flagship iQOO 13 launch, iQOO has launched its latest gaming phone in India—the first device in its mid-range ‘R’ series. On paper, the iQOO Neo 10R appears to tick all the right boxes for a phone priced under ₹25,000. But are things really as great as they seem, or are there hidden truths waiting to be found here? I’ve been using the Neo 10R for about two weeks now, and here are my two bits on how the phone performed in the real world.

Unboxing:

Inside the iQOO Neo 10R’s black coloured box, you get the device itself, wrapped in a layer of plastic and with a pre-applied screen protector (always a nice touch). Underneath, you’ll find some paperwork that no one will ever get around to reading, a SIM ejector tool, an 80W adapter and a USB A to USB C type cable, as well as a transparent PU case that should last you a few weeks to months before turning yellow.

Design and connectivity:

In terms of design, the back of the Neo 10R is clearly inspired by the iQOO 13, featuring a squircle camera island – albeit without the RGB lights. However, unlike the iQOO 13 (Review), the Neo 10R comes with a dual-tone design (only on the Ragin Blue colour), separated by a dotted line containing a ‘Neo’ Easter egg (see image below).

The back and frame of the Neo 10R are both made of plastic and the phone feels slippery in the hand. I think the feel of this phone could have been a little better, but given the price, it’s not a deal breaker.

On the front, there is the flat display with a small cut-out for the front camera. The SIM ejector is at the bottom, followed by the USB type C port (USB 2.0 type) and the speaker, while the power and volume rockers are on the right. The good news is that despite housing a massive battery, this phone isn’t too thick at 7.98 mm and weighs in at just under 200 grams (196 to be precise).

In case you were wondering, this phone has an IP65 rating, which means it can withstand a little splashing and light rain, but not full immersion in water. There is also no support for NFC or wireless charging.

Display:

iQOO Neo10R features a 6.78-inch 1.5K AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 4,500 nits of peak brightness – 1,200 nits in High Brightness Mode (HBM). No complaints with the display here, it offers decent picture quality for the price, with vibrant and punchy colors and great readability even in direct sunlight.

While the phone is protected by Schott Xensation Up glass, after using the device for a few days, a large scratch appeared right in the middle, which means it is not ideal to remove the plastic cover provided with the device until you get a proper screen protector on top.

The display is paired with a stereo speaker setup that is decent at best, the volume could be better and the richness and bass are also underwhelming. For Bing watching sessions, you will most likely need to pair it with a speaker or use an earphone.

Performance:

iQOO Neo 10R is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, which delivers performance equivalent to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 (last year’s flagship Qualcomm processor). This is the same processor found on the Poco F6 that I reviewed last year, and it has some of the same issues as well, but iQOO has fixed some major glitches, perhaps with its cooling system. (more on this later)

It is paired with 8/12GB of LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 3.1 storage with 128GB model and UFS 4.1 storage with 256GB variant. While I would have personally preferred iQOO to do away with the 128GB variant altogether, it is still a big thing for a budget phone to come with LPDDR5x RAM and offer option of UFS 4.1 storage given that some phones even under ₹40,000 don’t provide this option.

First let’s talk about the benchmarks. On Antutu, the Neo 10R gets a score of 14,69,865 which is on par with other Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 devices, suggesting that there is no artificial restrictions placed on the SoC.

On GeekBench 6, it receives a single-core score of 1,940 and a multi-core score of 5,032. And on 3D Mark’s Extreme Wild Life Stress test, Neo 10R gets a best loop score of 3,171 and a lowest loop score of 1,552 but the stability was less than ideal at 48.9%.

The good thing though was that the phone did not get too hot during the benchmarks and the maximum temperature that it got was during Antutu test where the mercury topped to around 41 degrees.On Antutu, the Neo 10R gets a score of 14,69,865 which is on par with other Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 devices, suggesting that there is no artificial restrictions placed on the SoC.

On GeekBench 6, it receives a single-core score of 1,940 and a multi-core score of 5,032. And on 3D Mark’s Extreme Wild Life Stress test, Neo 10R gets a best loop score of 3,171 and a lowest loop score of 1,552 but the stability was less than ideal at 48.9%.

The good thing was that the Neo 10R did not get too hot during the benchmarks and the maximum temperature it got was during the Antutu test where the mercury topped out at around 41 degrees.

On to the pitfalls of Snapdragon 8s Gen 3. One persistent issue that I noticed with the Poco F6 last year was that the phone remained a bit warm with 5G turned on during summer months even when running normal tasks.

A similar issue was present with the Neo 10R with the CPU temperature being at around 38-39 degrees when taken outdoors despite the outside temperature was around 6-7 degrees lower. I tried to check the over the top heating issues by playing COD Mobile at highest possible setting at the same temperature and the good thing is that heating stabilized after a point with the temperatures maxing out at around 43-44 degrees.

In terms of daily usage, this is a very good performance phone, and you wouldn’t notice any lags or stuttering during either running day-to-day tasks or heavy gaming. I particularly like some of the gaming mode options that iQOO provides like direct power supply, a dedicated eSports mode (stops notifications of incoming calls and messages from popping up) and voice changer.

iQOO has also taken some inspiration from iQOO 13 and is promising support for 144Hz refresh rate in certain games like Clash of Clans, Brawl Stars and Clash Royale via an OTA update in the coming weeks.

Software and battery:

The Neo 10R runs on Funtouch OS 15 based on Android 15 out of the box. There are a few bloatware apps that come with the device, including Snapchat, Facebook, Phonepe, LinkedIn, Netflix, Amazon and first-party apps from iQOO. All of these apps can be uninstalled except for the iQOO browser, which can neither be uninstalled nor disabled. Most of the UI ads can be disabled during phone setup, and there are no major interruptions after that.

The Neo 10R comes with a massive 6,400mAh battery, which is even more than the capacity offered by the iQOO 13. An 80W adapter is included for charging, which will take the phone from 0-100% in about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

In my experience, FunTouch OS is good at optimizing battery performance and this phone is no different. Even with 5G enabled, you can expect over a day of battery life, even when performing power-hungry tasks like gaming or video streaming.

Camera:

The Neo 10R comes with a dual rear camera setup—a 50MP Sony IMX882 primary shooter with OIS and an 8MP ultra-wide angle lens—and a 32MP front camera. The primary shooter records 4K video at 60fps (even with stabilization on), the selfie camera captures 4K at 30fps, and the ultra-wide lens is limited to 1080p.

The 50MP primary shooter delivers surprisingly good results. The images come out just a bit overbright but remain pleasing overall. Indoor portraits are decent; however, the Neo 10R can sturggle with bright outdoor shots with skin tones looking off and images appearing overly processed.

The nighttime shots are decent for the price, but nothing to write home about. Portrait shots under light are really good, but the edge detection needs a bit of work.

As for the ultra-wide-angle lens, its performance is in line with other 8MP shooters on the market. Daytime shots are fine, but you may notice a significant color shift and loss of detail (compared to the primary shooter), which is even more noticeable under artificial lights.

The 32MP selfie camera tends to overbrighten skin tones. This might work in daylight, but in low-light conditions, you lose detail and the artificial processing becomes more noticeable.

Overall, I would say cameras are decent for the price but don’t expect too much from them. As always, there’s no need to take my word for it—feel free to check out the camera samples via the Google Drive link here and make up your own mind about the Neo 10R’s capabilities.

Verdict:

At a starting price of ₹24,999 (with offers), iQOO Neo 10R is arguably one of the best options for gamers, thanks to its Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 processor, 6,400mAh battery, 80W wired fast charging, 120Hz AMOLED display, LPDDR5x RAM, and UFS 4.1 storage. Admittedly, it isn’t without its flaws—a somewhat inconsistent camera system, lack of NFC and wireless charging, a basic plastic build, and an older USB 2.0 port are some of the tradeoffs. But given the overall package, these are easy compromises to accept.