iQOO 13 Review: A Flagship Muscle Car Disguised as a Smartphone

If smartphones had pit lanes, iQOO would be pulling into one with the new iQOO 13 revving louder than ever. This isn’t just a performance phone—it’s iQOO going full throttle, again. After the iQOO 12 cemented its place as the fastest phone most people could buy without wrecking their wallets, the iQOO 13 arrives with a new engine under the hood, a brighter display, a bulkier battery, and enough visual tweaks to make you double-take—if you're into details.

But here's the kicker: it’s priced slightly higher than before. So, is the iQOO 13 worth the Rs. 54,999 starting price tag, or are we looking at a flagship that’s trying too hard?

Let’s break it down.

Design: More of the Same, With a Bit of Sparkle

On the surface, the iQOO 13 doesn’t look all that different from its predecessor. You still get the same glass-aluminium sandwich design with flat edges and a large camera module that commands attention. But there’s now a flashy ring light—Monster Halo—wrapped around the camera island. It lights up when you're gaming, getting calls, or just feeling fancy.

The matte finish on the Legend variant keeps fingerprints away, but the glossy Nardo Grey doesn’t play as nice. It looks good until it doesn’t—smudge city. The phone weighs 213g and is 8.13mm thick, which sounds chunky but is surprisingly manageable unless your hands are on the smaller side.

Port and button placement is standard iQOO business. USB-C, SIM slot, stereo speakers, IR blaster, dual microphones—it’s all here. Oh, and IP68 + IP69 ratings. You can drop it in water or hit it with a pressure hose. Your move, rain gods.

Display: It's Flat, Bright, and Built for Gamers

This 6.82-inch Q10 AMOLED panel isn’t messing around. 2K resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 300Hz touch sampling rate, HDR10+, and a claimed 4,500 nits of peak brightness (1,800 nits HBM). It’s sharp, colourful, responsive, and very hard to complain about.

In real-world use, the display is a treat for gaming, watching content, and just scrolling through life. Eye care modes are present, colours are punchy without being cartoonish, and the flat panel reduces accidental touches. You won’t miss curved edges here.

Bonus: ultrasonic fingerprint scanner under the screen. It’s faster and more reliable than the optical sensor from last year. Also, finally placed at a spot where your thumb doesn’t feel like it’s doing yoga.

Performance: Built Like a Dragster, Drives Like One Too

Let’s cut to the chase. The iQOO 13 is fast. Snapdragon 8 Elite fast. This chip is a beast, pushing up to 4.32GHz clock speeds using new custom Oryon cores. Paired with up to 16GB LPDDR5x RAM and UFS 4.1 storage, it doesn’t stutter, doesn’t flinch, and doesn’t care what apps you throw at it.

Gaming? Smooth. Multitasking? Easy. BGMI, Genshin Impact, COD—all played like butter. The Supercomputing Q2 chip onboard optimises frame rates and power usage. Even during long gaming sessions, it manages heat surprisingly well thanks to a massive vapor chamber cooling system.

Benchmarks? Sure. But real-world use matters more. And the iQOO 13 just doesn’t slow down.

Software: Clean Enough, but Still Room to Breathe

Funtouch OS 15 on top of Android 15 keeps things mostly tidy. You get a clean-ish UI with some preloaded apps. Thankfully, most of them are removable.

What’s new? AI Erase and AI Enhancement in the Gallery. They work well—nothing mind-blowing but handy for quick edits. Google’s Circle to Search is here too, along with a new Dynamic Light menu for the Halo ring. More AI features are likely to land with future updates, but for now, it’s mostly cosmetic.

iQOO is promising 4 years of OS updates and 5 years of security patches. That’s a solid commitment and good to see from a brand that usually leans hard into hardware.

Cameras: Good, But a Bit of a Trade-Off

Let’s talk about the part where iQOO blinked. The periscope lens from the iQOO 12 is gone. You now get a 50MP main (Sony IMX921), 50MP telephoto (2x zoom), and 50MP ultra-wide. The front camera’s been upgraded to 32MP and delivers solid results in daylight.

 The main camera shoots great photos—balanced exposure, natural colours, and plenty of detail. Low-light shots hold up well too. The telephoto lens does a decent job at 2x, and portraits come out sharp, with good subject separation.

But push it to 4x, and it starts to feel soft. The missing periscope lens would’ve helped here. If zoom is your thing, this might sting a bit.

Ultra-wide photos are solid in daylight but tend to falter under poor lighting, with visible noise and muted colours. Video recording is reliable—up to 8K at 30fps. Stick to 4K or 1080p for better stabilisation.

Overall, the iQOO 13 cameras aren’t bad—far from it. They just don’t push boundaries the way its processor does.

Battery: Big Tank, Fast Fueling

A 6,000mAh battery and 120W fast charging? Yes, please. The iQOO 13 easily lasted a day and a half with moderate use and handled heavy days with 15–20% left at bedtime.

Charging from 0–100% takes about 45 minutes, and you get the 120W charger in the box. No need to go hunting. It gets warm while charging, but not alarmingly so.

Wireless charging? Still missing. And while it’s not a deal-breaker, it’s something competitors at this price point are starting to include.

Should You Buy the iQOO 13?

If you want the most powerful phone under ₹60,000, the iQOO 13 is a no-brainer. It delivers knockout performance, a killer display, fast charging, and reliable cameras—all wrapped in a sleek design. Yes, it skips wireless charging and that sweet periscope zoom. But if performance, gaming, and all-day battery life top your list, this one’s tough to beat.

You could wait for the OnePlus 13, or explore the Realme GT 7 Pro if camera performance is your priority. But in pure raw power, the iQOO 13 drives laps around most of the competition.

If your budget’s around ₹60K and you want flagship horsepower without breaking the bank, the iQOO 13 should be in your garage.