iQOO launched the Z11x smartphone in India back in March. The successor to last year’s Z10x packs a bigger screen, a faster chip, an improved front camera, and a bigger battery. Is this a good upgrade? Let us dive into the review to find out.
| Box Contents |
| Display, Hardware and Design |
| Camera |
| Software, UI and Apps |
| Fingerprint sensor |
| Music player and Multimedia |
| SIM and Connectivity |
| Performance and Benchmarks |
| Battery Life |
| Conclusion |
Box Contents
- iQOO Z11x 5G 8GB + 256GB in Prismatic Green color
- 44W charger
- USB Type-A to Type-C cable
- Clear protective case
- SIM ejector tool
- User guide and warranty information
Display, Hardware and Design
The iQOO Z11X sports a 6.76-inch (2408×1080 pixels) FHD+ 20:9
flat LCD with a 120Hz refresh rate. The screen has up to 1200 nits of HBM brightness. Sunlight legibility and the colour output are good.
The 120Hz refresh rate offers a smooth user experience, especially when you are scrolling through the UI and when gaming. You can select from natural (default), professional, and bright screen color modes. You can select Smart Switch or force it to 60Hz or 120Hz.
The phone has a new 32MP front camera inside the punch hole, replacing the 8MP camera in the predecessor. There is an earpiece on the top edge, which also works as a secondary speaker. The bottom bezel is a bit bigger, which is common in LCD screens. The haptic feedback is decent.
Coming to the button placements and ports, the power button is present on the right side along with the volume rockers; the dual SIM slot is present on the left side; the microphone, USB Type-C port, and speaker grill are on the bottom. The IR blaster is now present on the top. The phone has a plastic frame with a matte finish, so it doesn’t attract fingerprints.
It weighs 219 grams, and the weight distribution is good. The Prismatic Green color that we have has nice patterns that can be seen when the light hits at certain angles. The phone also comes in Titan Black color. There is a tiny notification LED in the camera deco.
It has IP68 + IP69 ratings for dust and water resistance, which is a first for the company in the price range. The phone also comes with military-grade durability (MIL-STD-810H).
Camera
- 50MP rear camera with Sony IMX852 sensor, f/1.8 aperture
- 2MP depth sensor with f/2.4 aperture
- 32MP front-facing camera with f/2.45 aperture
The camera UI is the same as other phones running Origin OS. It includes several features such as AR stickers, long exposure, 50MP mode, supermoon, underwater mode, and more. Even though the phone has a 50MP rear camera, the final output is 12.5MP in size after pixel binning, and the front camera output is 32MP.
Coming to the camera quality, the daylight shots are good, and it is recommended to enable HDR option, which automatically switches on HDR according to the shot, so that the dynamic range is good. The camera can focus quickly. The portrait mode has decent edge detection. Even though it doesn’t have a dedicated macro mode, 2x zoomed shots are good for macro since they can focus close.
Low-light images are decent as well, but there is noise when you zoom in. The night mode is useful, thanks to the optimization. There is also supermoon mode with up to 20x zoom, compared to 10x in the normal mode. The supermoon option is a good addition, but you can’t compare it to flagships.
The new 32MP camera does a good job in daylight, and the front camera portrait is decent as well, but it is not the best when it comes to low light.
Check out some camera samples below.
It can record videos at 4k resolution at up to 30 fps from the rear and front cameras, which the older iQOO phones in the price range lacked. It has standard and ultra stabilization. EIS does a decent job in stabilization. It doesn’t have HDR video recording or portrait video recording.
Software, UI and Apps
Coming to the software, the phone runs on Android 16 with Origin OS 6 on top. It recently got the Android security patch for May 2026. The iQOO Z11x will get 2 years of Android updates and 4 years of security updates. Even though the Android update is same as the Z10x, the security updates have been increased by 1 year.
OriginOS 6 centers around the new Origin Smooth Engine, coordinating computing, storage, and display modules for sustained system responsiveness. The Origin Animation System introduces motion effects such as Spring Animation, Blur Transition, Morphing Animation, and One Shot Animation for enhanced visual fluidity, inspired by natural elements.
- Origin Island: Real-time status bar with Android 16 Live Updates
- Copy & Go: Copy details to call, text, or schedule directly
- Drag & Go: Move photos or content seamlessly between apps
- AI Retouch: Combines AI Erase, AI HD and AI color Adjustment
- Productivity Tools: Smart Call Assistant, DocMaster, AI Creation, AI Search
- Cross-Device Integration: Office Kit for Windows and Mac and One-Tap Transfer for iQOO and iPhone offer smooth workflow
Out of 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, about 7.49GB is usable, out of which 3GB is free when the default apps are running in the background. There is an additional 8GB RAM expansion feature. Out of 256GB of storage, 221GB is free out of the box. This gets a faster UFS 3.1 storage compared to UFS 2.2 in the predecessor.
Apart from the usual set of utility and Google apps, it comes preloaded with a lot of apps such as Netflix, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Spotify, Amazon, Truecaller and PhonePe. These apps can be uninstalled, but they come back after reset.
Fingerprint sensor and Face unlock
The phone has a side-mounted fingerprint sensor that immediately unlocks the phone just by keeping your finger on the sensor. You can add up to 5 fingerprints. The phone also has face unlock that can unlock the phone in seconds, but it is not as secure as a fingerprint.
Music and Multimedia
The default music player also has an equalizer and DeepField sound effects. It doesn’t have FM radio support. There is audio super resolution and super audio features. Audio through the stereo speakers and through the headphones is good.
This has Widevine L1 so that you can play HD content on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and other streaming apps. It doesn’t support HDR playback on Netflix, but works on Netflix.
Dual SIM and Connectivity
It has the usual set of connectivity features, such as 5G with support for n1/n3/n5/n8/n28B/n38/n40/n41(2535-2655MHz)/n77/n78 bands, and supports Airtel and Jio 5G out of the box. There is also dual 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 6 802.11 ax (2.4GHz + 5GHz), Bluetooth 5.4, and GPS + GLONASS. It doesn’t have NFC support but comes with USB OTG support, and it has USB 2.0. We did not face any call drops, and the earpiece volume is good.
The stock dialer adds smart summary and AI call translation. There is also call recording without announcement. It uses Google Messages.
The iQOO Z11x’s body SAR is 1.007W/Kg and head SAR is at 1.144/Kg which is well under the limit in India, which is 1.6 W/kg (over 1 g).
Performance and Benchmarks
It is powered by MediaTek Dimensity 7400 Turbo SoC. It has 4X Arm Cortex-A78 cores at up to 2.6GHz, paired with 4X Arm Cortex-A55 cores at 2GHz. This uses TSMC’s 4nm process. It has 7,000mm² Cooling Area and utilizes a large-area vapor chamber.
The Arm Mali-G615 GPU does a good job in games. You can play graphic-intensive games like COD, BGMI, and Genshin Impact but can’t expect sustained peak performance in high graphics mode. In BGMI HDR Extreme works.
In 3D Mark wild life stress test, it scored 98.8% which is good. The temperature increased from 31 to 34 degrees, which is not much. That said, check out some synthetic benchmark scores below.
Battery life
Coming to the battery life, the phone packs a 7200mAh battery compared to 6500mAh battery in the Z10x. It can easily last for more than a day with heavy use, thanks to the optimization.
I got over 9 hours of screen on time with close to 3 days of use, mostly on Wi-Fi, and occasional 5G use with Smart Refresh Rate, which is excellent.
With support for 44W fast charging, it can charge up to 50% in about 45 minutes and up to 100% in one and a half hours. There is also a bypass charging feature when gaming, so the charging current bypasses the battery to go straight to the motherboard so it doesn’t affect the battery.
Conclusion
The iQOO Z11x 5G emerges as a rugged, endurance-focused powerhouse in the mid-range segment. By introducing a massive 7,200mAh battery alongside IP68 + IP69 dust and water resistance and military-grade durability, iQOO has shifted its focus toward extreme reliability and longevity. Upgrades like a much sharper 32MP selfie camera, UFS 3.1 storage, and 4K video recording on both fronts give it a meaningful spec bump over last year’s Z10x.
However, these structural upgrades come with undeniable trade-offs. Accommodating that gargantuan battery means the device hits a hefty 219 grams on the scale. Furthermore, a recent market price hike has pushed the starting price to Rs. 22,999, stepping into a highly competitive territory where AMOLED screens are the standard. If you can overlook the bulk, the Z11x 5G is an absolute marathon runner of a phone that refuses to die or break under pressure.
Pricing and availability
The iQOO Z11X 5G now costs Rs. 22,999 for the 6GB + 128GB model; the 8GB + 128GB model costs Rs. 24,999; and the top-end 8GB + 256GB model is priced at Rs. 26,999. This is Rs. 3000 more than the initial launch price due to increasing memory cost.
It is available through Amazon.in and iQOO India eStore.
Alternatives
The OnePlus Nord CE6 Lite is a good option in the price range. The iQOO Z10R 5G that is now available at a cheaper rate is also a good option that offers an AMOLED screen.
Pros
- Decent 120Hz LCD screen with good outdoor legibility
- Smooth everyday performance & solid thermal cooling
- Main 50MP camera performs well in daylight
- Class-leading IP68 + IP69 ratings & MIL-STD durability
- Excellent battery life for several days of standard use
Cons
- Bit bulky and heavy at 219 grams
- Heavy amount of preloaded bloatware apps