Previously, budget 5G smartphones offered the bare minimum when it came to core hardware and had cameras that basically snapped a photo without caring for image quality. Things changed over the past few years, and as the chipsets became more affordable, manufacturers were soon able to squeeze in additional hardware and add more value. With the ‘5G tax’ finally out of the equation, the expectations from a budget 5G smartphone are sky-high. Samsung offers high-refresh-rate AMOLED displays, while Motorola even provides a basic IP52 rating in smartphones priced under Rs. 15,000.
iQoo’s latest 5G contender, the Z9x adds to the sea of budget 5G smartphones that you can choose from under Rs. 15,000 these days. How does it stack up against the competition? And does it perform as expected? I’ve been using this phone for several weeks, and here’s what I think.
iQoo Z9x Review: Price in India
iQoo’s Z9x is priced rather smartly, with the base 4GB RAM and 128GB storage option on sale at Rs. 12,999 in India. The 6GB RAM variant is available at Rs. 14,499, while the 8GB RAM variant is a bit pricey at Rs. 15,999. The phone is available in two finishes: Tornado Green and Storm Grey. I received an 8GB RAM variant in the Storm Grey colourway for review.
iQoo Z9x Review: Design
As mentioned in my 
iQoo Z9x daylight camera samples: Auto mode (primary), close-up (primary), portrait mode (selfie) (tap images to expand)
Low-light photos come out a bit soft and are low on resolved detail thanks to the increased noise. Using the dedicated Night mode only makes things worse, snapping soft photos with very little detail.
Selfies captured in daylight are decent at best and don’t come out sharp as expected. The selfie camera also struggles with bright backgrounds, and photos captured in low light come out very noisy.
iQoo Z9x low light camera samples. Top: Auto mode (primary), Bottom: Night mode (tap images to expand)
The phone offers 4K 30fps video recording only on the 8GB RAM variant of the iQoo Z9x. Else the phone is limited to 1080p 30fps video recording, which seems a bit restrictive given its price. 1080p 30fps footage looked the best with decent detail and a steady framerate and managed better stability compared to the 4K 30fps footage, which appeared a bit too shaky despite capturing better detail.
iQoo Z9x Review: Verdict
The iQoo Z9x is a solid contender for a budget 5G smartphone in India. However, it does end up falling a bit short of the Moto G64 5G (Review) in some areas, including price.
The Moto G64 5G is priced at an attractive Rs. 13,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant and even has a 12GB + 128GB variant at Rs. 15,999, which is what the iQoo Z9x (8GB variant) I received for review retails for.
Pricing aside, the G64 5G definitely has an attractive design, offers a clean and near-stock serving of Android 14 and has a primary camera with optical image stabilisation (OIS) along with an ultrawide camera as well.
Samsung’s Galaxy M34 5G (launched last year) seems like a solid contender and is available from Rs. 14,999 for the 8GB + 128GB variant. It offers a 120Hz AMOLED display, has been upgraded to Android 14 and offers three rear-facing cameras, including a primary camera with OIS. However, it lacks the budget gaming performance, IP rating and fast-charging capabilities of the above two.
What the iQoo Z9x excels at is an IP64 rating and faster 44W wired charging. So, if these are your priorities when picking a budget 5G smartphone, then the iQoo Z9x should be high up on your list. For everything else, Motorola and Samsung seem to offer a better overall package.
