Vivo’s subsidiary brand iQOO has unveiled a new high-end smartphone, the iQOO Z1, earlier today. It’s a gaming-focussed smartphone that has been launched for the Chinese market as of now, but we can expect to make it to other countries in the coming months. The iQOO Z1 is also the first smartphone to feature MediaTek’s Dimensity 1000+ flagship processor.

iQOO already has two high-end smartphones in its lineup—iQOO 3 5G and iQOO Neo 3 5G—with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. However, the company has launched one more high-end smartphone, albeit at a slightly lower price. The iQOO Z1 was announced today for the Chinese market, and it features MediaTek Dimensity 1000+ SoC, a 144Hz screen, a 48MP triple-camera setup, and a 4500mAh battery.

iQOO Z1 Features, Specs

The iQOO Z1 sports a 6.57-inch IPS LCD screen with a 144Hz refresh rate, unlike the iQOO 3 5G with a 60Hz OLED screen. It has Full HD+ resolution, HDR10+ content playback, and a punch-hole cutout towards its top-right corner for the selfie camera. A faster refresh rate is beneficial for gamers as it means minimal screen tearing and faster response times. However, faster refresh rates also make the whole smartphone experience smoother, thanks to smoother animations and scrolling.

The phone runs Android 10 with iQOO UI 1.0. The iQOO Z1 is the first phone to use MediaTek’s newest flagship smartphone chipset, the Dimensity 1000+. The new, 7nm SoC features four Cortex-A77 cores clocked at 2.6GHz, four Cortex-A55 cores clocked at 2GHz, and Mali-G77 MC9 GPU. The chipset is paired with 6GB/8GB LPDDR4X RAM and 128GB/256GB UFS 2.1 storage. It lacks a microSD card slot, like most other high-end phones.

In the imaging department, the phone uses a cut-down camera setup when compared to the iQOO 3 5G. It has a 48MP+8MP+2MP triple-camera setup at the rear and a 16MP selfie camera at the front. The 48MP primary sensor F1.8 aperture, 26mm wide-angle lens, PDAF, and 4K 30fps video recording. Yes, it lacks an option to record 4K 60fps videos. The 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera has an F2.2 aperture and 112-degree field-of-view. The 2MP sensor is dedicated to shooting macro images and lacks autofocus.

Wireless connectivity features of the phone include GPS, dual-mode 5G (SA+NSA), LTE, Wi-Fi b/g/n/ac/ax, Wi-Fi Direct, NFC, USB 2.0 Type-C port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The iQOO Z1 is also the world’s first phone with dual-SIM 5G connectivity, which means you can connect to 5G networks using compatible SIM cards in both its slots. The phone also features stereo speakers and liquid cooling head dissipation

A 4,500mAh battery powers the Z1, and it supports up to 44W fast charging via the bundled charger. The bundled charger can charge the phone’s battery to 50% charge in 23 minutes and 100% charge in just 36 minutes. The phone will be available in two colors: Galaxy Silver and Space Blue. There’s also a special edition of the phone called One Piece, and it features the One Piece skull and logo at the rear.

iQOO Z1 Price, Release Date

The base variant of the iQOO Z1 with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage costs CNY 2,198 (around $209). The variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage is priced at CNY 2,498 (around $351). The top-end variant of the iQOO Z1 costs CNY 2,798 (around $393).

The iQOO Z1 is already available up for pre-orders in China through Vivo’s online store. The phone will be available for pre-orders through the official website and other e-commerce stores from May 25. It will go on sale in China from June 1, 2020.

iQOO Z1 Official Gaming Accessories, Prices

The Bluetooth Controller with a joystick for the iQOO Z1 is priced at CNY 159 (around $22), while the official covers and neckband-style Bluetooth wireless earphones cost CNY 39 (around $6) and CNY 269 (around $38), respectively.