• The iQOO Neo9S Pro+ features upgraded chipset performance, unlocking features, battery life, appearance, and OS.
• Powered by Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and vivo’s Q1 gaming chipset, the newly launched Neo9S Pro+ enables flagship-level gaming performance.
• It is the first smartphone in the mid-price tier with ultrasonic 3D fingerprint sensor.

vivo’s sub-brand iQOO launched its latest premium smartphone, the iQOO Neo9S Pro+, on July 12 at an event in Beijing, China. Priced from RMB 2,999 ($412) onwards, the device features five major upgrades that provide a great overall experience especially in gaming performance. In just the first two months of Q2 2024, iQOO accounted for 25% of vivo’s total smartphone sales in China, already higher than the 22% share registered in Q2 2023, according to Counterpoint’s Market Pulse Service. This growth reflects iQOO’s increasing presence in China’s gaming phone segment.

Source: iQOO

The iQOO Neo9S Pro+ is powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 SoC and vivo’s self-developed Q1 gaming chipset. The chipset duo enables both high performance and energy efficiency. The smartphone is also equipped with a large-area VC liquid cooling structure, a 5500mAh-equivlent battery, and a 1.5K 144Hz 8T LTPO display, ensuring consistently stable and smooth performance even during extended heavy gaming sessions.

vivo has consistently been at the forefront of in-display fingerprint unlocking technology. The new iQOO Neo9S Pro+ features the flagship-level ultrasonic 3D fingerprint sensor, enabling a faster, safer and more comfortable unlocking experience. This is vivo’s first smartphone model in the RMB 3,000 ($412) price tier which has brought the ultrasonic 3D fingerprint solution to the mid-price range, marking the popularization of premium unlocking technology.

The iQOO Neo9S Pro+ has a 5500mAh battery that supports 120W fast charging. vivo has optimized the battery structure to improve energy density and ion transition speed. Despite the increased battery capacity, the device is as light as 193g, hardly changed from the previous Neo9 series model. The thickness also remains unchanged at about 8mm at the thinnest point.

As for the operating system, the iQOO Neo9S Pro+ comes natively with OriginOS 4, supporting practical AI features such as Passerby Removal and AI editing based on vivo’s self-developed BlueLM.

The iQOO Neo9S Pro+ is available in three colors – Buff Blue, Star White and Combat Black. It offers five different storage combinations – 12GB+256GB, 12GB+512GB, 16GB+256GB, 16GB+512GB, and 16GB+1TB. The price ranges from RMB 2,999 ($412) to RMB 4,099 CNY ($560).

The iQOO Neo9S Pro+ launch event at Beijing Universal Studios.

Source: Counterpoint

iQOO has positioned itself as a gaming phone brand, with a focus on prominent gaming enhancements and eye-catching appearance to mainly target the younger generation. The venue of the Neo9S Pro+ launch event, Beijing Universal Studios, also resonated with this value proposition. Counterpoint expects iQOO to continue to play a key role in vivo’s online expansion, both within and outside China.