The global versions of the iQOO 9 and 9 Pro launch in India, accompanied by a 9 SE

iQOO has launched new flagship-series phones on the Indian market as promised earlier. However, the phone the brand now calls the global version of the 9 is not the same as the device introduced as the brand's 2022 vanilla flagship variant in China.

In fact, this new incarnation of the iQOO 9 is in fact an 8, albeit with a Snapdragon 888+ SoC in place of that phone's 888. Its OEM has also elected to exchange that phone's 50MP main camera for a 48MP shooter instead, possibly so that the 9 Pro is the only one in the new global flagship series with this spec.

Indeed, the 9 Pro has arrived in India as the full-fat top-end mobile device from the January 2022 Chinese-market launch. This means its offers an ISOCELL GN1 sensor as a main camera, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and the only E5 AMOLED panel of its renewed line-up: attributes that apparently empower iQOO to tout the Pro as "India's most advanced flagship" to date.

Both the 9 and 9 Pro have been released to Amazon.in with either 8GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, or as 12GB/256GB top-end SKUs. The 9's starting price has been announced as INR 42,990 (~US$573), whereas that of the Pro is INR 64.990 (~US$866).

For those looking to spend a little less, there is also the iQOO 9 SE. There is no phone of this name available in China, and that is largely because it is a rebranded Neo5S. Accordingly, it offers the Snapdragon 888 SoC and the same main camera as the slightly modified 9. It is priced at INR 33,990 (~$453) for an 8/128 GB SKU or INR 37,990 (~$453), but will not be available until March 2, 2022.