The iQOO 7 series: affordable premium 2021 smartphones that have just gone international

Following sustained hype, iQOO has finally unleashed the 7 5G  and 7 Legend on the Indian market. Both phones have been seen before, albeit only on the Chinese market: the former is a rebrand of the gaming-focused, Snapdragon 870-powered Neo5, whereas the latter is its brand's top-end BMW-themed 2021 flagship.

Accordingly, the "new" 7-series comes with identical specs to their respective pre-existing Chinese-market counterparts - with some caveats. It seems iQOO could not get its super-powered 120W charging technology cleared with the Indian authorities, which means the 7 Legend's 4000mAh battery has the up-to-66W FlashCharge standard instead.

Nevertheless, iQOO asserts that it enables the 7 Legend to charge to 100% in an estimated 22 minutes. It also still benefits from its 120Hz FHD+ AMOLED display, extra-large cooling-system and distinctive BMW racing livery-inspired rear panel.

Then again, the new 7 and 7 Legend run on FunTouch OS 11 (based on Android 11) rather than their OEM's newer (if potentially bloaty) OriginOS, as they are international variants. However, as they start at just INR 31,990 (~US$428) and 39,990 (~$535) respectively for 8GB RAM/128GB internal storage base SKUs, some consumers might be inclined to live with their compromises.

Their release will begin from May 1, 2020 via Amazon.in or iQOO's Indian webstore, and will hopefully be followed by more in additional regions soon.

The iQOO 7 is also available on Amazon.com