iQOO 13 Review: Could have been the perfect phone for me...

[@jeffs_2839]

really suprr appreciate for ur honest and down to earth review! sub!

[@axhng]

thanks!!! :)

[@raghavcherukupally994]

Funtouch os is a deal breaker , however good iqoo might get with hardware. Funtouch needs a major makeover to even come close of xioami hyperos , forget oneui, oxygen os

[@axhng]

yeah... i feel the same too. FuntouchOS is a dealbreaker for me too. 🤣

[@lancerich5015]

Please do an in-depth review on OnePlus 13 and also a separate in-depth video on comparing the OnePlus 13 and ipoo 13 mentioning which is better in each segment.

[@axhng]

Unfortunately probably won't be able to do a comparison since even if I do buy the OnePlus 13 (which i'm not sure whether or not i would yet), i don't keep plan on keeping the iQOO 13 since the display doesn't work for my eyes. but the choice between op13 and iQOO 13 should be pretty straightforward though? iQOO for better gaming performance experience, flat screen. OnePlus for better camera performance, likely a better screen for eyestrain since it seems to have all brightness DC-like dimming, a more well rounded experience overall, plus for the global version better software. The camera performance on the iQOO 13 is so underwhelming to me that I'm fairly sure OnePlus can beat it easily, and FuntouchOS 15 from what i've seen doesn't seem that different from FuntouchOS 14, which was one of my least favourite android software experience around. 🤣

[@lancerich5015]

@@axhng Thanks for letting know and also thanks for giving your opinion on the two phones. I really liked your iqoo 13 review, thought I could see your OnePlus 13 review. I understand that the comparison is not possible since you will return the iqoo 13 but do try to get hold of a OnePlus 13 and give your review on it :)

[@axhng]

@@lancerich5015 haha. thanks. constantly taking losses from buying and selling phones just for reviews isn't exactly sustainable. So these days i'm a bit more picky about what to buy. but i am at least somewhat interested in the phone since we don't exactly have a ton of options here in SG. if the CN sets are able to be flashed with global ROM, and are cheaper, i might get those too instead. 🤣keeping an eye out for sure.

[@lancerich5015]

@@axhng when compared to other chinese phone's, OnePlus is a brand which is used by many globally. So I am sure if you make an in-depth review, it would be useful for many. Hope you will consider :)

[@cj7073]

will u be testing out the vivo flagships as well? your reviews are solid and up to the point?

[@axhng]

hmm. not sure if i'll test vivo's flagships since I usually care more about performance rather than cameras, and they have the same software experience too, but is just overall more expensive. 😅but if i do spot a good deal for one, i might give it a go though, especially something like the mini.

[@chinsengfatt]

been missing your phone review for some time

[@axhng]

thanks for the support!👍

[@Akemisherilyn]

I just feel that maybe hoyo had a deal with apple not to release controller support for andriod 😅

[@axhng]

it could be a possibility, but then there's no evidence for that too. so it could be some other companies or factors too. But well, in the end, it's still Hoyoverse's fault and issue to fix.😂

[@jeffs_2839]

​@@axhng i bought a controller in hopes of Genshin supports it one day. now its already sold and i don't even play the game anymore😂

[@KH-qk3kv]

Missed you! If you like your Space Travel I highly recommend upgrading to the Moca - much better battery life, an actual case, and better tuning (though that's debatable). Or join me in splurging on the Star Rail collab TWS whenever it comes out ;) I absolutely agree - if I have a device in my pocket which I can connect to a controller and a monitor and game at reasonable resolution and framerates - I would immediately sell my noisy, power hungry PC. It's just a shame that the choice of games on mobile is mostly limited to gacha. Hopefully Apple will pave the way for AAA gaming on mobile, and Qualcomm will offer similar experience on cheaper smartphones!

[@axhng]

haha. I'm sticking to budget options nowadays since my main usage is for jogging, and something that can be cheaply replaced is more ideal. that said, i've had my space travel for over a year now and it's still working great, even after covering close to 2k km. so probably not going to splurge of the robin TWS since i'm going to abuse it. haha. i think for gaming, the sd8 elite is probably good enough to handle emulating newer and more graphically intensive games. though i guess it just might be down to the business model since people probably aren't willing to spend that much money at one go, on a game they play on their phone. 🤣 I kinda don't have high hopes for apple anymore considering their phones have such poor thermals compared to recent android phones. no matter how good their chip is, it won't be able to work well if it has to throttle hard. Unless they put in real effort in that area, AAA games probably won't be able to run well on their phones, not without a ton of external cooling at least. haha. i have higher hopes for android and qualcomm these days :D

[@farhanabdurrohman270]

finally new video from you!

[@DeepteshLovesTECH]

5:44 Hi Alex, can you check that if you enable the "force desktop mode" from the developer options enables the experimental desktop mode on the external monitor? Please.

[@axhng]

still not working for me. 😅

[@DeepteshLovesTECH]

@@axhng what does it show? Black screen? I'm really curious. OnePlus does allow the experimental desktop mode on external display.

[@axhng]

@@DeepteshLovesTECH yeah. it doesn't show anything. but not too surprising since OnePlus usually is a bit better when it comes to these things. OriginOS is a China only OS so unsurspringly that they wouldn't bother with whatever new desktop mode google is cooking up with in Android 15 too. 😅

[@YoloTub3]

It's a damn shame gaming phones don't want to make their frame generation support for all apps

[@axhng]

yeah. i think part of it is that for the frame generation to work well with low latency on a phone, it might need to be specifically optimised since thermals is a very big concern on phones... but then in vivo's case, their method of require games to be whitelisted means that even games that should have been optimised for frame generation already like Genshin, is being restricted to the Chinese client, and not working for the global client. quite disappointing to see. or perhaps it's intentional so that ppl will buy their global versions instead of importing the cheaper Chinese variants. 🤣

[@cslul]

Welcome back 🎉

[@axhng]

😅

[@b.s.robert]

best review of iqoo 13!🎉

[@axhng]

thank you for your kind words!

[@jeffs_2839]

fot real, best!

[@tembakdalam4258]

bro how do you connect your phone to tv with high quality? mine looks like low quality and low fps

[@axhng]

I'm not sure? I just plugged it into a USB-C to HDMI adapter that supports up to 4k30. there isn't really any settings to change too since it just mirrors the screen and nothing else. My monitor is 1080p60 only anyway. perhaps it's the adapter itself?

[@iamafzal78614]

Watching on my IQOO 13❤

[@orekihoutarou2873]

Hey since you're sensitive to OLED flicker what's the smartphone you use as your daily driver?

[@axhng]

at this moment, iPhone SE 2022. Will probably try one of those newer phones using LTPS and full DC-like dimming next. 😂

[@orekihoutarou2873]

@axhng bro SE 2 has even lower PWM dimming how are you finding IQOO 13 harsher on eyes

[@axhng]

​@@orekihoutarou2873 from what i understand, LCD screens don't use PWM to dim the screen since they are back lit. they are mostly flicker free. if you use very high shutterspeed like I did in the review, it wouldn't have those "lines" going across the screen at all. you might be thinking about the OLED iphones which has around 480Hz PWM dimming these days?

[@HanSpies82]

Is VoLTE available here for this phone?

[@axhng]

I think it does. it has the HD voice icon next to the carrier, and i know it did for my old Neo9S Pro. But i haven't had the chance to test it out yet on this device specifically since I rarely make or receive calls.😅 i don't have another line i can test it on right this moment, but once i can catch someone at home to borrow a phone from to double check, i'll update here.

[@HanSpies82]

@axhng Thanks Alex!

[@axhng]

@@HanSpies82 yo, just tested, and VoLTE works. 👍

[@nurhollissam1501]

Can I directly connect with usb-c monitor using usb-c cable?

[@axhng]

i didn't try that since i don't have a USB-C monitor and they don't specifically list DP Alt Mode support, but my guess is that it does? the adapter i'm using i believe is using DP Alt Mode to connect to the display based on the product listing. 😅

[@nurhollissam1501]

@@axhngOh. Thanks for the info. Really appreciate it🙂

[@pulloversir1448]

I think camera downgrade was a wrong move especially the 3x periscope. Telemacro on iqoo 12 was crazy good. Disappointed after waiting 4 months for buying iqoo 13 💔😭

[@axhng]

I'm wondering if they intentionally did that not just to cut some cost (since apparently prices for storage and 8 Elite is higher), but also to ensure that they can still keep selling the iQOO 12/12 Pro for a while longer. even the image processing seems to be a bit worse and a bit more like their Neo series this time round rather than the more expensive vivo phones. So for folks who care about gaming more than camera, can get 13, then those that want something a bit more balanced, can get 12 Pro. 😅 but yeah, that 3x telephoto with macro was so good. was really surprised when i was testing the phone.

[@siddheshsutar3042]

Which controller you use for that mouse cursor on device while playing on moniter

[@axhng]

i think you meant in Wuthering Waves right? that's just how their UI interacts with controller actually. they have that sort of cursor-like indicator when selecting stuff.

[@OggyChwan]

Say wuwa has frame interpolation on this? Or up scaling?

[@axhng]

no idea about the global version of iQOO 13 with FuntouchOS, but on CN OriginOS it doesn't. Most of their upscaling, frame interpolation stuff are only for supported games whitelisted by iQOO, and for OriginOS, they only do it for Chinese versions of the game. Like Genshin china client got support for upscaling, frame interpolation. but on the global Genshin client from the Play Store, it only has upscaling on OriginOS 5 (i'm not even sure if it's running the game at higher resolution instead of actual upscaling).

[@OggyChwan]

@ one more question is creaking really bad? Like is it noticeable in normal usage? Or inside case? I would probably have to look for other options if its bad

[@axhng]

@@OggyChwan for my unit, it is sadly. it was because i noticed it on my unit that I did a search and found out how common it was. I imagine if it's a very hard and rigid case, it will probably minimise the creaking a lot. but for the included TPU case, it is quite noticeable. I've seen some comments saying newer units are better, but then i've seen ppl saying that after using a while and after the phone has heat up a bit, the creaking becomes more obvious again. I'll be a gamble though. maybe have to check with user with global units (usually later manufacture date) are the same too. this is something they might secretly fix too.

[@OggyChwan]

@ so i did some research and it would seem issues is with mostly Chinese units and specifically on legend or white variants

[@axhng]

@@OggyChwan yeah. i've seen some comments mentioning that too with white being the worse IIRC hahaha. but i feel like there isn't a big enough set of data to really confirm this though. it could just be varying QC.

[@chookwangzhee1889]

Whats the link to buy thisbphone?

[@axhng]

usually shopee or lazada would be your best bet, though i don't want to link a particular store since prices may vary, and sometimes some stores will have better prices. I would just wait till 12.12 to see and compare prices. As a gauge, cheapest I saw for the 12/256GB CN set was around 71X SGD on shopee. If you're looking for Malaysian sets, that on probably have to look on carousell for some shops who will be selling it, or get a friend in MY to help buy 😅

[@tamagotchi_old_star]

I am wondering which of the two phones to get, the iqoo 13 or the oppo find x8.

[@axhng]

if want better camera, then Find X8, since the iQOO 13's camera performance isn't great. if want better gaming performance and USB 3.2 Gen1, iQOO 13? but then no local sets for iQOO 13, and MY sets aren't exactly cheap. 😄

[@tamagotchi_old_star]

@axhng And this for the eyes, as far as I know oppo has 3840Hz PWM while iqoo 13 has 2592Hz PWM. Will oppo be better for eye protection?

[@axhng]

​@@tamagotchi_old_star in theory... but unfortunately i still don't know enough to be able to say for sure. I've seen some display reviewers on bilibili mention that might have to see the implementation too. but in the end, the only way to judge is with your own eyes. whichever isn't straining your eyes is usually the one that's better. I've used phones that some display reviewers say are good for eye care with "testing" and SVM data or whatnot to show for, but they caused a ton of eyestrain for me. 😅

[@TheRajeshphadke]

Which phone has better/ best screen indoors or outdoors?

[@axhng]

i haven't tested enough of the newer phones to be able to give a proper answer. 🤣

[@TheRajeshphadke]

​@@axhngWhich one is having better screen from your experience, doesn't need to be latest phone.

[@axhng]

hmm. maybe the iphone 15 pro max if we completely ignore eye strain. bright outdoor, and colours are nice. the iQOO 13's screen is nice too, and i have the 1TB version with AR coating which looks good, but the colours feels a little bit off to me.

[@TheRajeshphadke]

​@@axhngQuery was / is specifically from eye strain perspective.

[@axhng]

From eye strain perspective, iPhone SE. 😂 LCD screen has almost no visible flicker and has been the most comfortable to look at for me. The LCD on the iPhone is very good quality too with nice and accurate colours and sharpness. It looks better than even even newer LCD screen phones like the poco x4 gt. Too bad the iPhone SE doesn’t have a plus model based on iPhone 8 Plus. If not I’ll buy that for sure.

[@Erikgames6172]

Increíble🎉