Most smartphone reviews are written within a week or two of a phone’s launch, when everything still feels fresh. But that’s rarely how people use their phones. A smartphone is something you rely on every day for work, entertainment, photography, gaming, and staying connected. That’s why I decided to revisit the iQOO 15R after using it as my primary device for the past few months.
Since its debut in February, the smartphone market has become even more competitive, with several new contenders entering the premium mid-range segment. Yet, the iQOO 15R continues to promise flagship-level performance, a massive 7,600mAh battery, and a compact design at a price that undercuts many rivals. After living with the Dark Knight variant for months, here’s what has impressed me the most, what hasn’t aged quite as well, and whether it’s still worth buying today.
6Cameras That Remain Reliable
The iQOO 15R was never marketed as a camera-first smartphone, and that remains true today. However, that doesn’t mean its cameras disappoint.
The 50-megapixel primary camera continues to deliver detailed, vibrant photos with reliable HDR performance. During daylight, images have plenty of detail, colours look pleasing without being overly processed, and autofocus remains quick and dependable.
Portrait shots are generally impressive, with natural background separation in most situations. The lack of a dedicated telephoto camera is noticeable when zooming beyond 2x, but that’s a compromise I expected when choosing a performance-focused phone.
The 8-megapixel ultra-wide camera remains the weakest part of the camera setup. It’s perfectly usable for occasional landscape shots, but there’s a noticeable drop in detail compared to the primary sensor.
Low-light photography is respectable, but it isn’t class-leading. Night mode helps recover additional details, though it takes a couple of seconds to process each shot. Meanwhile, some of its photography-focused rivals have started pulling ahead in this area. I also noticed that portrait shots captured in low light suffer from weaker background separation and less accurate edge detection.
The 32-megapixel front camera performs well enough for video calls and selfies, while the ability to shoot 4K 60fps videos from both the front and rear cameras remains a nice bonus for content creators.
Overall, my opinion on the cameras hasn’t changed much over the past four months. They’re dependable for everyday photography, but they aren’t the primary reason to buy the iQOO 15R.
