IQOO 13 first look: Looks like a promising pocket powerhouse

We live in a strange time. Cars fitted with Snapdragon chips and phones fitted with a BMW badge. Anyway, we’re here and it is happening.

IQOO has delivered some good-looking phones with the BMW badge, and the IQOO 13 is another one of these phones. Our unit is the Legend (white) colour; right off the bat, the phone looks and feels good. But before we get into the first look article, here’s a quick spec-sheet rundown to know what to expect from this phone.

IQOO 13 specifications

IQOO 13 box contents

The box contains the phone, a USB-C charger, USB-C to C cable, clear case, and a SIM tool with paperwork

You have a standard but sorted unboxing experience. The phone comes in a relatively large, all-black box with IQOO and BMW branding embossed on it. The phone is the first thing you’ll see, then there’s a clear case, a 120-watt USB-C charger, and a USB-C to C cable in the box. You also get a SIM tool in a fancy BMW placeholder, but that’s it.

Essentially, the box has everything you need to get started with the device. But badging-wise, at least the charger and cable should have some sort of BMW colours to them. The fit, finish and packaging are all top-notch, but I somehow expected something special when unboxing this phone.

The first look and feel

Moment of truth here, the first time I picked up the IQOO 13, I already knew some of the specifications. I knew the IQOO 13 had a 6,000 mAh battery, and I had recently tested another phone with the same battery capacity so I assumed it would be heavy. To my surprise, this phone feels light. Despite weighing 213 grams, the distribution is good enough to make it feel light in the hand.

The boxy design and metal sides make it look premium, the matte-white finish also looks good, and the IQOO and BMW branding at the back is also etched onto the phone. While the back doesn’t catch smudges easily, the sides are fingerprint magnets. IQOO has used a blacked-out finish for the bump, with a massive ring light outlining the camera section. Come to think of it, the flash is the DRL, and this big ring light is the headlight of a BMW.

IQOO 13 display

I like this part. The IQOO 13 has a 6.8-inch 2K 144hz display, and those specs alone are enough to peg it as something you’d want to game on. This is also a bright screen with 4500nits peak brightness and that shows too. On first boot, I was sitting beside a couple of large windows with the sun behind me. I dialed up the brightness and it was sharp as ever.

While I haven’t played games on it, a display this bright, with 144hz refresh and a 2K resolution should be a good package for gamers. We’ll know the full performance only in the detailed review, so you stick around for that.

IQOO 13 cameras

2025 sounds like a promising year. This is the third phone I’m testing as 2024 comes to an end, and the camera specifications have gone up. IQOO 13 has a 50MP + 50MP + 50MP rear camera setup. So all three lenses, the wide, ultra-wide, and telephoto are now 50MP each.

Coming to the performance of these cameras, the main sensor manages to capture great detail in natural light. The ultrawide has no warping issue, but there is some loss of detail compared to the main camera. With the telephoto lens, the detail, colours, and sharpness of the photos are good.

However, low light and artificial light performance are yet to be tested in our comprehensive review. But in the first look, this looks like a promising camera system.

IQOO 13 First look: Verdict

This is a first look article, and the whole point is to let you know what you should expect if you decide to go with this phone. The IQOO 13 has a premium build, a bright display, powerful specifications and promising cameras. It also has a large battery pack but the weight distribution is good enough to make this phone feel light to hold.

Wrapping up, I can say that this will be a solid option if you’ve wanted to buy an IQOO phone, or even something a bit different from the traditional flagships. That said, stay tuned to Techlusive and we will soon bring you a detailed, in-depth review of the IQOO 13.