iQOO 9 SE

The iQoo 9 SE has a polycarbonate back panel and mid-frame but feels and looks quite premium. There's no official IP rating, but you get two high-quality stereo speakers that sound great while streaming video and playing games.

The phone has a 6.62-inch 120Hz Super AMOLED display, which produces punchy colours and is also HDR10+ certified, which is rare in this price segment.

The software experience with Android 12 is smooth and fluid, but the phone does come with too many preinstalled third-party apps. Gaming performance with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC is top-notch, and the same applies to its 4,500mAh battery, which lasted a day and a half on a single charge in our tests.

Camera performance in daylight is impressive, but we expected better from the ultra-wide-angle camera. The iQoo 9 SE also shoots some good macros, and selfies shot in all kinds of lighting conditions came out nicely.