The thin race was a short-lived one. Now, Chinese phone makers are on to the next smartphone fad: the active cooling fan. I know—Redmagic has had that for a while, but I guess the rest of the companies realized that if they want a phone to be acknowledged as a gaming phone, it has got to have one. Vivo’s sub-brand iQOO has been taking note.
Following fellow phone maker Honor, which launched its first phone with an active fan, WIN, and Huawei’s active fan edition Mate 80, it also introduced its own. Joining the iQOO 15 Series is the new iQOO 15 Ultra, a phone determined to keep your device chill when the going gets tough (read: hot).
Under the hood, the 3 nm process Snapdragon 8 Elite and Monster Super-Core Engine benefit from a combination of active and passive heat dissipation technologies, including a high-volume fan, an 8K Ice Dome VC heat spreader, an ultra-high thermal-conductivity graphite layer, and Ice Dome thermal-insulation aerogel for efficient heat dissipation, thus affording sustained high-frame-rate gaming at smooth-to-max graphics settings and at the highest possible refresh rate (up to 144 Hz)—all while keeping the system cool.
We are talking about temperatures between 35.2 and 37.3° Celsius while playing popular 5V5 tactical shooter mobile games, popular MOBA mobile games, and popular search-and-fight shooter mobile games for a period of an hour.
The fan, which measures 17 mm in diameter and boasts 59 blades, is capable of delivering 0.315 CFM. It offers three levels of speed with noise as low as 20 dB. The active fan system features a concealed air intake and dual dust filters that effectively prevent sand and dust from entering. The fan and the air channel are IPX8 and IPX9 rated for water resistance. And understanding that it will probably invite dust to live at the grille, iQOO has included a tiny dust brush for your external self-maintenance routines. The device itself is IP68/IP69 rated, btw.
The powerful processor and Monster engine are complemented by fast UFS 4.1 storage and LPDDR5X Ultra Pro memory. The aforementioned gaming performance is also thanks in part to the Q3 chip, iQOO’s self-developed gaming chip. iQOO said the 15 Ultra is capable of running 2K original-image super-resolution at 120 fps, with full-scene ray tracing to boot. It also boasts QNSS Super Rendering Technology, allowing it to achieve higher super-resolution and super-frame rates.
Befitting its status as a gaming phone, the new iQOO 15 Ultra [CH] also touts a pair of shoulder triggers. The ultra-sensitive shoulder buttons feature one-click mapping and promise deep hardware and software collaboration, thereby enabling you to become a “four-finger” master, previously reserved for elite, ultra-talented players. Man, how times have changed! I used to play PUBG Mobile with third-party triggers, and it was frowned upon back then. Word was that it was banned, and folks like me who used triggers were ostracized. Now look who’s having the last laugh. Not everyone is good at contorting their fingers.
Anyhoo, the shoulder buttons tout a 600 Hz sampling rate, further feature an anti-sweat algorithm, and are fully mappable. Meanwhile, the 6.85-inch QHD+ AMOLED display (3168 × 1440) with a 144 Hz adaptive refresh rate further offers up to 4,000 Hz instant touch sampling rate, up to 480 Hz multi-touch sampling rate, and up to 500 Hz sampling rate.
Gaming immersion is enabled by a dual-speaker setup, Dolby Atmos, and a so-called Warhammer MAX dual-axis haptic motor, which produces different vibrations based on the in-game direction of a particular event.
Some may question whether it can really play games for an hour or more, in addition to daily use like calls, texts, and whatnot. Well, I cannot see how a massive 7,400 mAh battery can’t handle it. The battery boasts a second-generation semi-solid-state battery and fourth-generation silicon anode technology, making it more durable while supporting faster charging.
Speaking of charging, it supports 100 W ultra-fast FlashCharge, supports both PD/PPS protocols, 40 W wireless charging, and there’s this thing known as Direct Drive Power Supply 2.0 that lets you play while charging without damaging the battery. It even comes with an L-shaped charging/data cable, so it does not get in the way.
For those who game on the move, it has the Global Esports Network System 2.0 that ensures you stay connected even in subways. OK. Probably only in China’s subway system.
As for imaging, it has a 50 MP tri-camera setup comprising a 50 MP Sony ultra periscope telephoto camera with self-developed OIS, a 50 MP Sony super-stabilized large-sensor main camera with self-developed OIS, and a 50 MP ultra wide-angle camera.
Other worthy mentions include dual nano-SIM, 2G–5G radios, Face Wake facial recognition, full-function NFC, an ultrasonic 3D fingerprint sensor, dual-band Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-C), and the usual positioning systems and sensors expected of a Chinese flagship handset.
The iQOO 15 Ultra is available now in China in a choice of black or silver, and in 16 + 256 GB, 16 + 512 GB, 16 + 1 TB, and 24 GB + 1 TB configurations. Prices start at 5,699 yuan [CH] (roughly US$835 today).
Images: Vivo [CH].
