ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Which is better

ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: If you’re confused between buying the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra and iQOO 9 Pro, well help is here. Deciding between these two phones can be tricky but we have gathered all the key details of both phones (including test scores), compared them side by side, and here is what we found.

In this article, we’ll be doing a specs comparison of the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro. At the end of this post, you should know which is better, which to buy, and why. Check out the quick specs comparison of both phones in the table below.

ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro Specs

Specs	Axon 40 Ultra	iQOO 9 Pro
Display	6.8-inch, 120Hz	6.78-inch, 120Hz
RAM	12/16GB	8/12GB
Storage	256/512GB/1TB	256/512GB
Back Camera	64 + 64 + 64MP	50 + 16 + 50MP
Front Camera	16MP	16MP
Chipset	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1	Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
Software	Android 12	Android 12
Battery	5,000mAh (65W)	4,700mAh (120W)
IP Rating	N/A	IP53

Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Display, Build, and Design

The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra comes with a 6.8-inches AMOLED display while the iQOO 9 Pro comes with a slightly smaller 6.78-inches AMOLED display. The displays of both phones have support for 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10+. iQOO 9 Pro has support for an LTPO2 which means the screen can refresh between 120Hz and 1Hz. While the Axon 40 Ultra gives you full-screen with its under-display camera technology.

The display of the iQOO 9 Pro is not as bright as that of the Axon 40 Ultra especially out-door or under sunlight. The iQOO 9 Pro has a display resolution of 1440 x 3200 pixels (QHD+) while the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra has a display resolution of 1116 x 2480 pixels (FHD+). The designs of both phones are also very different.

Axon 40 Ultra Display — *iQOO 9 Pro display*

The front design of the iQOO 9 Pro comes with a punch-hole while the Axon 40 Ultra gives you a full screen. The build materials of the iQOO 9 Pro are Glass front (Panda Glass), aluminum frame, and glass back, or aramid fiber back while the Axon 40 Ultra has a Glass front, aluminum frame, and glass back.

As per durability, the iQOO 9 Pro is certified to be splash and dustproof. However, both phones are not water-resistant hence you should keep them away from water. The display quality of the iQOO 9 Pro is more colorful than that of the Axon 40 Ultra but the latter will give you full-screen and a brighter display.

Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Photography and Videography

Both smartphones will give you good photography and videography experience. The camera setup of the Axon 40 Ultra is 64MP primary camera, 64MP periscope telephoto, 64MP ultra-wide lens, and a 16MP selfie camera. While the camera setup of the iQOO 9 Pro is a 50MP primary camera, 16MP telephoto lens, 50MP ultra-wide lens, and a 16MP selfie camera.

The rear cameras of the Axon 40 Ultra click better photos compared to that of the iQOO 9 Pro. But the colors from the camera of the iQOO 9 Pro is more vibrant. Under low-light conditions or for night photography, the cameras of both phones offer similar quality.

iQOO 9 Pro camera — *iQOO 9 Pro rear camera*

You can also shoot videos in 8K resolution using the cameras of both smartphones. with the Axon 40 Ultra camera, you get OIS and gyro-ES stabilization while the iQOO 9 Pro camera has gimbal OIS and gyro-EIS. You also get to enjoy a telephoto lens with Axon 40 Ultra going all the way up to 3.5x optical zoom and iQOO 9 Pro 2.5x optical zoom.

iQOO 9 Pro gives you better selfie photos even though it uses the same 16MP camera sensor as the Axon 40 Ultra. The under-display camera tech is still not perfect but you can tell that the photo quality has improved in the third generation.

Performance | Storage | RAM | 5G

Axon 40 Ultra and iQOO 9 Pro are 5G phones. Both smartphones are also powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G chipset built on the 4nm process technology. Although the performance of phones is similar they’re not quite the same.

The chipset of the iQOO 9 Pro runs consistently for a longer time compared to the Axon 40 Ultra. The performance difference between both smartphones is very small. Truth is, you won’t notice the slight difference except when playing heavy games.

Below are the results of the AnTuTu, Geekbench, and 3D Wild Life on both the Axon 40 Ultra and iQOO 9 Pro:

Tests	Axon 40 Ultra	iQOO 9 Pro
AnTuTu Score	935380	1030399
GB5 Single Core	1211	1244
GB5 Multi-Core	3206	3827
3D Wild Life	8821 (53FPS)	9793 (58FPS)

The results from the table show that in most tasks, the iQOO 9 Pro will execute them faster than the Axon 40 Ultra. So, if you think the slight difference in performance is important, then the iQOO 9 Pro is a better performing phone.

ZTE Axon 40 Ultra and iQOO 9 Pro have a minimum of 8GB of RAM. The minimum storage on both smartphones is 256GB. The maximum internal storage of the OnePlus 10 Pro is 512GB while the Axon 40 Ultra goes all the way up to 1TB (the 1TB model is paired with 16GB of RAM). None of these phones have space for storage expansion via a microSD card slot.

Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Software

The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra boots MyOS 12 based on Android 12 out of the box. ZTE promises three years of major software updates and monthly security patches for the smartphone. The iQOO 9 Pro boots Origin OS Ocean based on Android 12 out of the box. vivo has promised three years of major software updates and security patches for this phone.

Both phones have support for Google Mobile Services. You can download and install apps from the Google Play store and also use other Google-related services.

Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Battery and Charging

The ZTE Axon 40 Ultra is powered by a 5,000mAh battery while the iQOO 9 Pro is powered by a 4,700mAh battery. Axon 40 Ultra has support for a 65W fast charge while iQOO 9 Pro has support for a 120W fast charge.

You can charge the iQOO 9 Pro from 0 to 100% in about 18 minutes and it also has support for a 50W wireless fast charge. The Axon 40 Ultra does not have support for a wireless charge solution.

ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Price

The price of the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra with 8 + 256GB storage option is $899 while the 8 + 256GB storage option of the iQOO 9 Pro is priced at $899. Both smartphones have the same price tag but which should you buy? See our verdict below.

Buy ZTE Axon 40 Ultra and iQOO 9 Pro

Axon 40 Ultra	Price	iQOO 9 Pro	Price
Buy on Giztop	$849	Buy on Giztop	$769

ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro: Verdict

So, between the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra and the iQOO 9 Pro which is better? The Axon 40 Ultra is a really good phone but the iQOO 9 Pro is better and here is why.

The iQOO 9 Pro has better display features, better performance, wireless charging, faster charging, and it’s cheaper. These features are all missing from the Axon 40 Ultra which has a similar price as the iQOO 9 Pro (actually current more expensive).

But, if you’re looking to rock a phone with full screen and under-display camera tech without compromising on performance, then you might look the way of the Axon 40 Ultra. Eles the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra vs iQOO 9 Pro comparison shows that the iQOO 9 Pro offers better value for the money.

So, if I’m to score both smartphones, I’ll score the ZTE Axon 40 Ultra (48%) and the iQOO 9 Pro (52%). You enjoy more features on the iQOO 9 Pro and it’s currently cheaper.