iQOO Z10 Review – Huge battery and bright screen – is this the best phone for e-hailing drivers?

I was recently asked by a friend who drives for an e-hailing service what the best phone would be for someone in his line of work. It turned out to be an interesting question, especially when you consider how their needs differ from those of typical users who may prioritise good cameras or top-shelf performance.

Instead, the quintessential e-hailing driver has different priorities – a large display that’s bright enough to use under the sun and, more importantly, enough battery life to last an entire day out on the road. It also needs to be affordable and durable enough to survive Malaysia’s unpredictable weather especially for e-hailing drivers who ride on bikes.

With these needs in mind, iQOO’s latest offering – the iQOO Z10, which retails from RM1,399 – checks off all the boxes on paper. Here’s our iQOO Z10 review, where we explore whether it’s the best phone for delivery riders and those in the e-hailing industry.

iQOO Z10 review – Build and Design

The iQOO Z10 is intended as a large and affordable midrange phone that offers as much bang for the buck as possible. While iQOO is primarily a gaming subbrand of vivo, what’s good for the goose is also good for the gander and the iQOO Z10’s capabilities as a gaming phone fits the bill for an e-hailing driver phone in more ways than one.

In terms of build and design, our iQOO Z10 review sample has a fairly conventional candybar shaped design with a large rounded camera housing that dominates the backplate. The corners are rounded along with the edges and display that all have gentle curves that are intended to make it more comfortable to wield.

The backplate of our iQOO Z10 review sample is made of lighter polycarbonate and comes in a shade of Glacier Silver that works out to a satin silver finish with subtle striations that reflect when held under sunlight. While the phone is light, it also feels rather plasticky when held. 

Dominating the rear of the backplate is an impressive looking camera housing though it’s mostly for aesthetics as it only has one 50MP main camera though it does benefit from optical image stabilisation for shots and videos as well as a secondary depth sensor. While this is somewhat undergunned for a content creator or more serious user to take good snaps, it’s more than sufficient for the needs of e-hailing drivers who need to take packages to confirm delivery with the OIS helping to ensure cleaner shots.

The rest of the phone is of fairly standard design with a power button and volume rocker on the right, a SIM card tray as well as a USB-C port and speaker grille on the base and an otherwise bare left and top portion. Of note is that the chassis of our iQOO Z10 review sample also has an IP65 dust and water resistance rating which allows it to survive the random rain showers that are characteristic of Malaysia’s weather.

The design also has reinforced corners, securely sealed internal components and elastic materials integrated into its construction to grant it a MIL-STD-810H rating that allows it to survive a modicum of shock and drops and Shield Glass protecting the display that is 150% more drop-resistant than the glass used in the older Z9. 

While it doesn’t quite win points for distinctive looks or style, it has it where it counts with a durable and water resistant chassis and a reinforced display. iQOO has also generously bundled in a free casing and charger on top of the usual USB-C cable to go with the phone, allowing users to save money on buying extra accessories. 

iQOO Z10 review – Performance and Benchmarks

In terms of hardware, our iQOO Z10 review sample with 512GB storage comes with the following specifications:

Price	RM1,599 (512GB), RM1,399 (256GB)
Display	6.77-inch Eyecare AMOLED, 2,392 x 1080 pixels, 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3, 5,000 nits peak brightness
Processor	Snapdragon 7s Gen3
OS	Android 15 w/ Funtouch OS 15
Memory	12GB LPDDR4x RAM / 512GB UFS 2.2 storage
Cameras	50MP f/1.8 with Sony IMX882 sensor w/ OIS + 2MP f/2.4 [rear] / 32MP f/2.0 [front]
Battery	7,300mAh Gen 3 Silicon Bluevolt battery w/ 90W FlashCharge wired charging, wireless charging
Size/Weight	163.4 x 76.4 x 7.9 mm / 199g

The hardware is distinctly midrange with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor offering proven performance with a low power draw which works in its favour to offer better endurance in the field. This is paired with a decent 12GB RAM with 12GB of additional virtual RAM off the onboard storage with our iQOO Z10 review sample packing the maximum 512GB of onboard storage for RM1,599 A cheaper variant with 256GB is also available for RM200 less. When subjected to benchmarks, it scored the following:

3D Mark Steel Nomad Light	383
3D Mark Steel Nomad Light Unlimited	377
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme	1,067
3D Mark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited	1,055
Geekbench 6 Single Core	1,162
Geekbench 6 Multi Core	3,265
Geekbench 6 OpenCL	3,368
Geekbench 6 Vulkan	4,486
PC Mark Work 3.0	11,233
PC Mark Battery Life	31 hours 20 mins

In general, the phone is able to support all day to day tasks and even has Google’s Gemini AI assistant on call for support by holding down the power button. While it was unable to run some of the more demanding tests like 3D Mark Solar Bay, the Snapdragon 7s Gen3 has more than enough performance to handle any task expected of a phone and most games on default settings including Call of Duty Mobile, MLBB and Honor of Kings without issue.

In terms of overall call quality, our iQOO Z10 review sample did not encounter any issues and consistently maintained a stable signal across most areas of the Klang Valley. While network performance ultimately depends on your chosen telco, we did not experience any major signal drops during our review period – even in multiple carparks.

iQOO Z10 Review – Massive Battery and Endurance

Where the iQOO Z10 shines is its battery life. Arguably the most impressive feature on the phone, the iQOO Z10 has an absolutely massive 7,300mAh battery that also has 90W wired fast charging and 7.5W reverse wired charging to charge other devices. On paper, the phone is rated to offer up to 35.5 hours of YouTube viewing and easily a full day of e-hailing work. 

In PC Mark’s battery life test, it managed to score a whopping 31 hours and 20 minutes of battery life, easily trumping premium flagships that cost thrice more. In practical field tests, it was comfortably able to offer 2 days of normal usage without issue and charging it was equally fast. From dead zero, it was able to charge to about 50% in about 35 minutes on the default bundled charger in the unlikely event you need to top it up in the field which is impressive for a midrange phone.

iQOO Z10 review – Large EyeSafe AMOLED display

The front display is generously sized for a midrange phone with a 6.77-inch 120Hz Eyecare AMOLED display that offers 2,392 x 1080 pixels resolution, a smooth 120hz refresh rate, a surprising 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut and most importantly, 5,000 nits peak brightness to ensure readability even under direct sunlight. 

That’s not all, the display itself also has an SGS Low Blue Light certification, which helps protect against eyestrain during extended use; invaluable for e-hailing drivers who rely on staring at their phone on long shifts for directions. For e-hailing drivers who work the night shift, the display also offers 3,840Hz PWM dimming, ensuring a more comfortable, flicker-free viewing experience especially in dim light. 

These qualities make the iQOO Z10’s display ideally suited for e-hailing drivers as it’s bright enough for use under sunlight, comfortable enough for viewing in dim light and FHD+ resolution ensures that it’s sharp enough to ensure text are pin sharp onscreen which is critical for e-hailing drivers to read addresses or other details onscreen. Perhaps the only quibble here is that the phone only has a mono speaker set into the bottom half of the phone – while it isn’t particularly detailed, it’s loud enough for hands-free speaker calls under normal circumstances such as the interior of a car.

Should you buy the iQOO Z10?

On its own merits, the iQOO Z10 offers a large and vibrant display, exceptional battery life – the best we’ve seen in a midrange phone and even across flagships models too – and enough performance to handle the demands of everyday use.

What’s particularly impressive is that it delivers all this at a modest price. This combination of features — long-lasting endurance, affordability, and a bright, expansive screen — makes it a highly recommended option for those in the e-hailing industry, especially considering its value for money.

iQOO Z10 review sample courtesy of iQOO Malaysia. To purchase and for more details please visit https://www.iqoo.com/my/products/z10-5g