iQOO's Neo12 phone hides a 59-blade cooling fan and a 9,000mAh battery inside, from about $630
vivo's iQOO brand launched the Neo12 in China with a built-in 17mm cooling fan, a 9,000mAh battery, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a 185Hz screen, starting at CNY 4,199.
vivo’s product page for its iQOO sub-brand gives the fan’s size as 17×17mm and its peak airflow as 9,770 cubic centimeters a minute. There are three modes, which vivo names low-noise, smart and speed. The page lists no noise figure for any of them.
GSMArena’s launch report adds the blade count: “The Neo12 comes with the custom 59-blade fan that is claimed to have increased airflow by around 10%.” That 59 doesn’t appear on vivo’s page.
The fan cools “the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC” plus what GSMArena calls iQOO’s “Q3 gaming chipset.” The screen is a “6.83-inch AMOLED display developed by Visionox” running at “185Hz and a 2K resolution with a 2,200 nit peak brightness.”
Power is the other headline. “The phone packs a large 9,000mAh battery with 100W wired charging support.” vivo rates it IP68 and IP69 and lists weights from 225 to 229 grams, at 8.5 to 8.67 mm thick depending on finish.
The cameras are modest next to all that: “a 50MP Sony IMX921 main rear sensor with OIS and an 8MP ultrawide,” per GSMArena, with “a 16MP sensor” for selfies.
GSMArena says “It is already available for purchase in China and starts at CNY 4,199 ($630) for the 12GB/256GB model.” The top 16GB and 1TB version is CNY 6,299.
| iQOO Neo12 | iQOO Neo11 (Oct 2025) | iQOO Neo11 Ultra (Aug 2026) | RedMagic 11 Pro (global) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 + Q3 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Dimensity 9500 | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| Built-in fan | yes, 17mm | not mentioned | not mentioned | yes, up to 24,000 RPM, plus liquid cooling |
| Battery | 9,000mAh | 7,500mAh | 9,100mAh | 7,500mAh |
| Wired charging | 100W | 100W | 100W | 80W |
| Refresh rate | 185Hz | 144Hz | 144Hz | not compared |
| Starting price | CNY 4,199 | CNY 2,599 | CNY 3,399 | $749 (US) |
From GSMArena’s reports on the Neo11 and Neo11 Ultra, and Notebookcheck on the RedMagic 11 Pro.
The chart has a surprise in it. The Neo11 Ultra from August carried a bigger battery, 9,100mAh, for CNY 800 less. The Neo12’s case rests on the fan, the newer Qualcomm chip and the faster screen.
What iQOO didn’t say. vivo’s page gives airflow but no noise level in decibels, no rating for how long the fan lasts, and no detail on how the fan’s intake handles dust next to that IP68 and IP69 rating. There’s no word on a launch outside China.
What it means for anyone choosing phones for a team. A fan is one more part that can fail, and nobody has a long-term repair record for it yet. For a field crew that games on breaks, the battery is the more useful number.
Why now. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the chip in both the Neo12 and the RedMagic 11 Pro, and both brands chose active cooling to go with it.
A phone that needs a fan to keep its chip at full speed is a sign of how far phone chips have pushed. The 59 blades make a good spec line; the useful test is how loud speed mode gets in a quiet room, and vivo didn’t publish that.
How the fan holds up after a year of pocket lint is something no launch page can say.