iQOO is reportedly working on its next flagship smartphone, the iQOO 16, which is expected to succeed the iQOO 15. While the company has not officially confirmed the handset, several leaks have revealed what could be one of iQOO's most powerful smartphones to date.
According to recent reports, the iQOO 16 is currently being tested with Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset. The smartphone is also tipped to feature a massive battery, flagship-grade hardware, and upgraded gaming capabilities.
The handset is expected to debut in China around September or October 2026. However, its India launch remains uncertain.
Recent reports suggest iQOO could skip launching the device in India due to rising memory prices, which may significantly increase its retail price. The company has not commented on these claims.
Built for Gaming
The iQOO 16 is expected to continue the brand's gaming-focused approach with several premium hardware upgrades.
Leaks suggest it will feature flagship symmetrical stereo speakers for immersive audio, an X-axis linear vibration motor for improved haptic feedback, and a dedicated graphics chip to enhance gaming performance.
The graphics processor is expected to build on the Q3 Supercomputing Chip used in the iQOO 15, which supported frame interpolation, AI upscaling, ray tracing, and gaming at up to 2K resolution with up to 144Hz refresh rates.
The phone is also tipped to feature a 3D ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner for faster and more reliable biometric authentication.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro Expected
The device could be powered by Qualcomm's unannounced Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro processor.
The chipset is rumoured to adopt Qualcomm's new 2+3+3 Oryon CPU architecture and may include:
16MB shared L2 cache
Adreno 850 GPU
18MB GMEM graphics memory
Support for LPDDR6 and LPDDR5X RAM
Improved AI, gaming, and ray-tracing performance
If accurate, the chipset is expected to compete with the next-generation flagship processors from MediaTek and Samsung.
Massive Battery and Fast Storage
One of the biggest upgrades could be the battery. Reports suggest the iQOO 16 may feature a battery exceeding 8,000mAh, making it one of the largest batteries in a flagship smartphone.
Combined with the efficient Snapdragon chipset, the device could deliver significantly improved battery life.
The smartphone is also expected to feature next-generation UFS 5.0 storage for faster app loading, gaming performance, and file transfers.
Although iQOO has yet to announce the smartphone officially, leaked specifications suggest the iQOO 16 could be one of the company's most feature-packed flagships, especially for gamers and power users. More details are expected to emerge closer to its anticipated launch in China later this year.
