The iQOO 16 may finally be preparing for its release beyond China, with India expected to be the first stop. After debuting in its home market in late September, the upcoming flagship has drawn attention for a possible mid-December arrival, according to a new tip on X.
According to the leak, the iQOO 16 could be introduced in India around December 15 to December 17. If accurate, that would mark a noticeably longer wait than the iQOO 15, which reached India roughly five weeks after its Chinese launch last year. This time, the gap may stretch to about two and a half months.
Pricing is still one of the biggest unanswered questions. The iQOO 16 starts at CNY 5,999 in China, equivalent to about $894. However, earlier speculation suggests the Indian price could move closer to INR 100,000, or around $1,039, making it considerably more expensive than the iQOO 15, which launched at INR 72,999 in India.
For those tracking the specifications, the iQOO 16 is shaping up as a high-end flagship. Reported features include a 6.85-inch Samsung M16 AMOLED display with a 1440x3168 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and peak brightness of 10,000 nits. The handset is said to run on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 platform, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The camera setup reportedly includes a 50MP main sensor with optical image stabilization, a 50MP periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide camera with autofocus. Up front, there is said to be a 32MP selfie camera. Other rumored highlights include an 8,400mAh battery, 100W wired charging, 40W wireless charging, IP68/IP69 protection, and OriginOS 7 based on Android 17.
