iQOO’s latest flagship may soon be preparing for its international debut. After being unveiled in China in late September, the iQOO 16 is now rumored to arrive in India around December 15-17, according to a tipster on X. If accurate, the launch will give fans a clearer idea of when the device may become available beyond its home market.
The reported timeline suggests a longer wait than the previous generation. The iQOO 15 was announced in China in late October and reached India by late November, a gap of just over five weeks. This time, the international rollout could take closer to two and a half months.
Pricing remains one of the biggest questions. In China, the iQOO 16 starts at CNY 5,999 (about $894), while an earlier rumor suggested the Indian price could reach around INR 100,000 (approximately $1,039). That would be a significant increase compared to the iQOO 15, which debuted in India at INR 72,999 (roughly $766).
On the specifications front, the iQOO 16 is expected to compete as a premium flagship. It features a 6.85-inch Samsung M16 AMOLED display with a 1440x3168 resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and up to 10,000 nits of peak brightness. The device is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset and offers up to 16GB of RAM with up to 1TB of storage.
For photography, the phone includes a 50MP main camera with OIS, a 50MP periscope telephoto camera with OIS and 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide lens with autofocus. There is also a 32MP front camera for selfies. Other highlights include an 8,400mAh battery with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging, IP68/IP69 ratings, and OriginOS 7 based on Android 17.
