iQOO launches phone with new flagship Snapdragon chipset and up to 1TB storage

iQOO has launched its latest flagship smartphone in China: the iQOO 16. It succeeds the iQOO 15, which launched in October 2025 with the 3nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

In contrast, the iQOO 16 is powered by the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, built on a 2nm process. The phone also has iQOO’s in-house Q4 gaming chip and uses an 8,500 mm² vapor chamber cooling system.

On the front, the iQOO 16 sports a 6.85-inch Samsung-supplied AMOLED display with a resolution of 3,168 x 1,440 pixels and a 165Hz refresh rate.

The rear camera system comprises a 50MP primary camera with a 1/1.3-inch sensor, a 50MP periscope telephoto camera offering 3x optical zoom, and a 50MP ultrawide camera. The phone has a 32MP selfie camera.

The previous-generation iQOO 15 (curr. $667.19 on TradingShenzhen) packed a 7,000mAh battery. Meanwhile, the new iQOO 16 gets a notable upgrade with an 8,400mAh cell. It supports 100W wired and 40W wireless charging.

The iQOO 16 features an ultrasonic fingerprint reader, IP68/IP69 dust and water resistance, and stereo speakers. The phone runs OriginOS 7 based on Android 17 out of the box.

Pricing

The iQOO 16 is offered in four memory configurations in China, listed below:

• 12GB/256GB: CNY 5,999 (~$894)
• 12GB/512GB: CNY 6,799 (~$1,014)
• 16GB/512GB: CNY 7,499 (~$1,118)
• 16GB/1TB: CNY 8,499 (~$1,267)

Separately, iQOO has also launched its new compact tablet: the iQOO Pad Ultra.