iQOO unveils redesigned back of its upcoming OnePlus 16 rival

iQOO has been teasing its next-gen flagship phone for a good while, and now, the company has finally showcased the back design of the smartphone. This soon-to-be-released OnePlus 16 rival is shown to feature a redesigned camera island on the back.

Specifically, the entire camera island is still somewhat squircle, but the sensor layout has changed on the iQOO 16. This layout is identical to that found on the iPhone 16 Pro Max, but the camera island isn't plain. There's a hexagonal pattern within the camera island, and the overall design of the back should make the phone stand out from the competition.

The new teasers didn't share anything in terms of the specs, but a picture showcasing the camera island reveals that there will be support for 100x zoom, which is, of course, digital zoom. This also somewhat hints that one of the three cameras on the back is a telephoto sensor.

Previously, Digital Chat Station, a reliable Weibo leaker, shared that the iQOO 16 is set to come with a "full-fledged" Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 SoC, which will reportedly be paired with the in-house Q4 gaming chipset. The flagship phone is expected to sport a 165Hz display, and it's said to have a "large-sensor" camera setup.

There's no concrete word on the exact launch date, but the iQOO 16 is set to be released in China in September 2026. It will be interesting to see how well it stands against the gaming-focused phones that are also set to launch soon, which include the RedMagic 12 series and OnePlus 16 (16/512GB OnePlus 15 curr. $907.81 on TradingShenzhen).