TL; DR
- Digital Chat Station confirmed the iQOO 16 prototype uses the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro.
- Hardware includes a dual-IP68/IP69 rating, an OV50Q main camera, and a dedicated graphics chip.
- China launch is expected in October 2026, with India availability remaining uncertain.
iQOO has spent the last two years treating the iQOO 15 (review) as its performance benchmark, built around the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and a dedicated Q3 chip to enhance the gaming experience. With that kind of hardware, the phone can easily run games like BGMI at 120 fps without dropping frames or thermal limitations (thanks to the 8K vapor chamber cooling).
Also Read: iOS 27 Public Beta Available Now: Should You Install It?
iQOO 16 Could Feature SD 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro With LPDDR6 RAM
The iQOO 16 could be built on the same ideology, but take things even further. According to renowned Chinese tipster Digital Chat Station, an engineering sample or prototype, called the “SE6 Pro sub-series phone,” is being tested with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset (2+3+3 cluster design), Adreno 850 GPU, and LPDDR6 RAM support.
The handset is believed to be the purported iQOO 16. Other details mentioned in the Weibo post include 1115-series symmetrical dual speakers, a 0916-series X-axis linear motor for improved haptic feedback, a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, IP68 and IP69 dual water resistance, USB 3.2, an AR display film, and a main camera with an OV50Q sensor (believed to carry 50MP resolution and LOFIC technology).
Also Read: OnePlus Might Exit Western Markets Weeks After We Reported The Discontinuation Of OxygenOS
What’s interesting is that the tipster mentioned a dedicated graphics chip, which could be the successor to the Q3 chip on the iQOO 15, which might be called the Q4 chip, based on the nomenclature so far.
But What Could The Q4 Chip Actually Do?
For those catching up, the Q3 chip on the iQOO 15 facilitates frame rate interpolation (up to 144 fps) and real-time resolution upscaling (up to 2K), and supports the main graphics processor — the Adreno 840 — with ray tracing and power management. Based on this, I expect the Q4 chip to support frame interpolation up to 165 fps at 2K resolution.
Tipster Debayan Roy’s earlier leak adds a 2K flat LTPO Samsung OLED at 165Hz or 185Hz (the former looks more likely to me, especially since OnePlus 15 supports the same), triple 50MP cameras including a periscope telephoto, an 8,500mAh battery (larger than the OnePlus 15R), and UFS 5.0 storage.
Also Read: Motorola Edge 70 Max Launching on July 15: Here’s Everything We Know So Far
From what it looks like, iQOO 16 could be the brand’s most ambitious refresh in years. However, with great hardware comes a great bill of components, which could translate to a higher entry price in the lineup. Anyway, the iQOO 16 could go official in China in September or October, and debut in India later in the year.
You can follow Smartprix on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google News. Visit smartprix.com for the latest tech and auto news, reviews, and guides.
