iQOO launched the iQOO 16 on 29th September 2026, and it went on sale the same night. The cheapest version, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, costs about USD 895. The top version, with 16GB and 1TB, costs about USD 1,268.
iQOO is vivo’s performance brand, and its phones are built around gaming. It sells in China, India and parts of Asia, but not in Kenya. At least not officially yet.
When the iQOO 15 launched in October 2025, the same 12GB and 256GB version cost about USD 627. So the iQOO 16 starts about USD 270 higher. That’s 43% more for the entry model. So is the new phone that much better, or did something else push the price up?
Why the iQOO 16 costs so much more
The gap gets bigger as the memory goes up. At 12GB and 256GB, the iQOO 16 costs CNY 1,800 more than the iQOO 15 did at launch. At 16GB and 1TB, it costs CNY 3,000 more, about USD 448.
That’s because memory chips cost far more than they did a year ago. Your phone’s RAM, the memory apps use while they run, and its storage, where your photos and apps live, are both chips that phone makers buy from Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron. Those three have been moving factory capacity towards high-bandwidth memory for AI servers, which earns them more. So there’s less memory left for phones, and phone makers pay more for what’s left. That’s why the 1TB version jumped the most: it carries the most memory and storage.
vivo said as much in March. On 16th March 2026 it announced it would raise the recommended prices of some vivo and iQOO phones from 18th March, blaming the sharp, continuing rise in global semiconductor and storage costs. When vivo launched the X500 in September, we explained how memory costs were pushing every flagship price up.
The iQOO 15 is one of the phones that went up. vivo’s own spec page listed its 12GB and 256GB version at CNY 4,199 in November 2025, CNY 4,599 in April 2026 and CNY 4,999 in September. Today it lists CNY 5,299, about USD 791. That’s about USD 164 more for a phone that hasn’t changed.
| Version | iQOO 16 at launch | iQOO 15 at launch (Oct 2025) | iQOO 15 today | Gap today |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12GB + 256GB | CNY 5,999 (KES 116,000) | CNY 4,199 (KES 81,000) | CNY 5,299 (KES 103,000) | CNY 700 (KES 13,600) |
| 12GB + 512GB | CNY 6,799 (KES 132,000) | CNY 4,699 (KES 91,000) | CNY 5,999 (KES 116,000) | CNY 800 (KES 15,500) |
| 16GB + 512GB | CNY 7,499 (KES 145,000) | CNY 4,999 (KES 97,000) | CNY 6,499 (KES 126,000) | CNY 1,000 (KES 19,400) |
| 16GB + 1TB | CNY 8,499 (KES 165,000) | CNY 5,499 (KES 107,000) | CNY 7,499 (KES 145,000) | CNY 1,000 (KES 19,400) |
What you get for the extra money
The iQOO 16 runs Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, the faster of the two chips Qualcomm announced in September. It’s built on a 2nm process, against 3nm for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in the iQOO 15. iQOO also adds its own Q4 gaming chip, which sits beside the main chip and upscales games and adds frames so they look sharper and move more smoothly.
The screen is the same size and sharpness as before, 6.85 inches at 3168 x 1440, but it now refreshes up to 165 times a second instead of 144. It’s the Samsung panel we wrote about in September. iQOO rates it at 2,800 nits across the whole screen, up from 2,600.
The battery is the biggest physical change. It goes from 7,000mAh to 8,400mAh, a fifth more, and it’s still one cell. Yet the body is only about 0.2mm thicker and 7.5g heavier, comparing the dark versions of each. Charging stays at 100W wired and 40W wireless. So you get a noticeably bigger battery without carrying a noticeably bigger phone.
The main camera gets a bigger 1/1.3-inch sensor with a wider f/1.68 aperture, against f/1.88 on the iQOO 15. A bigger sensor and wider aperture both let in more light, which matters most in dim rooms and at night. The periscope zoom and ultrawide cameras are 50MP on both phones. Both phones are rated IP68 and IP69 for dust and water.
Full iQOO 16 specs
| iQOO 16 | |
|---|---|
| Launch prices | 12GB + 256GB: CNY 5,999 (KES 116,000) / 12GB + 512GB: CNY 6,799 (KES 132,000) / 16GB + 512GB: CNY 7,499 (KES 145,000) / 16GB + 1TB: CNY 8,499 (KES 165,000) |
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, 2nm, eight cores (2 x 5.01GHz, 3 x 4.03GHz, 3 x 3.74GHz) |
| Gaming chip | iQOO Q4 |
| RAM | 12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X Ultra (LPDDR5X Ultra Pro on the 1TB version) |
| Storage | 256GB, 512GB or 1TB UFS 4.1, no memory card slot |
| Screen | 6.85-inch AMOLED, 3168 x 1440, up to 165Hz, 2,800 nits full-screen peak and 10,000 nits peak in a small area (iQOO’s figures) |
| Main camera | 50MP, 1/1.3-inch sensor, f/1.68, optical stabilisation |
| Zoom camera | 50MP Sony periscope, f/2.65, optical stabilisation |
| Ultrawide camera | 50MP, f/2.05 |
| Front camera | 32MP, f/2.2 |
| Video | Up to 8K on the rear cameras, 4K on the front |
| Battery | 8,400mAh typical, 8,170mAh rated, single cell |
| Charging | 100W wired, 40W wireless, wired reverse charging |
| Software | OriginOS 7, based on Android 17 |
| Update promise | Not announced |
| Dust and water | IP68 and IP69 |
| Fingerprint reader | Ultrasonic, under the screen |
| Connectivity | 5G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0 (some features arrive in a later update), NFC, USB-C 3.2 Gen 1, infrared remote |
| SIM | Two nano-SIMs |
| Size | 163.75 x 76.90mm, 8.30mm to 8.55mm thick depending on colour |
| Weight | 222.5g to 229.8g depending on colour |
| Colours | Three: a dark blue, a plain white and a white with a patterned back |
iQOO 16 vs iQOO 15
| iQOO 16 | iQOO 15 | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 29th September 2026 | 20th October 2025 |
| Starting price at launch | CNY 5,999 (KES 116,000) | CNY 4,199 (KES 81,000) |
| Starting price today | CNY 5,999 (KES 116,000) | CNY 5,299 (KES 103,000) |
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, 2nm | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 3nm |
| Top CPU speed | 5.01GHz | 4.6GHz |
| Gaming chip | Q4 | Q3 |
| Screen | 6.85-inch, 3168 x 1440, 165Hz | 6.85-inch, 3168 x 1440, 144Hz |
| Full-screen peak brightness | 2,800 nits | 2,600 nits |
| Battery (typical) | 8,400mAh | 7,000mAh |
| Charging | 100W wired, 40W wireless | 100W wired, 40W wireless |
| Main camera | 50MP, 1/1.3-inch, f/1.68 | 50MP Sony, f/1.88 |
| Zoom and ultrawide | 50MP periscope, 50MP ultrawide | 50MP periscope, 50MP ultrawide |
| Slow-motion video | Up to 4K | Up to 1080p |
| Dust and water | IP68 and IP69 | IP68 and IP69 |
| Software at launch | OriginOS 7, Android 17 | OriginOS 6, Android 16 |
| Thickness | 8.30mm to 8.55mm | 8.10mm to 8.28mm |
| Weight | 222.5g to 229.8g | 215g to 221g |
On 9th October, iQOO India’s chief executive Nipun Marya confirmed the iQOO 16 is coming to India during India Mobile Congress in New Delhi. He gave no date and no price. iQOO hasn’t said anything about a wider global launch, and neither its spec page nor its launch material says how many years of Android and security updates the phone gets.
Join the discussion