iQOO has launched the Neo12 today evening. It is going on sale immediately. The cheapest version, with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, has a list price of about USD 658 or KES 86,000.
iQOO is vivo’s gaming brand, and the Neo phones are its cheaper line, sold below numbered flagships like the iQOO 16. Earlier this month we explained why the Neo12 has a cooling fan, the first in a Neo phone. Back then iQOO hadn’t given a price, a screen size or a water rating, and now it has given all three. The same evening it also launched the Pad Pro 8.8 tablet, which uses the same chips.
| Neo12 version | List price |
|---|---|
| 12GB + 256GB | CNY 4,399 (KES 86,000) |
| 16GB + 256GB | CNY 4,799 (KES 94,000) |
| 12GB + 512GB | CNY 5,099 (KES 99,000) |
| 16GB + 512GB | CNY 5,499 (KES 107,000) |
| 16GB + 1TB | CNY 6,499 (KES 127,000) |
The Neo11 launched in October 2025 with a list price of about USD 404 for the same memory, so the Neo12 lists about USD 254 higher. Part of that gap is the memory-price rise we covered when the iQOO 16 launched 43% above the iQOO 15. vivo has since raised the Neo11 itself to about USD 539, so against today’s Neo11 the new phone costs about USD 120 or KES 15,600 more.
The fan, and what it costs you
The fan is what’s new to the Neo line. It’s 17mm across and 4mm tall, with 59 blades and three speeds: a low-noise mode, an automatic mode and a fast one.
A phone needs one because of heat. When you play a heavy game for a long time, the chip heats up the whole phone, and once there’s nowhere left for that heat to go, the software slows the chip down to protect it. That’s why so many games run smoothly for the first few minutes and start to stutter later. A fan pushes the heat out of the phone instead, so the chip can hold its speed for longer. If you play for hours at a time, that’s the part you’re paying for. For WhatsApp, YouTube and social media, the chip rarely gets hot enough for the fan to matter.
The catch with any fan phone is the opening the air comes in through, because dust gets in the same way, and water could too. iQOO puts two dust screens on the intake and rates the fan and its air path IPX8 and IPX9 for water, and the whole phone IP68 and IP69, so in iQOO’s tests it survived 30 minutes under 1.5 metres of water and a jet of hot water. vivo members get the fan cleaned for free at vivo’s service centres in China, up to 12 times a year.
The rest of the phone
Inside are two chips. The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is Qualcomm’s flagship from last year, one step behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 in the iQOO 16, which we explained last month. Next to it is Q3, iQOO’s own gaming chip. It sharpens supported games to 2K and slots generated frames between real ones so motion looks smoother. iQOO’s fine print says support for some games arrives later by software update.
The screen is 6.83 inches at 3200 x 1440 and refreshes up to 185 times a second, though only in supported games, more than 50 so far on iQOO’s count. The battery is 9,000mAh as a typical figure and 8,820mAh as the rated minimum, all in one cell. It charges at 100W, and the charger comes in the box.
Some things haven’t moved on from the Neo11. There’s still no zoom camera, only a 50MP main camera and an 8MP ultrawide. The USB-C port still runs at USB 2.0 speed, so copying long videos to a computer is slow. iQOO doesn’t list wireless charging either. And while iQOO’s pages promise six years of “smooth” use, they don’t say how many years of Android and security updates the phone gets.
iQOO Neo12 vs Neo11 vs iQOO 15 Ultra
The iQOO 15 Ultra is the phone the Neo12 is closest to. iQOO launched it in February with the same two chips and a fan of the same size, and today it lists at about USD 973 with 16GB and 256GB. The Neo12 with that memory lists about USD 254 lower. For that you give up the 15 Ultra’s 50MP zoom camera, wireless charging and faster USB port, and you get a bigger battery and a faster screen.
| iQOO Neo12 | iQOO Neo11 | iQOO 15 Ultra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launched | 28th October 2026 | October 2025 | February 2026 |
| Starting list price | CNY 4,399 (KES 86,000), 12GB + 256GB | CNY 2,699 (KES 53,000) at launch, CNY 3,599 (KES 70,000) now, 12GB + 256GB | CNY 6,499 (KES 127,000) now, 16GB + 256GB |
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 | Snapdragon 8 Elite | Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 |
| iQOO gaming chip | Q3 | Q2 | Q3 |
| Cooling fan | Yes, 17mm, 59 blades | No | Yes, 17mm, 59 blades |
| Screen | 6.83-inch, 3200 x 1440, up to 185Hz | 6.82-inch, 3168 x 1440, up to 144Hz | 6.85-inch, 3168 x 1440, up to 144Hz |
| Battery (typical) | 9,000mAh, one cell | 7,500mAh, one cell | 7,400mAh, one cell |
| Charging | 100W wired | 100W wired | 100W wired, 40W wireless |
| Rear cameras | 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide | 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide | 50MP main, 50MP periscope zoom, 50MP ultrawide |
| USB | USB 2.0 | USB 2.0 | USB 3.2 Gen 1 |
| Dust and water | IP68 and IP69 | IP68 and IP69 | IP68 and IP69 |
| Weight | 225g to 229g | 210g to 216g | 227g |
| Software at launch | OriginOS 7, Android 17 | OriginOS 6, Android 16 | OriginOS 6, Android 16 |
| Update promise | Not announced | Not announced | Not announced |
iQOO also launched a controller the same night, the Bilateral Stretch Handle G1. It clamps onto both ends of the phone, costs about USD 75 and goes on sale on 4th November. The Neo12 is one of four iQOO devices it’s listed to be compatible with.
Can you get one in Kenya?
Not from a shop here. iQOO’s list of countries has no African market, and neither Avechi nor Brandcart listed any iQOO product when we checked. iQOO hasn’t said whether the Neo12 will be sold outside China.
So anyone who wants one will be importing it, and the number to plan around isn’t KES 61,000. Expect around KES 71,000 for the cheapest Neo12 until 3rd November and closer to KES 86,000 after that, before shipping and duty. You also won’t get a local warranty or the free fan cleaning, which matters more on a phone with an opening that collects dust. If you game for hours, it’s the cheaper way into the 15 Ultra’s chips and fan, and it has the bigger battery. If you’d also want a good zoom camera, the 15 Ultra is the phone to save for.
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