iQOO 16 confirmed to launch in India with the super-fast Snapdragon 8

A day after dropping hints, iQOO has officially confirmed that its next major flagship, the iQOO 16, is heading to India. The announcement was made at the Snapdragon event during the Indian Mobile Congress (IMC) 2026, where iQOO CEO Nipun Marya showcased the new smartphone.While the exact India launch date has not been revealed yet, the iQOO 16 will be among the very first smartphones in the country to be powered by Qualcomm’s newest and most powerful processor, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. Once it arrives, the phone will go head-to-head with other upcoming premium devices like the Motorola Signature 27 and the Xiaomi 18 Pro.iQOO 16: Expected specifications and designThe iQOO 16 brings a bit more personality to its design compared to last year's iQOO 15. The back features a squircle-shaped camera module with individual rings for each sensor. It is available in three distinct colour variants: Chasing Lights, Legend, and Racing Track. The Chasing Lights version, which was teased by the CEO in India, features a striking three-dimensional light effect that shifts between red holographic patterns and blue light as the device moves.Under the hood, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is the star of the show. This flagship chipset has reportedly scored over 5.5 million points on AnTuTu benchmarks, marking a significant performance leap over last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. It is paired with top-tier LPDDR5X Ultra RAM, ultra-fast UFS 4.1 storage, and a dedicated Q4 gaming chip to ensure smooth performance during heavy multitasking and gaming. For the display, the iQOO 16 sports a large 6.85-inch Samsung M16 AMOLED screen with a crisp 2K resolution. It also supports a super-fast 165Hz refresh rate, meaning everything from graphics-heavy games to simple scrolling will feel incredibly fluid.Battery capacity has also seen a huge jump. The iQOO 16 is packed with a massive 8,400mAh battery. To juice up that large battery, the phone supports 100W wired fast charging and 40W wireless charging. On the camera front, the iQOO 16 features a powerful triple rear setup: a 50-megapixel primary camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide lens, and a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. Selfies and video calls are handled by a 32-megapixel front-facing camera.In terms of software, the smartphone will run on the new OriginOS 7, which is layered on top of Android 17 out of the box.iQOO 16: Expected price in IndiaWhile the hardware is very impressive, the final price in India will be the true deciding factor. Due to rising component costs globally, the iQOO 16 is unlikely to be priced as aggressively as the older iQOO 15, which currently starts at Rs 85,999 in the country.In China, the iQOO 16 was launched at a starting price of roughly Rs 85,000 to Rs 86,000 for the base variant. Buyers in India can expect a similarly premium price tag when the smartphone officially launches in the coming months.- Ends