iQOO has officially confirmed that the iQOO 16 is heading to China later this month. The announcement arrives just one day after Vivo revealed the launch schedule for its Vivo X500 series, putting iQOO’s next flagship firmly in the September spotlight.
The company has yet to disclose the precise launch date, although it has confirmed that the iQOO 16 will share the stage with a new iQOO Pad Ultra tablet. Both products are scheduled to debut in China at the end of September 2026.
What makes the announcement particularly intriguing is iQOO’s positioning of the standard iQOO 16. According to the company, the handset is designed to offer capabilities beyond what consumers would ordinarily expect from a Pro Max-class smartphone. That is a bold claim for a model without a “Pro” or “Ultra” suffix.
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iQOO 16 Gets a New Gaming Chip
iQOO has released a teaser image showing the phone’s distinctive UFO-inspired rear camera housing. The unusual circular arrangement has already become one of the most recognizable design elements of the upcoming handset.
Wang Kan, iQOO’s product manager, has also disclosed several hardware details surrounding the device.
One of the biggest revelations is the inclusion of a new in-house gaming chip. This silicon will work alongside iQOO’s next-generation Monster Super Engine, with the company targeting considerably stronger graphics performance in demanding games.
iQOO says the combination can deliver console-style ray tracing and improved image quality during intensive gaming sessions. If the claim translates well into real-world gameplay, the iQOO 16 could have plenty of ammunition for users who treat a smartphone as a pocket-sized gaming machine.
The display is another area where iQOO appears to be spending heavily. Wang Kan confirmed that the company has collaborated with Samsung Display for the iQOO 16’s panel.
Exact display specifications remain under wraps, however. iQOO has not yet disclosed the resolution, refresh rate, brightness, or other technical details.
iQOO 16 Could Feature a “100X Tele Lens”
More information has now surfaced through Digital Chat Station (DCS) on Weibo.
According to the tipster, the iQOO 16 could be sold in four memory and storage variants. These reportedly include 12 GB RAM with 256 GB storage, 12 GB with 512 GB, 16 GB with 512 GB and a top-end 16 GB + 1 TB configuration.
That gives prospective buyers a fairly wide spread of storage choices, particularly for people who keep large game libraries, photographs and high-resolution video on their phones.
DCS has also reiterated the earlier reports surrounding the phone’s UFO-like triple-camera arrangement. However, a fresh detail has been added to the camera module.
The leaker claims the housing carries “100X Tele Lens” branding.
That wording naturally raises questions about the handset’s zoom capabilities. It could indicate support for 100x digital zoom, with the telephoto camera acting as the hardware foundation for the feature. Digital zoom at that level is unlikely to produce optical-equivalent results, of course. However, it could still become one of the phone’s headline camera functions.
Previous leaked camera information points to a 50 MP telephoto sensor. The sensor is reportedly sized at 1/1.95-inch and paired with an f/2.65 aperture.
As always with unreleased hardware, treat these specifications as leaks rather than confirmed specs until iQOO publishes the complete camera sheet.
DCS has also claimed that an engineering sample lacks an LED light strip. Meanwhile, the tipster has described the display quality as impressive. However, no measurable panel specifications have been supplied to substantiate that assessment.
iQOO Pad Ultra Is Also on the Way
The iQOO 16 will not be the only new hardware arriving from the brand this month.
Wang Kan has also shared early details about the iQOO Pad Ultra, describing it as a portable gaming machine rather than just another tablet refresh.
The tablet is expected to use a next-generation flagship processor inside a relatively compact chassis. iQOO is also talking up multi-finger touch response and support for demanding AAA games.
That description gives the Pad Ultra a slightly different identity from a conventional large-screen tablet. iQOO appears to be exploring a form factor that sits somewhere between a smartphone, tablet and PC.
Wang Kan previously shared an image of a small tablet, which may have offered an early glimpse of the product’s compact, gaming-oriented design.
Whether the iQOO Pad Ultra can genuinely occupy that middle ground will depend heavily on its processor, thermal design, display, controls and software. For now, iQOO is keeping most of those cards close to its chest.
iQOO 16 Pre-Reservations Are Already Open
Although the exact launch date has not been revealed, iQOO has already opened pre-reservations for the iQOO 16 through the Vivo China e-store.
Interested buyers in China can reportedly reserve the handset by paying 9.90 Chinese yuan, which works out to roughly Rs 140.
The reservation itself doesn’t reveal the final retail price, so it is far too early to judge where the iQOO 16 will sit in the flagship market. The same applies to the iQOO Pad Ultra.
For now, the pieces are beginning to fall into place: a new in-house gaming chip, Monster Super Engine, a Samsung Display panel, a UFO-style triple-camera module and a potentially serious telephoto setup.
The launch at the end of September should finally fill in the missing pieces, including the exact specifications, pricing, and availability details for the iQOO 16 and iQOO Pad Ultra.
