iQOO now seems to have only one budget Z-series smartphone planned for India this year.
iQOO recently launched the 15 Apex Edition in India
iQOO's next flagship smartphone has been at the centre of several leaks in recent weeks. While the rumour mill previously suggested that the purported handset could make its way to India after debuting in its home market of China, a fresh claim indicates otherwise. According to a tipster, the iQOO 16 may not launch in India this year due to rising costs of memory components. The company is also said to have scaled back its roadmap for India.
Tipster Yogesh Brar claimed on X that the iQOO 16 is unlikely to launch in India this year. According to the tipster, increasing memory prices could push the handset's expected price beyond Rs. 85,000, which will likely make it difficult for the brand to position it competitively in the market.
We may not see iQOO 16 launch in India..
With current memory rates, iQOO 16 will cross Rs 85k
iQOO has only 1 budget Z series phone for this year, all other products have been scrapped..
For context, the iQOO 15 was launched in India at a price tag of Rs. 72,999 for the base variant with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. The 16GB + 512GB variant cost Rs. 79,999 at launch. In recent months, however, skyrocketing prices of memory components have forced the brand to hike prices. As such, it currently costs Rs. 76,999 and Rs. 83,999 for the 12GB + 256GB and 16GB + 512GB RAM and storage configurations, respectively.
The tipster further claimed that iQOO now has only one budget Z-series smartphone planned for India this year. Meanwhile, the rest of its upcoming product lineup is said to have been shelved for the market.
In March, Gadgets 360 exclusively reported that iQOO plans to change its usual release schedule for one of its most popular smartphone lineups in India, the Neo series. As per our sources, this move was due to the smartphone industry gradually moving towards sharper portfolio strategies as rising component costs and increasing device prices push brands to focus on clearer differentiation and value propositions.
At the time, the brand was also believed to be focusing on strengthening its flagship-led approach, concentrating on high-performance devices designed for clearly defined consumer segments.
Meanwhile, the company's affordable lineup seems to be moving ahead as planned. iQOO India CEO Nipun Marya recently teased the arrival of a new handset, which is likely to be the iQOO Z11. If accurate, then we can expect the handset to debut soon.
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