iQOO 15 was launched in China in October last year and was released in global markets in November.
OnePlus 15 was launched in China in October last year
OnePlus 15 and iQOO 15 were among the first flagship Android smartphones to come with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset from Qualcomm last year. Now, rumours about their successors, the OnePlus 16 and iQOO 16, have started appearing on the web. A fresh leak indicates that both devices will arrive earlier than their predecessors. They are likely to run on Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset. They are likely to launch in China first.
Tipster Digital Chat Station (Translated) on Weibo claimed that OnePlus 16 and iQOO 16 will be launched in September this year. The filing and development of the handsets are said to be "progressing rapidly".
If this leak turns out to be true, it would mark the earliest debut of the flagship OnePlus and iQOO phones. For context, the OnePlus 15 was launched in the Chinese market in October last year and arrived in the Indian market in November. The OnePlus 13 was released in China in October 2024 and launched in India in January 2025.
Similarly, the iQOO 15 hit shelves in China in October last year and was released in global markets in November. The iQOO 13 landed in China in October 2024 and went on sale in India a few months later, in December.
Both OnePlus and iQOO could be adjusting the release timeline to boost sales of their flagship phones. An early launch window would allow the firms to capture more buyers and market share. The early launch could also help the OnePlus 16 and iQOO 16 to get an edge over the Xiaomi 18 series, Vivo X500 series and Oppo Find X10 series in the market, which are also expected to go official around the same time.
The OnePlus 16 and iQOO 16 are expected to come with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset and a 2K resolution display. The OnePlus 16 is tipped to feature a 9,000mAh battery and a 200-megapixel rear camera unit. The iQOO 16 is tipped to feature an 8,500mAh battery.
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