The iQOO 16 may launch in India after all, and the price being floated for it is steep. Tipster Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) says the phone has reportedly started testing in the country, and expects it to arrive at around ₹1,00,000 (roughly $1,039). Treat all of that as rumor. iQOO has not announced an India launch, and the price is the tipster’s own estimate rather than a company figure.
Why this rumor contradicts the last one
The same tipster was recently the source of a very different claim. 91mobiles reported, citing Brar, that the iQOO 16 might skip India entirely because of rising memory and component costs. This week’s claim points the other way, with the launch back on but priced far higher. The record here is unsettled rather than settled.
If both reports are right, cost is the common thread. One answer to an expensive bill of materials is to skip a price-sensitive market. The other is to enter it and charge a lot more than last year.
What the iQOO 16’s India price would mean for buyers
The number that matters for comparison is ₹72,999, the iQOO 15’s India launch price a year ago. A ₹1,00,000 asking price would be roughly a 37% jump in a single generation. For anyone who bought the iQOO 15 at that price, that is a steep increase to absorb in one year.
It is also worth noting what the phone costs at home. In China the iQOO 16 starts at CNY 5,999 for the 12GB/256GB model, which converts to about ₹86,000 or $894. The predicted India figure sits well above that converted price.
There is a verifiable reason behind the pressure, at least. The industry is in a memory squeeze, and Huawei has said it adds around $200 to the cost of a phone. Smartphone prices are also on track to rise 27.6% in 2026. That does not make a ₹1 lakh iQOO reasonable, but it does explain why the number is plausible.
iQOO 16 specifications, as launched in China
Nothing in this report changes the hardware. We covered the phone in full when it debuted with Samsung’s 10,000-nit M16 OLED, and the short version is below.
- Display: 6.85-inch Samsung M16 AMOLED, 1440 x 3168, 165Hz, 10,000-nit peak brightness
- Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6
- Memory: 12GB or 16GB RAM, 256GB / 512GB / 1TB storage
- Rear cameras: 50MP main with OIS, 50MP 3x periscope telephoto with OIS, 50MP ultrawide
- Front camera: 32MP
- Battery: 8,400mAh, 100W wired and 40W wireless charging
- Software: Android 17 with OriginOS 7
As of October 4, 2026, no official iQOO India statement on the launch or the price has surfaced. Until iQOO confirms a date, the ₹1 lakh figure is one tipster’s forecast and worth exactly that much.
Sources: Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh), via GSMArena, 91mobiles
