iQOO 16 has been officially revealed ahead of its global launch – now already launched in its home market China, the smartphone maker confirmed that it will be making its way to Malaysia in November 2026. The new flagship from the vivo sub-brand will be among the first to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipset, and the brand also touts its 2K 165Hz display co-developed with Samsung Display.
iQOO 16 Revealed
The Samsung Everest Display on the iQOO 16 is a notable step forward for mobile panels, iQOO claims – it is the first Android display to use Samsung’s M16 emissive material alongside 2K LEAD 2.0 technology, delivering 2K resolution and a 165Hz refresh rate. Peak brightness reaches 2,800 nits, and power consumption is 31% lower than a comparable 1.5K display of the same size.
Each display unit is individually calibrated using pixel-level compensation across its 9.12 million subpixels, and iQOO’s proprietary Q-flex control technology reduces touch latency by synchronizing frame production directly with system consumption. A first-frame brightness ratio of up to 100% and in-house frame synchronization further reduce motion blur during fast-paced gameplay.
Under the hood, the iQOO 16 pairs the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 with LPDDR5X Ultra Pro memory and UFS 4.1 storage. An 8.5K Ice Dome VC liquid cooling system maintains stable performance under heavy loads, while the new Monster Core Engine introduces an in-house kernel-level scheduler to keep frame rates steadier and power consumption lower in demanding scenarios.
Driving visuals is iQOO’s in-house Q4 esports chip, built on a triple-core architecture; it delivers 15% higher performance, 19% faster cache speed and 19% more AI computing power compared to its predecessor. iQOO claims the iQOO 16 is the only device in the industry to support full-scene ray tracing, game super resolution and frame generation simultaneously. For six popular mobile games, it achieves 2K resolution and 165FPS at the same time through concurrent super resolution and frame generation, including Honor of Kings.
iQOO has also announced a mobile gaming partnership with Unreal Engine, integrating Unreal Engine 5 features such as Lumen and Nanite into the device’s software and hardware planning to deliver console-grade lighting on mobile.
The iQOO 16 carries a triple-camera system headed by a 1/1.3-inch 50MP main sensor that captures 79% more light, with CIPA 5.5 stabilization and vivo’s Ultra-Light HDR technology. Joining it are a 50MP Sony super periscope telephoto camera and a 50MP low-distortion ultrawide camera. Two new portrait lighting effects, Bright Portrait Rim Light and Bright Tone Diffused Light, are included alongside 4K Live shooting support. There’s also an 8K Game Camera feature that captures ultra-high-resolution screenshots while retaining ray tracing and super resolution effects.
The device runs OriginOS 7 and is equipped with an 8,400mAh battery, 100W wired FlashCharge and 40W wireless charging. Other features include Esports Network System 3.0 with N79 band support, a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, a Warhammer MAX dual-axis motor, Drum Master Pro symmetrical dual speakers, plus IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance ratings.
Design-wise, the iQOO 16 comes in three finishes: Chasing Light, Legend and Racing Track. The Chasing Light variant uses AG glass with a laser holographic imaging process that creates a shifting visual of red holographic and blue flowing light as the device is turned. The Tomorrow Porthole camera module arranges three lenses under transparent glass in a mechanical-arm layout intended to evoke a navigation mark.
The iQOO 16 will be available in four configurations: 12GB+256GB, 12GB+512GB, 16GB+512GB and 16GB+1TB. Pricing for Malaysia has not been announced just yet – expect more information to arrive close to debut in Malaysia in November 2026.
Pokdepinion: A lot of updates, seemingly.
