Okay, so that is it: the brand-new iQOO 15. And actually, it’s a telephone that forces you to pause and take into account the place the ceiling for cellular efficiency actually lies. For years, the story has been incremental: higher chip, barely higher display, larger battery. However iQOO, this time, has gone a special route. They have not simply iterated; they’ve launched a characteristic—the devoted Q3 show chip—that genuinely shifts the goalposts. It isn’t hyperbole to ask if we’re lastly coming into the period of true “cellular graphics playing cards,” and the iQOO 15 is the herald.
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My first thought upon holding it was simply how purposeful the design feels. It’s definitely a tool that is aware of its target market: severe energy customers and, maybe most of all, severe players.

iQOO 15 specs
  • 6.85-inch (3168×1440 pixels) 2K+ curved Samsung M14 8T LTPO AMOLED 20:9 facet ratio display with HDR10+, 144Hz variable refresh price, 1.07 billion colours, DCI-P3 colour gamut, as much as 2600 nits brightness in HBM mode, as much as 6000 nits peak brightness, 2160Hz PWM dimming + DC Dimming, Dolby Imaginative and prescient
  • Octa Core Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 3nm SoC with Adreno 840 GPU, Q3 Gaming chip
  • 12GB / 16GB LPDDR5X Extremely Professional RAM with 256GB / 512GB / 1TB (UFS 4.1) storage
  • Android 16 with OriginOS 6.0
  • Twin SIM (nano + nano)
  • 50MP digicam with 1/ 1.49″ Sony IMX921 sensor, f/1.88 aperture, OIS, LED flash, 50MP 150° ultra-wide-angle digicam with f/2.0 aperture, 50MP 3x periscope telephoto digicam with 1/1.95″ Sony IMX882 sensor, f/2.65 aperture, Sony sensor, OIS
  • 32MP front-facing digicam with f/2.2 aperture
  • In-display Ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, infrared sensor
  • USB Sort-C audio, Stereo audio system, Hello-Fi audio
  • Dimensions: 163.65× 76.71×8.1mm (Monitor Version) / 8.17mm  (Legend Version, Wilderness Version) / 8.28mm (Lingyun, iQOO × Honor of Kings tenth Anniversary Collector’s Version);Weight: 215g (Monitor Version) / 220g (Different Editions)
  • Mud and Water resistance (IP68+IP69)
  • 5G SA/NSA, Twin 4G VoLTE, Wi-Fi 7 802.11 be, Bluetooth 6.0, GPS: L1+L5, Beidou: B1C+B1I+B2a, GLONASS: G1, Galileo: E1+E5a, QZSS: L1+L5, USB Sort-C 3.2 Gen1, NFC
  • 7000mAh battery with 100W ultra-fast flash charging, 40W wi-fi charging
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Key Factors

  • Q3 Devoted Show Chip: The revolutionary {hardware} permits cellular body interpolation and super-resolution, performing as a “cellular DLSS.”
  • Greatest-in-Class Show: Encompasses a debut 6.85-inch 2K display with a 144Hz refresh price and a blinding 2730 nits peak brightness.
  • Stellar Battery Life: Geared up with a big 7000mAh battery, delivering over 11 hours of intensive use, coupled with 100W wired charging.
  • Ray Tracing Pioneer: The iQOO 15 is the primary telephone to help hardware-accelerated ray tracing in video games like Genshin Affect.
  • Thermal Efficiency: Achieves excessive sustained body charges in demanding titles like Wuthering Waves and Star Rail whereas sustaining aggressive thermal management.
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Design and a Recreation-Altering Show Improve

First, let’s shortly cowl the bodily presence and the display. The design language is certainly sharpened from the final technology, shifting in direction of a bolder, extra angular aesthetic. The entrance maintains a flat display, framed by these right-angled aspect frames that appear to be again in vogue. Curiously, the micro-curved glass on the again has additionally been flattened, contributing to an general look with sharper traces. It’s positively extra commanding within the hand than its predecessor, I believe.

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The rear digicam module retains the distinct “Wanderer’s Path” design, which is a signature factor at this level. They’ve subtly moved the ‘power ring’ inside the digicam deco to sit down under the primary ornamental ring, which cleans up the look a bit. Paired with the brand new colour schemes—moreover the Lingyun and Legend version colorways we’ve got, there are additionally Monitor and Wilderness choices—the look is kind of attention-grabbing: elegant, perhaps a bit aggressive, and undeniably beautiful. It definitely stands out in a sea of more and more comparable slabs of glass and metallic.

The Display: Lastly, 2K is Right here

When it comes to the precise display, iQOO has delivered some long-awaited, important upgrades. This time, they’ve debuted a 2K display. The panel measures a considerable 6.85 inches and nonetheless helps a blazing-fast 144Hz excessive refresh price. Extra than simply decision and velocity, iQOO claims enhancements throughout the board: readability, colour accuracy, eye safety options, energy consumption, and contact responsiveness.

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My testing backed up the brightness claims impressively. The utmost handbook brightness reached a really usable 1122 nits, and the height full-screen brightness soared to a most of 2730 nits. This type of brightness ensures excellent visibility even open air below vivid daylight, which, let’s be sincere, is essential for marathon gaming classes which may stray from the basement. I bear in mind testing this out briefly on a sunny afternoon and the display was simply punching by way of the glare—it was genuinely noticeable.

Efficiency: Gaming With out the Identify

Although iQOO avoids the “gaming telephone” label, the iQOO 15 is constructed like one, powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen5 processor with aggressive efficiency tuning. In contrast to its most aggressive competitor, the Redmi K90 Professional Max, the iQOO 15 manages its thermals extra gracefully. Its single-layer motherboard design and extraordinarily giant vapor chamber be certain that after thermal throttling begins across the 10-minute mark, the framerate tapers off step by step, stabilizing at a good 45 FPS, preserving temperatures affordable.