29.09.2026 at 16:59

iQOO 16 – 165 Hz, 8400 mAh and Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 unveiled

The iQOO 16 features a 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor, a 165Hz refresh rate display, and an 8400mAh battery.

Display

The iQOO 16 features a flat 6.85-inch Samsung Everest LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 3168 × 1440 pixels (510 ppi), an adaptive refresh rate from 1 to 165 Hz, and a 19.8:9 aspect ratio.

The panel was developed in collaboration with Samsung Display and is the first among Android smartphones to use M16 organic material combined with 2K LEAD 2.0 technology. According to iQOO, its power consumption is 31% lower than that of a comparable 1.5K resolution screen.

Brightness levels:

1,100 nits – maximum brightness in manual mode;
2,800 nits – maximum brightness of the entire screen surface;
10,000 nits is the local peak brightness.

The display supports HDR10+, Dolby Vision, full-brightness DC Dimming, and high-frequency PWM dimming up to 3300 Hz. The touch sampling rate for multi-finger input reaches 500 Hz. It also features an anti-reflective AR coating, and each panel undergoes individual color and brightness calibration.

The 165 Hz mode is optimized for more than 50 popular games and 100 everyday applications. Additionally, Q-flex technology is used to reduce touch control latency.

An ultrasonic 3D fingerprint scanner is integrated into the display.

Performance

The iQOO 16 is powered by the 2nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor, which features eight cores: two performance cores clocked at up to 5.0 GHz and six cores clocked at up to 4.0 GHz. Graphics processing is handled by the Adreno 850.

In the AnTuTu benchmark, the smartphone reportedly scores 5.574 million points. In addition to the main processor, it features the proprietary iQOO Q4 gaming chip, which provides additional graphics processing capabilities, including increasing frame rates up to 165 FPS in supported games.

Cooling is provided by an 8,500 mm² vapor chamber and three layers of thermally conductive graphite with a total area of 29,453 mm².

The LPDDR5X Ultra RAM capacity is 12 GB or 16 GB, and the UFS 4.1 storage capacity ranges from 256 GB to 1 TB.

Cameras

The back panel of the iQOO 16 features three 50 MP cameras:

The main camera features an OmniVision OV50Q sensor with an optical format of 1/1,3 inches, an f/1.68 aperture, LOFIC technology with a claimed dynamic range of 13.5 EV, and optical image stabilization (CIPA 5.5).
The ultra-wide-angle camera features a 1/2,8-inch GalaxyCore GC50F0 sensor, an f/2.05 aperture, and autofocus with macro support.
The periscope camera features a Sony LYT-600 (IMX882) sensor with a 1/1,95 inch format, an f/2.65 aperture, a W-shaped optical design, 3x optical zoom, and CIPA 5.0 stabilization. It also supports 6x lossless zoom through image processing.

According to the manufacturer, the enlarged main sensor provides 79% more incoming light compared to the iQOO 15 camera.

The image processing system uses vivo algorithms, including Super HDR technology, the NICE 3.0 optical reconstruction engine, and Magic 3.0 for detail restoration. The smartphone supports video recording at up to 8K resolution and 4K Live Photo creation.

The 32 MP front camera features a 1/3,1-inch sensor with an f/2.2 aperture.

Battery and other features

The iQOO 16 features an 8,400 mAh silicon-carbon battery, an increase of 1,400 mAh over its predecessor, the iQOO 15. It supports 100W fast wired charging and 40W wireless charging.

Among the other specifications:

Support for 5G networks and dual nanoSIM cards;
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4 and NFC;
Navigation GPS, BeiDou, Galileo, GLONASS and QZSS;
USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port and infrared transmitter;
Symmetrical stereo speakers and a 091640 dual-axis vibration motor
Dust and water protection according to IP68 and IP69 standards.

The smartphone runs Android 17 with the proprietary OriginOS 7 skin. The updated system supports advanced AI features for creating personalized widgets, reminders, and other tools. It also features the ability to display up to five applications simultaneously.

Design

The iQOO 16 is available in three color options: gray (Chasing Light), white (Legend), and black (Racing Track).

The gray version stands out with a rear panel featuring a laser holographic effect that creates red and blue iridescence. The white variant uses AG matte glass, while the black version is complemented by purple accents inspired by motorsport.

The gray and white versions feature glass back panels, while the black one uses glass-reinforced plastic. Due to the differences in materials, the thickness and weight of the devices vary.