iQOO 15 review

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Introduction and specs

The iQOO 15 arrives just in time to once again be among the first smartphones powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset. As expected from the series, it delivers an impressive value proposition - undercutting most premium competitors while making few, if any, meaningful compromises.

Aside from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, several other aspects work in the iQOO 15’s favor. The company is making meaningful improvements, even with the price increase.

The display is one of those improvements. It’s roughly the same size as before - 6.85 inches - but now carries additional HDR certifications, including Dolby Vision, and promises higher peak brightness.

A small but notable camera upgrade stands out in the specs sheet. What used to be a fairly generic 2x zoom camera in the previous generation is now a 3x periscope telephoto with a considerably bigger sensor. The main, ultrawide and the front-facing snappers remain unchanged, though.

iQOO 15 specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.7x76.8x8.1mm, 215g; fiberglass or glass back, aluminum frame; IP68/IP69 dust-tight and water-resistant (high-pressure water jets; immersible up to 1.5m for 30 min), Color-changing rear panel.
• Display: 6.85" LTPO AMOLED, 1B colors, 144Hz, PWM, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, 1000 nits (typ), 2600 nits (HBM), 6000 nits (peak), 1440x3168px resolution, 19.8:9 aspect ratio, 508ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8850-AC Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (3 nm): Octa-core (2x4.6 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6x3.62 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix M); Adreno 840.
• Memory: 256GB 12GB RAM, 256GB 16GB RAM, 512GB 12GB RAM, 512GB 16GB RAM, 1TB 16GB RAM; UFS 4.1.
• OS/Software: Android 16, up to 5 major Android upgrades, OriginOS 6 (China).
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Telephoto: 50 MP, f/2.7, 1/1.95", 0.8µm, PDAF, OIS, 3x optical zoom; Ultra wide angle: 50 MP, f/2.1, 1/2.76", 0.64µm, AF.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.2, 21mm (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 8K@30fps, 4K@24/30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120/240fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60fps.
• Battery: 7000mAh; 100W wired charging, 40W wireless charging.
• Connectivity: 5G; Wi-Fi 7; BT 6.0, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, LHDC 5; NFC; Infrared port.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, ultrasonic); stereo speakers.

Battery upgrades appear to be a key trend for 2025, and iQOO isn’t sitting out. The iQOO 15 comes with a much larger 7,000 mAh battery - a notable jump from last year’s 6,000/6,150 mAh unit.

On the other hand, the wired charging speed has been dialed back to 100W, although it still remains competitive as it is. It is now also complemented by 40W wireless charging - a feature still rare in this segment.

As per tradition, iQOO is putting extra focus on the gaming experience. The handset uses a standalone SuperComputing Q3 chip to offload certain tasks from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC and to improve overall gaming performance.

To top it all off, iQOO is now promising 5 major OS upgrades, up from 4 last year, which helps solidify the handset as a competitive, well-rounded device. Now let’s see how it stacks up against its rivals.

Unboxing the iQOO 15

The iQOO 15 comes in a standard retail box containing the quick start guide, USB-C to USB-C cable for charging and data transfer, and a compatible 100W FlashCharge charger.

There's also a soft silicone case.