iQOO has confirmed the launch of its new offering, the iQOO 15R, in India. It is the first smartphone from the OEM’s flagship line-up to carry the ‘R’ moniker. The handset will be positioned below the iQOO 15 as a sub-flagship offering. The company has been teasing the iQOO 15R specifications and has revealed its design in the build up of the launch. It appears to be a compact offering, with the latest Snapdragon 8-series chipset, a mammoth battery, a 144Hz refresh rate display, and a dual-camera setup, with the omission of a telephoto lens.
In the sections ahead, I’ll break down everything we know so far, including the iQOO 15R specifications, target audience, where it may be priced, and the rivals it could face in the Indian market.
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iQOO 15R launch date in India
The iQOO 15R is set to launch in India on February 24th at an event in Bengaluru, India. Fans from far and wide will be able to catch the event live via the company’s social media accounts and official YouTube channel.
iQOO 15R price will be under Rs 50,000
As confirmed above, the iQOO 15R will be a more affordable offering than the iQOO 15. To recall, the flagship iQOO smartphone was priced starting at Rs 72,999. While the exact pricing remains under wraps, the iQOO 15R will be priced under Rs 50,000 at least for the base variant. It was confirmed in our chat with the iQOO India CEO, Nipun Marya. He said, since flagship prices have gone much higher, there are so many consumers who want a sub-Rs 50,000 smartphone. The iQOO 15R fits “beautifully” in that segment, offering great performance with a great chipset, claims Marya.
If speculations are anything to go by, the iQOO 15R could retail for as low as Rs 47,999. The handset will come in two colourways: Triumph Silver and Dark Knight, and be available exlcusively via its partnered e-commerce platform, Amazon.in. Stay tuned to 91mobiles for the exact pricing of the smartphone, along with its launch offers and sale date.
iQOO 15R will be a compact offering
The iQOO 15R is touted as a ‘perfect-fit’ power-packed device without compromising on comfort. While the exact weight and dimensions (except for its thickness, which is 7.9mm) remain under the wraps, Marya adds that the “phone is meant to be manageable during long commutes and daily use.” The press renders of the smartphone confirms flat edge design, with camera module identical to its elder sibling iQOO 15 and centred punch-hole display. While the 15R’s Dark Knight variant will be a timeless classic with simple looks, the Triumph Silver will feature a chequered finish which seems to be inspired by motorsport.
iQOO 15R specifications confirm core audience
The iQOO 15R will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, paired with the Supercomputing Chip Q2, which is claimed to support up to 144FPS gameplay. The higher FPS enables smooth gaming experience, especially for fast-paced games such as BGMI. That said, this isn’t the highest FPS you get in the segment – jump to the competitors segment to know which smartphone aces that.
The Snapdragon chipset, on the other hand, ensures that the handset manages everything thrown at it seamlessly. It is a sub-flagship chipset, sharing most of its traits with the top-tier Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC. The iQOO 15R’s AnTuTu score of over 3.5 million is among the highest in the segment. This will be backed by a 6.5K IceCore VC cooling system and a network enhancement chip.
Needless to say, the iQOO 15R will boast a 144Hz refresh rate display, measuring 6.59 inches tall and is expected to bear 1.5k resolution. This is the standard display size in the segment. It’s unlikely that the iQOO smartphone will leverage on the LTPO panel to make its display more power efficient. However, it doesn’t seem like the iQOO 15R would need one. With a whopping 7,600mAh battery, largest in the segment, the handset should comfortably handle the high refresh rate and other usage for a full day.
The battery will be backed by 100W FlashCharge, which is again quickest for its price, to quickly top-up the iQOO 15R’s big battery in no time. Cameras will be where the smartphone will be cutting corners. Instead of the triple camera setup, the handset will only offer dual rear cameras, with a mid-range 50MP Sony LYT sensor and a sub-par 8MP ultrawide lens. There will be no telephoto lens for portraits like standard iQOO 15. The front camera is expected to be the standard 32MP shooter for selfies and video calling.
Software-wise, the phone will run OriginOS 6 out of the box and offer several AI features. The list includes AI Creation in Notes, AI Captions with real-time transcription and translation, Google Gemini integration, Circle to Search, AI Erase, AI Reflection Erase, AI Magic Move, AI Image Expander, AI Image Cut-out, and AI Document Scanning, among others. iQOO is commiting to four Android OS upgrades and six years of security updates, which is decent for the price range.
iQOO 15R competitors
The iQOO 15R will be competing against the Vivo V70 and OPPO Reno15 (review); however, these devices are positioned as more camera-centric offerings. The handset it will be most directly pitted against is the OnePlus 15R (review). Beyond the similar naming, the OnePlus smartphone also shares several similarities with the iQOO 15R. It is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, offers a large battery, fast charging, and a dual rear camera system, among other features. The OnePlus 15R also supports up to 165FPS gameplay and features a taller 6.83-inch display.
It should make for an interesting contest between the two devices. We will be comparing their performance in our full review, so stay tuned for that. Until then, the iQOO 15R appears to be a promising option, especially if it undercuts its closest rival, which starts at Rs 47,999.
iQOO 15R Images
