iQOO 15 review – GSMArena.com tests | Infinium-tech

Introduction and Specifications

The iQOO 15 is once again just in time to become one of the first smartphones powered by Qualcomm’s latest flagship chipset. As expected from the series, it offers an impressive value proposition – undercutting most premium competitors, while making few, if any, worthwhile compromises.

Apart from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, several other aspects work in favor of the iQOO 15. Despite the price increase, the company is making significant improvements.

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

The spec sheet reveals a small but notable camera upgrade. What used to be a fairly simple 2x zoom camera in the previous generation is now a 3x periscope telephoto with a much larger sensor. However, the main, ultrawide and front snappers remain unchanged.

iQOO 15 specifications at a glance:

• Body: 163.7×76.8×8.1 mm, 215 g; Fiberglass or glass back, aluminum frame; IP68/IP69 dustproof and water resistant (high pressure water jets; submersible up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes), color changing rear panel.
• Display: 6.85″ LTPO AMOLED, 1B color, 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 (2×4.6 GHz Oryon V3 Phoenix L + 6×3.62 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, LHDC5; NFC; Infrared port.
• various: Fingerprint reader (under the display, ultrasonic); Stereo speaker.

Battery upgrades seem to be a major trend for 2025, and iQOO is not sitting out. The iQOO 15 comes with a massive 7,000 mAh battery – a notable jump from last year’s 6,000/6,150 mAh unit.

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

As per tradition, iQOO is paying extra attention to the gaming experience. The handset uses a standalone supercomputing Q3 chip to take over some tasks from the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC and improve overall gaming performance.

On top of that, 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 competitors.

Unboxing the iQOO 15

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

There is also a soft silicone case.