iQOO 16 tipped to feature Samsung's 185Hz display, and a 200MP camera upgrade

The iQOO 16 is still months away from an official reveal, but the rumor mill seems to be already spinning (actually, we are currently closer to last year's iQOO 15 launch date than to the expected iQOO 16 launch). And once again its mostly about the display, which iQOO 15 was mostly known for. But the issue here is that the leaks coming out of Weibo are painting a picture of a phone that wants to push numbers further than arguably anyone needs them pushed. Let's get into what's being said.

iQOO 16 Rumors

Display

The well-known tipster Smart Pikachu on Weibo just recently indicated that iQOO could be among the first brands to use Samsung's upcoming 2K panels with either 165Hz or 185Hz refresh rates. And the leak directly hints at a link to the iQOO 16. At first glance, that sounds exciting, until you sit with it for a second.

The iQOO 15 already ships with a 144Hz LTPO OLED, which is one of the better displays of its generation, and almost no one using it day-to-day is sitting there thinking the scrolling isn't smooth enough. The jump from 60Hz to 90Hz was transformative, and when the company transformed from 90Hz to 120Hz, most people noticed it. From 120Hz to 144Hz, it was a thing merely for enthusiasts and gamers. But from 144Hz to 165Hz, we were already in the new territory where you need to be specifically looking for the difference. And the 185Hz, now possibly being included in the iQOO 16, is so baffling that it hardly makes sense for a normal human retina.

• Also, read

• iQOO Z11x 5G launched with Dimensity 7400 Turbo SoC & IP68/69 rating

• iQOO Z11 launched in China with a 9020mAh battery, Dimensity 8500, and 165Hz AMOLED

Is it necessary, though?

It's a bit like putting an 8K display on a smartwatch, although technically an upgrade, but practically irrelevant, and somewhat absurd even. The diminishing returns on refresh rate have been obvious for a while now, and Samsung building 185Hz panels for mass-market phones suggests to me nothing more than the industry hasn't quite made peace with that yet. Or it could also be the symptom of a lack of transformative innovation in Smartphone hardware, and to be honest, it is indeed true that the technological development in the smartphone industry has been quite stagnant for a while now. 

The tipster does note that game ecosystems are already being adapted to support these higher rates, but that's still a narrow audience to build a headline feature around. One thing that is surely worth getting excited about is that the iQOO 16 is reportedly keeping the 2K resolution while rivals like the OnePlus 16 are rumored to be sticking with 1.5K. 

Camera

Smart Pikachu also tipped earlier this month that the phone would retain the triple camera setup but now would feature a 200MP primary camera alongside a 50MP periscope telephoto and a 50MP ultrawide. The iQOO 15's main sensor, a Sony IMX921 on a 1/1.56-inch chip, was doing a solid job for a phone that is primarily known for gaming and performance. A 200MP sensor, when paired with good pixel-binning and the potential Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 processing, might also close the gap to dedicated camera flagships.

Performance

Qualcomm has been trying new naming over the last few years, with no clear consistency pattern. But intuitively, it should surely feature something like a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. The name may change again, but it will likely be built on a 2nm process. 

iQOO 16 Rumors and Availability

The iQOO 16 is expected to launch in October 2026 in China, with global availability likely following in early 2027. Nothing here is confirmed yet, as all of this is tipster territory, and early leaks from Weibo have a track record of being directionally right but wrong on specifics. Stay tuned for future updates!

• Meanwhile, check out our review of the iQOO 15