I tested the iQOO 15: It is the ideal POCO F8 Ultra rival, and it has a major advantage

It's good to see iQOO continuing the momentum it's built up over the last four years with its numbered flagship models. I enjoyed using the iQOO 11, iQOO 12, and iQOO 13, and it was with the iQOO 12 that the Vivo sub-brand really got its act together in terms of the cameras. With the iQOO 15, it isn't changing much — the phone has an even bigger AMOLED panel, a huge 7,000mAh battery, a trio of 50MP rear cameras, and it comes with the latest Qualcomm silicon.

With POCO fumbling its strategy by not introducing the F8 Ultra in India, iQOO has one less contender to deal with. However, iQOO's positioning this year means the iQOO 15 has increased rivalry from the likes of the Realme GT 8 Pro. While iQOO did a good job maintaining roughly the same price over the last three generations, the iQOO 15 gets a significant price hike this time around.

That makes the phone not as good a value against its predecessors, and pits it against phones with better camera systems. Does it still make sense to consider the phone? I used the iQOO 15 for just over two weeks now, and here's what I think.

iQOO 15 pricing and availability: Get ready to pay a lot

The iQOO 15 made its debut in India on November 26 — the same day as the global launch of the POCO F8 Ultra — and the phone is available in the country for ₹72,999 ($810). That's for the 12GB/256GB variant, and the 16GB/512GB model costs ₹79,999 ($888) in the country. To put that into context, the iQOO 13 debuted at ₹54,999 ($610) for the 12GB/256GB configuration, and ₹59,999 ($665) for the 16GB/512GB model.

I don't really understand what iQOO is thinking this year; we just don't see such a drastic price hike, and in doing so, it effectively killed any early interest in the device — particularly with the iQOO 13 still available in the country.

iQOO 15 doesn't stand out as much

I've always enjoyed using iQOO phones because of the brand's ostentatious designs, but I just don't see that from the iQOO 15. The brand doesn't have a model that stands out this year, and the black color variant I'm using is so it dull it may have been a OnePlus phone.

There isn't anything to indicate that you're using a high-end phone, and the iQOO 15 just doesn't convey a sense of excitement. That's what I look for in a new phone, and the POCO F8 Ultra does this really well thanks to the new denim texture. The iQOO 15, on the other hand, just feels like a giant slab of a phone with about as much character as boiled lettuce.

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The phone has a fiberglass rear and aluminum mid-frame, and it is on the bigger side thanks to the 6.85-inch panel. It is also heavier at 216g, and that's down to the 7,000mAh battery. Weight distribution is decent enough, but it isn't the most comfortable to hold or use. Thankfully, iQOO retained IP68 and IP69 dust and water resistance, and the ultrasonic sensor does a good job with authentication.

This is a true powerhouse

Unlike other brands, iQOO is still using a 2K (3168 x 1440) panel, and the 6.85-inch AMOLED is one of the biggest in this category. It has bright colors, excellent brightness levels, and does a great job with Dolby Vision and HDR content in general. While iQOO advertises this as a 144Hz panel, it only switches to the higher resolution in select situations, and in most daily usage tasks, you'll get the same 120Hz as most other phones today.

The phone does a good job while gaming as well, and although the stereo sound isn't that loud or detailed — the F8 Ultra blows it out of the water — it is serviceable. Annoyingly, iQOO limits popular titles like Call of Duty and PUBG to 60fps, so although these games can hit 120fps on other phones, you don't get that on the device.

In a similar vein, the iQOO 15 isn't quite as good with sustained performance. It handles demanding games without any hassle, but there is noticeable throttling with extended use, and it overheats — similar to all other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 devices I tested. This is more to do with Qualcomm than iQOO, and although the phone has a bigger vapor cooling system this year, it still crossed 52 degrees in synthetic tests, and got uncomfortably hot in extended gaming scenarios.

The rest of the hardware is quite decent; the phone gets LPDDR5X RAM and UFS 4.1 storage modules, and the 16GB/512GB model I've been using didn't have any slowdowns or lag. The vibration motor is much better this generation, and I didn't run into any issues with connectivity.

Thanks to the 7,000mAh silicon battery, the iQOO 15 easily lasts a day and a half, and you can get it to last two days with regular use. The phone gets 100W charging tech, and it takes just under an hour to charge.

You get great cameras with the iQOO 15

Coming to the cameras, the iQOO 15 gets a 50MP Sony IMX921 main camera, alongside a 50MP Sony IMX881 tele lens with 3x optical zoom and OIS, and a 50MP Samsung JN1 wide-angle lens. There's a 32MP GalaxyCore GC32 selfie camera, and it gets 4K60 video.

The main camera and tele lenses do a great job (as you'd imagine), and the phone benefits from Vivo's tuning. I have no issues with the quality of the photos; the phone consistently delivered great shots in challenging shooting conditions, and the tele lens doubles as a portrait shooter.

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The only point of contention is that the wide-angle lens isn't as good. It still produces decent photos, but you don't quite get the same quality, and that's down to the sensor of choice. Samsung's JN1 is starting to show its age, and other brands have switched to newer modules that are much better. Clearly, Vivo either had sensors left over and pulled a Samsung, or it decided to save costs by using the older module.

Regardless, the other two cameras on the iQOO 15 are great, and it does a good job against the POCO F8 Ultra and Galaxy S25.

iQOO 15 has better software this year

The iQOO 15 comes with OriginOS 6 based on Android 16, and it is identical to what you get on the Vivo X300 Pro and X300. The new interface feels fresh, it has excellent fluidity, and I don't have much in the way of negatives. It is much better than earlier iQOO devices, and there is plenty of customizability.

Another positive is that the device will get five years of OS updates alongside seven years of security updates.

iQOO 15: Should you buy it?

Buying the iQOO 15 ultimately comes down to your preferences. It isn't as clear-cut a choice as previous years because of the price hike, but I still believe the iQOO 15 is positioned well in the Indian market. Its cameras may not beat the Realme GT 8 Pro or the regular Vivo X300 and Find X9, but it is a legitimate rival, and the fact that POCO didn't launch the F8 Ultra in the country makes things easier for the Vivo sub-brand.

I'd still recommend getting the iQOO 13; its cameras are good, and the hardware isn't slow by any measure. The iQOO 15 is a definite upgrade, but it misses out on being anywhere as good a value as its predecessor.