The iQOO 15 is a brand new flagship smartphone equipped with the most powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 hardware platform to date, paired with a dedicated Q3 chip for ray tracing and supercomputing. We’ll find out what the new device is capable of and whether it has any shortcomings in our review.
The iQOO 15 comes in a small black box with the model name and configuration information. Inside, in addition to the smartphone , you’ll find a 100W charger, a USB cable, a SIM eject tool, and a durable, opaque silicone case.
The trend for smartphones with waterfall screens is gradually becoming a thing of the past, and the IQOO 15 boasts a flat screen and flat edges with slight curves.
The new device’s design could be considered boring if not for a couple of interesting features. First, there’s a backlit bezel around the camera module , which indicates various events and can also serve a purely entertaining function, such as flashing to the beat of music.
The second highlight is the “Volcanic Gray” version’s back panel: it’s treated with a laser-applied holographic coating, mimicking an ink drawing that changes color depending on the angle and lighting. Unfortunately, we received the “Alpha Black” version, which is finished in standard matte glass.
The smartphone is thin and light, with the camera module protruding noticeably from the back, but not excessively so. The left edge of the case is free of any elements. The right edge houses the power button and volume rocker. The top edge houses the light sensor, microphone, and speaker, while the bottom edge houses a dual-SIM card slot, dual microphones, a USB-C port, and a speaker.
The front panel is almost entirely occupied by the display, with very narrow, almost invisible bezels. The front camera is centered at the top of the screen, next to the ambient light sensor, and just above it is the earpiece. Below the screen is a fingerprint scanner—ultrasonic, as befits a flagship—positioned quite high relative to the bottom edge, fitting comfortably under your thumb.
The camera module is discreet – it’s an inconspicuous black square that houses three lenses, a flash, and a set of sensors.
The IQOO 15 is IP68/IP69 dust and water resistant, meaning you don’t have to worry about damaging the smartphone if you get caught in the rain , for example . However, we wouldn’t recommend submerging it in water, as 100% survivability in such a scenario isn’t guaranteed.
IQOO notes that its flagship model features the most advanced display in the brand’s history. It’s a Samsung 2K M14 LEAD LTPO AMOLED screen with a 6.85-inch diagonal , a resolution of 3168×1440 pixels, a refresh rate of 144 Hz, and a pixel density of 508 ppi. The image is incredibly sharp, and the contrast with a standard FHD+ display is noticeable to the naked eye.
The high refresh rate is supported not only by the system, but also by some games – in some titles, such as Call of Duty Mobile, you can reach a maximum of 144 Hz, while in PUBG you could only get “only” 120 Hz .
The screen also boasts remarkable brightness. Peak brightness in small areas is 6,000 nits, overall screen brightness is 2,600 nits, and manual brightness is 1,000 nits. Simply put, the device delivers outstanding brightness both in normal use, including in direct sunlight, and when viewing HDR and Dolby Vision content. The display does not have a polarizing layer, resulting in sharper images, and an anti-glare film pre-installed on the screen eliminates glare.
The smartphone supports eye protection features and is certified by TÜV Rheinland. In the settings, you can enable or disable PWM dimming to eliminate flickering, add warm tones to the picture, adjust the color temperature, and activate intelligent brightness and color adaptation to reduce eye fatigue.
Additionally, to save power, you can reduce the display resolution to FHD+ and the refresh rate to 60 Hz. However, in the case of the IQOO 15, this would be a crime, as the display is already excellent, and limiting its potential is definitely not worth it.
The new model features stereo speakers, dedicated ones—the top speaker is separate from the earpiece. The sound is loud and clear. Bluetooth 6.0 is used for wireless data transfer, and it supports LDAC, aptX HD, aptX Adaptive, and aptX Lossless codecs—all flagship features. Special sound settings are available: “Super Audio” improves sound quality when playing through the speaker, “High-Resolution Audio” enhances low-quality files, and custom settings allow you to tailor the sound to your preferences.
Additionally, there’s a vibration motor, providing haptic feedback to various system actions. But far more interesting is the 4D vibration feature in games, which is supported by various titles. For example, in Call of Duty, gunfire triggers recoil, in Genshin Impact, skill use is tactilely responsive, in Asphalt Legends, you can feel the car’s acceleration, and so on. This feature greatly enhances the gaming experience.
A flagship smartphone deserves a flagship chipset. The iQOO 15 runs on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 5 platform, manufactured using a 3 nm process and featuring eight cores, two of which can accelerate to 4.6 GHz and six of which can reach 3.62 GHz. The graphics accelerator is the Adreno 840.
Additionally, the main chip is paired with an auxiliary chip—the Q3 supercomputing chip—which handles ray tracing , rendering, and machine learning calculations. It’s like a PC graphics card , a dedicated graphics processor for IQOO- optimized games.
Additionally, the IQOO 15 features 12 or 16 GB of the fastest LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and 256 or 512 GB of UFS 4.1 storage. The RAM can be expanded using the built-in storage; there is no memory card slot.
All this gives the new device a reason to be called a flagship gaming smartphone. As expected, the device runs smoothly in everyday use; you won’t notice any lag or sluggishness when performing standard tasks. Animations are smooth, switching between apps is instant, and the smartphone behaves as a top-end device should.
In games, you can also expect maximum graphics settings at the highest frame rate. There’s also an Ultra Gaming Mode that can be activated during gameplay. In addition to familiar features like disabling notifications and network optimization for smoother gameplay in online titles, there are unique options specific to the Q3 chip.
For example, you can increase the game’s resolution to make the image sharper, increase the frame rate, improve graphics with ray tracing, and enable various image filters. In shooters, you can activate a special mode that makes it easier to spot enemies hidden in the shadows.
The IQOO 15 also has a few other features. 4D vibration was mentioned above, but you can also enable display lighting effects and a ring around the camera for certain in-game actions, or add a respawn countdown around the front camera if you’re out of the game.
The manufacturer claims to use a cooling system with an ultra-large 8000 mm² vapor chamber, which ensures effective heat dissipation even under extreme gaming loads. In reality, the smartphone does heat up, but only slightly, and throttling is also less severe than other smartphones with this chipset. In short, gaming performance is carefully considered, with no compromises.
The smartphone’s powerful hardware is complemented by a suite of cutting-edge modules: 5G and 4G, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, an IR port, and connectivity with modern navigation systems. Two physical SIM card slots are complemented by eSIM support.
The IQOO 15 runs Android 16 with the proprietary Origin OS6 user interface. The user interface is user-friendly and intuitive, offering smooth operation and a vast array of customization options. You can customize everything, from the fingerprint scanner to the charging effects. There are some very interesting themes, including live animations and display changes based on viewing angles. And there are no built-in ads or bloatware.
Among the distinctive features is “Origin Space”—an island around the front camera where contextual notifications from various apps appear. Another unique feature is the dynamic lighting bezel around the camera cluster. It can react to incoming calls and notifications, music, data transfers, NFC activity, battery level, or simply glow in one of a variety of effects and colors. If you usually place your smartphone facedown, the bezel lighting will certainly come in handy. The included case is designed to not obstruct the lighting, so it’s always visible.
The IQOO 15’s main camera has three 50MP modules: a primary lens, a telephoto lens, and an ultra-wide lens. The main Sony IMX921 camera has an ƒ/1.9 aperture, phase detection autofocus, and optical image stabilization. The telephoto lens uses a Sony IMX882 sensor with an ƒ/2.7 aperture, phase detection autofocus, and optical image stabilization. The ultra-wide lens uses a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor and has an ƒ/2.1 aperture with autofocus.
The device takes good photos. The quality of photography isn’t breathtaking, but it’s also fine – quite acceptable for a flagship, albeit nothing spectacular. The zoom camera produces very decent photos, with excellent detail, good clarity, and no oversharpening. Over time, you find yourself using the 2X and 3X zoom more often than the 1X. The 10x zoom is suitable for daytime shooting, but more for fun than serious use – details are lost, and the post-processing algorithms over-extend them. The ultra-wide camera has a modest dynamic range, and nighttime shots lose detail.
What’s nice is that the IQOO 15 doesn’t rely entirely on AI ; the photos are free of the distortions typical of neural networks. The color rendition and accurate handling of light are also a pleasant surprise: photos aren’t overexposed, and the colors don’t become harsh or unnatural. Night mode does a pretty good job of capturing details in low-light situations. There’s also a macro mode option, perfect for photographing small objects.
The device records video in 1080p at 30 and 60 fps, 4K at 30 and 60 fps, and even 8K at 30 fps. It features ultra-stabilization and seamless switching between all cameras, including the front one. Unfortunately, there’s no support for HDR or Dolby Vision video recording .
The front camera takes decent photos in good lighting, but it uses non-disconnectable enhancers, so your selfies will still be processed by algorithms.
The camera app offers a wide range of settings, from one-tap shooting to advanced features. Filters are available, including exclusive ones like B&W, TEXTURE, VIVID, and NATURAL. Additionally, tapping the arrow under the shutter button launches a special “Street Camera” mode with its own interface and a set of settings for manual camera control.
In short, the IQOO 15 doesn’t emphasize photography, but it takes good enough photos to satisfy the average user. While the camera is more than adequate for everyday tasks, if you plan to take professional photos, you might want to look elsewhere.
The new device is equipped with a 7,000 mAh battery. In theory, its charge should last a long time, but it’s worth considering the flagship chipset’s noticeable power consumption and the high brightness and clarity of the display. As a result, the IQOO 15 lasts two days with average usage: calls, social media, messaging, and camera. If you play intensively, especially with ray tracing and super resolution enabled, battery life will likely decrease.
The device supports 100W fast charging, allowing you to charge the smartphone from 0 to 100% in 45 minutes. It also supports 40W wireless charging, bypass charging, and even reverse wireless charging.
In the settings, you can select a power consumption mode (power saving, balanced, and gaming “Monster mode”), configure background power management for applications, enable maximum power saving, and so on.
The iQOO 15 is an excellent gaming flagship. Powerful, with a dedicated chip for enhanced gaming graphics, a stunning LTPO display, ultra-fast memory, a long-lasting battery, and a suite of the latest modules, as well as a couple of unique features like a glowing bezel around the camera module, it’s the perfect solution for those who strive to stay on the cutting edge.
The model has a few drawbacks: the Alpha Black version’s design is a bit dull, the main camera can’t record HDR or Dolby Vision video, and the front camera is rather limited. But otherwise, this smartphone is very good, and that’s an undeniable fact.
If you’re a regular smartphone gamer, keep up with the latest releases, and want the ultimate gaming experience, the IQOO 15 is the perfect choice. However, this new device is suitable not only for gamers but also for those who want a convenient phone with flexible user interface customization and a stunning display.
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