2026 is turning out to be an extremely weird and difficult year for smartphones. Almost all phones, across price points, are suddenly Rs 5,000-7,000 more expensive. The ultra-premium phones are facing a lot of heat with recently flagship devices from Samsung, Xiaomi and others costing as much as Rs 1.4 lacs. Not everyone can spend that much on phones. Not everyone should either.
With flagship phones out of reach, it’s probably the time when mid-range flagships or tier 2 phones will be in high demand. Because, they still offer great value and can do most things that a flagship would. We also see this space getting highly competitive by the end of this year as more and more brands push for devices that offer top-tier performance without pushing the price as much.
The all new iQOO 15R is clearly designed with the same ideology. It’s a performance-focused phone, going up against the likes of OnePlus 15R and Poco X8 Pro Max, heavily relying on performance while also offering a good display and battery backup. There are some trade-offs as well and I will address them in this review. So, read on.
iQOO 15R Review: Design
One my complaints with iQOO is that the brand hasn’t done much with the design of its phones. You pick up most iQOO phones from the last 4-5 years and all of them look more or less the same. It makes sense because you want to create an identity and recall for buyers. But, I think it’s about time that some innovation is made.
If I keep that aside, then iQOO 15R looks good. It sits nicely in my palm despite packing a great hardware and massive battery. The phone feels light, stylish and comfortable during usage. It is 8.1mm thick and weighs around 210 grams, which is expected given everything that it packs.
I have the Triumph Silver finish variant with me that honestly feels premium. The back features a glass finish, sides have metal frames and the overall the phone is quite durable.
To make the phone look different, iQOO has added some subtle chequered patterns at the back that just add a bit of personality to the device without it being too flashy. So to put it straight, it is a kind of design I have seen, and the element of patterns you will only notice when the light hits the surface, rather than something that would immediately demand attention. It has its own charm.
Another thing that draws attention is the camera module. It has a combination of square and circle which looks different. When you look closely, you see a horizontal bar that holds two camera rings. This almost feels a tiny robotic eye looking at you, which again adds some character to overall design of the phone.
The phone comes with both IP68 and IP69 ratings, making the device resistant to dust and water. Also, you get Schott Sensation Alpha Glass at the front to protect the display from daily wear and tear.
Overall, the iQOO 15R’s design primarily focuses primarily on balance, comfort and great aesthetics.
iQOO 15R Review: Display
The iQOO 15R boasts a 6.59-inch 1.5K AMOLED display that is built on LTPS panel. The display supports 144Hz refresh rate, but the system interface usually operates at 120Hz refresh rate. In my daily usage, the device feels snappy and fast. Scrolling through applications, navigating the User Interface or playing games feels responsive and smooth.
The front looks great as well with the slim bezels and centered punch-hole camera. I watched many movies on Netflix, documentaries on Youtube, reels on Instagram and played games like BGMI and Asphalt, the display provided a large and distraction-free area for viewing.
I used the phone under intense sunlight while exploring some place in Delhi during peak afternoon, and the brightness was fine. It didn’t feel like squinting, and all thanks to its 5000 nits peak brightness.
During my display testing, the HDR videos on platforms like YouTube and Netflix performed really well. Coming on the colours, the contrast level is strong, vivid without looking over-exposed or harsh. Dark scenes retain good and clear details.
My overall experience of the display was sharp, real and on the premium side.
Colour reproduction is pleasing. In some situations, reds and blues do feel a bit boosted at times, but for the entertainment content it’s fine. Also, the fingerprint sensor is too fast. The moment you touch the display, the device is switched on without any lag or stutter.
iQOO 15R Review: Performance and Software
Under the hood, iQOO 15R runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 paired with 12GB LPDDR5X RAM and 512GB UFS 4.1.
In AnTuTu, it scored over 3 million, perfectly placing it among the top-performing Android smartphones in the market. Also, here the OnePlus 15R scored 2.8 million.
Similarly, the single-core and multi-core scores on Geekbench 6 were also less than the mentioned devices.
During running these benchmarks, the smartphone did warm up slightly and that is obvious when you rua ad on a device.
Apart from the numbers, I have tested the device in real-world situations as well, and the device performed above my expectations.
It is not always about the numbers; real-world tests matter just as much. I used social media apps like Instagram, Facebook, and X and they opened instantly. Even switching between them was seamless. To push it further, I loaded multiple heavy apps in the background and honestly, the device handled it well, but the device did heat up and during multi-heavy tasking, I could discover a little bit of stutter.
I also played Asphalt. The graphics were great, and the motion was smooth and fluid.
On the software front, the iQOO 15R runs on OriginOS 6 based on Android 16.
The User Interface is a bit cluttered but visually it is polished and has great numbers of customization options across animations, themes, widgets, navigation, and more.
An interesting thing here is that the brand offers four years of Android updates and six years of Security Patches. One downfall that I felt is the bloatware. So, the device has lots of game bloatware and of course you can install them, but it looks loaded with apps that makes the first impression a little downside.
iQOO 15R Review: Camera
The iQOO 15R comes with a dual camera setup – a 50 megapixel Sony LYT700 as primary camera, an 8-megapixel ultra-wide, and in the front you get a 32 megapixel front camera. You will get more versatile camera systems on flagship phones. And, this is one of the major trade-offs you have to make with the iQOO 15R.
While the main camera does a good job, the low-res ultra-wide angle and the lack of a dedicated telephoto sensor means that you will often find yourself short of options while taking pictures.
In daylight, the photos were captured very nicely without missing details and colours. Also, the HDR handling is strong. The 2x digital crop from the main sensor is also usable.
The ultra-wide camera loses the quality. Here, the details captured are on the low side compared to the main camera. Sometimes, you can miss on details and images do get soften a bit.
The front camera captures great selfies without missing details and also no softening of the skin tone.
Portrait mode is also justified here, the details are captured great.
iQOO 15R Review: Battery
The iQOO 15R comes with a massive 7,600mAh battery with 100W fast charging support.
In my full usage, a full charge got me through the day with 2 hours of Asphalt Legends, a Netflix movie, music on YouTube, and I had 50% battery left by the evening.
Drain tests tell the same story:
– Google Maps for 45 minutes? Just 3 per cent drop.
– Watching 4K videos for an hour? Around a 3–4 per cent drop.
– One hour of Asphalt? About 9 per cent drop.
Charging is also quick: 0 per cent to 50 per cent in about 15 minutes and nearly 100 per cent in 30–40 minutes with the included 100W charger.
iQOO 15R Review: My Final Verdict
The iQOO 15R is clearly designed as a performance-focused flagship killer. It offers a powerful processor, fast memory, a smooth display, and a huge battery, and that to at a competitive price.
However, there are a few areas where the phone could improve. The camera system is good but not exceptional; a telephoto could have made a great difference.
Who should buy:
– Need a performance-focused smartphone
– Need a compact display that produces great colours
– Need a battery powerhouse with great battery backup
Who should ignore:
– Need a versatile camera feature
– Need a clean user interface without bloatware
– With strong hardware and a few software optimizations in the future, the iQOO 15R has the potential to become a compelling performance phones.
