iQOO 15 Ultra teased as a hardcore gaming flagship ahead of February China launch

iQOO is gearing up to expand its flagship lineup with a new premium smartphone called the iQOO 15 Ultra. The device is set to debut in China in early February 2026 as a more powerful sibling to the recently launched iQOO 15. While its India launch remains uncertain, official teasers and fresh leaks have already revealed enough to suggest that this is no ordinary flagship. Instead, iQOO is clearly targeting serious mobile gamers.

From the first official images, the iQOO 15 Ultra stands out with a bold, performance-inspired design. The phone features a circular rear camera module with a ring-style pattern, giving it a technical, almost industrial appearance. Subtle orange accents across the body further strengthen its sporty identity. The most striking element, however, is the presence of an active cooling fan near the lower portion of the phone — a rare feature outside dedicated gaming smartphones. To reinforce confidence in this hardware, iQOO is reportedly offering a special protection plan that covers the cooling fan for up to five years.

According to the company, the iQOO 15 Ultra has been built specifically for hardcore gamers. iQOO says the phone focuses on fast response times, stable frame rates, and extended gaming sessions without performance drops. Rather than treating it as a routine upgrade, the brand is positioning it as a “Performance Ultra” device. iQOO highlights its background in esports tuning, thermal management, and touch optimisation, claiming the phone is engineered to feel quick and precise even under heavy load. The emphasis is clearly on consistency and immersion, especially during competitive gameplay.

This philosophy places the iQOO 15 Ultra closer to gaming-centric smartphones than traditional flagships. With features like active cooling and a design inspired by performance hardware, it is expected to compete with devices such as the Red Magic 11 Pro series, which are aimed at dedicated gamers rather than general users.

Leaks suggest that the internal hardware will match this aggressive positioning. The phone is rumoured to include dedicated gaming shoulder buttons alongside the cooling fan. Battery capacity is expected to be another major talking point, with reports indicating a unit rated at 7,000mAh or more. Such a large battery would be significantly bigger than what is usually seen in flagship phones and should support longer gaming sessions without frequent charging.

Charging speeds could also set new benchmarks. The device has appeared on China’s 3C certification platform with support for 100W wired charging. Tipster Digital Chat Station claims that iQOO may later push this even further, potentially increasing speeds to 200W during the product’s lifecycle. If this happens, it would mark a return to ultra-fast charging levels last seen on the iQOO 11 Pro in 2022. Wireless charging is also expected, though exact speeds remain unknown.

While iQOO has not officially confirmed the processor or display, rumours point to Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset paired with a high-refresh-rate screen, possibly reaching 165Hz. On the camera front, leaks mention a 50-megapixel periscope telephoto lens, indicating that photography will not be ignored despite the phone’s gaming-first focus.