The Japan Times - iQOO Neo 12 Set for October 28 China Launch With 144Hz Display

The iQOO Neo 12 will debut in China on October 28 with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, a 144Hz display and a large battery.

iQOO confirmed that the iQOO Neo 12 is due to launch in China on October 28, 2026, with sales starting shortly after the launch event. The gaming-centric smartphone is set to be equipped with Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, a dedicated gaming chip and a 2K OLED display with a 185Hz refresh rate. The company has also revealed the design and colour options ahead of the phone's launch.The new handset features a few enhancements over the iQOO Neo 11, among them active cooling and a revamped rear panel. as reported by a report published by Niharika Raj on October 19, 2026, the launch event is scheduled for 7 pm China time, or 4:30 pm IST. The company has revealed some important hardware specs, but battery size and charging are yet to be confirmed, along with India availability.iQOO Neo 12 design and colour optionsThe iQOO Neo 12 features a large, rounded-square camera module on the rear, with two vertically stacked camera lenses. The module is also branded with the ‘Monster Inside’ name and a round grille for the integrated cooling fan. The phone sports a sleek metal body, with exhaust vents along the right side.As revealed by iQOO ahead of the launch, the smartphone is set to be available in three colour options: Contest, Shadow Black and Frost Blade Blue. The Contest variant features a textured rear panel, while the other two offer darker and pale blue finishes. The company has also been working with the China Academy of Art on the phone's design.iQOO Neo 12 specifications and gaming featuresIts Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor is set to be paired with a dedicated Snapdragon Q3 gaming chipset from iQOO. It will run on a 2K OLED display from Visionox and feature a 185Hz refresh rate. The company has also mentioned that it offers a maximum brightness of 2200 nits in high-brightness mode and a minimum of 1 nit.For cooling, the phone will feature an integrated fan and iQOO’s Ice Dome active cooling system. Other confirmed features encompass a 3D ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and a 5,000 Hz touch sampling rate. In over 50 games, the iQOO claims to support 2K games up to 185 fps.The handset reportedly features a 100W wired charging rate, which is set to be sufficient to charge its 9,000mAh battery. nevertheless, so far iQOO has not officially confirmed this.iQOO Neo 12 India launch detailsThe iQOO Neo 12 is set to be available in China starting October 28, and pre-bookings are now open on Vivo's official website. The smartphone may be offered in select markets under the iQOO 16R brand and may have the same specs, as reported by a report.An India launch remains unconfirmed. The iQOO Neo 11 did not debut in India, so the Neo 10 is the newest addition to the Indian iQOO Neo lineup. A tipster has claimed that the new phone is coming to India, but the company hasn't stated what plans it has for India.

K.Abe--JT