iQOO looks set to add another phone to its current premium-tier lineup. The iQOO 15T has started showing up in leaks, with details shared by Weibo tipster Experience More and earlier inputs from Digital Chat Station. The phone is expected to sit alongside the iQOO 15, iQOO 15 Ultra, and iQOO 15R.

This isn’t the first time iQOO has tried a T-model in the premium-tier lineup. The iQOO 9T back in 2022 arrived in the country as a reworked version of the Chinese iQOO 10. The 15T, though, looks like a more planned addition to the lineup rather than a rebadge.

iQOO 15T expected specifications

Leaks point to a 6.82-inch 2K panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, similar to what’s already on the iQOO 15. A metal frame is also tipped, so build quality should stay in line with the rest of the series. The chipset is where things change. The iQOO 15T is said to run on MediaTek’s Dimensity 9500, instead of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 used in the iQOO 15. That is also a premium-tier chipset from MediaTek use in the OPPO Find X9 series and Vivo X300 and X300 Pro.

Camera hardware could be a headline point. The phone is tipped to include a 200MP Samsung HP5 main sensor. That’s a big jump from the 50MP primary camera on the iQOO 15. Whether it translates into consistently better photos will depend on tuning, but it does give the 15T a clear spec advantage on spec sheets.

Battery size looks like the most practical upgrade. The 15T is rumoured to cross 8,000mAh, compared to the 7,000mAh battery on the iQOO 15. Charging is expected to stay at 100W wired. If this holds, the 15T could easily be the longest-lasting phone in the lineup. iQOO could be feeling the pressure from OnePlus which has leaped into the 9000s territory with the Nord 6’s 9000mAh battery.

For context, the iQOO 15 launched in China in October with a 2K AMOLED display, Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, triple 50MP cameras, and both wired and wireless charging. The 15T, based on leaks, swaps to a larger battery and higher resolution main camera, while moving to a different chipset.

Estimated pricing range

Going by convention, phones with MediaTek’s top-end chips have typically come in slightly lower than their Snapdragon counterparts, and the 15T could follow the same approach. So the iQOO 15T looks like it could be carrying a price tag of a sub-premium-tier range as the gap between the iQOO 15R and iQOO 15 is decent enough to accommodate another phone.

Between the iQOO 15 and 15T, the 15 offers a more balanced setup with Qualcomm’s chip and a versatile camera system. The 15T looks geared towards people who care about battery life and spec-heavy hardware, especially that larger battery and 200MP sensor. iQOO hasn’t confirmed the phone yet, but with a China launch expected later this month, clearer details around pricing and availability, including a possible India release, should follow.