iQOO 16R or 16s Clears India's BIS Certification as Launch Nears

iQOO's next mid-premium phone has taken another step toward an India launch. A handset carrying the model number I2606 has just been certified for sale by India's Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), the clearance every phone needs before it can be sold in the country. The listing itself does not name the device, so whether Indian buyers will know it as the iQOO 16R or the iQOO 16s is still an open question.

That uncertainty is the story of this phone so far. The I2606 model number first surfaced in the GSMA IMEI database in early September under the iQOO 16R name, and it has since appeared in Indonesia's TKDN database and Europe's EEC database. But when the same model number turned up in Malaysia's SIRIM certification on 5 November, it was listed as the iQOO 16s. The BIS filing attaches no commercial name at all, so the two names may turn out to be one phone sold under different branding in different markets — or iQOO may still be deciding which name to use.

A rebadged Z12 Turbo, if the leaks are right

Whatever it ends up being called, the handset is widely expected to be a rebadged version of the iQOO Z12 Turbo, the China-only model due to launch soon. That expectation follows a familiar pattern: the iQOO 15R sold in India earlier this year was a tweaked version of the China-bound iQOO Z11 Turbo, so a similar arrangement for the next generation would be no surprise.

Leaks around the Z12 Turbo point to a 6.59-inch OLED display with a high refresh rate and a battery of around 10,000mAh, with a built-in cooling fan also tipped as a possible addition. The chipset is where the leaks disagree: one report expects the as-yet-unannounced Snapdragon 8 Gen 6, while an earlier leak said the phone could use either the Snapdragon 8 Gen 6 or the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 Pro. Neither claim is confirmed, and iQOO has said nothing about the phone's specifications or launch date, so the hardware picture should still be treated as rumour.

Part of a bigger India push

The certification comes as iQOO is already building up to a bigger India launch. The company has started teasing the flagship iQOO 16 in India, with a launch expected in November, although that phone is rumoured to arrive at a very high price. The 16R or 16s would sit below it, and the precedent is encouraging for buyers: the iQOO 15R launched in India in February 2026 at Rs 44,999 for its 8GB and 256GB variant.

Certification is not a launch date, and BIS approval alone says nothing about when the phone will go on sale or what it will cost. But with the handset now cleared in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Europe, the paperwork trail suggests the wait will not be a long one. The one thing left to settle is the name on the box.

Note: the photo above shows the iQOO 15R, the predecessor of the phone discussed here. No verified photo of the unreleased iQOO 16R or 16s is available yet.

Why it matters

For buyers, the BIS listing is the strongest signal yet that iQOO's next performance-focused mid-ranger is coming to India, and the rumoured 10,000mAh battery and cooling fan would make it one of the most endurance-focused phones in its price band. For iQOO, it fills the gap between the value-led 15R and the flagship 16. What remains to be seen is whether the company launches it as the 16R, the 16s, or both in different markets — and whether the final hardware matches the ambitious leaks.

Readers following iQOO's certification trail can read our earlier report on the iQOO 16s certification in Malaysia, where the same model number first appeared under the 16s name.

Sources

• GSMArena — The iQOO 16R (or 16s) is headed to India
• GizmoChina — iQOO 16R inches towards launch, bags another important certification
• 91mobiles — iQOO 16R/16s spotted on Malaysian certification site ahead of launch