“We Want to Be the Smoothest Android Experience”: Nipun Marya on iQOO 15, Premium Performance and Origin OS 6

Photo Credit: Qualcomm

The combination of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and iQOO’s custom Q3 chip has enabled new experiences. “With iQOO 15 as well, I feel that with the Q3 chip, whether it's the 2K, you know, super resolution or the 144Hz refresh rate or for the first time outside of iPhones, we are the first brand to offer ray tracing technology in the phone,” he explains.

“This is also through the Q3 chip. Right now, the ray tracing in iQOO 15 is available only in Genshin Impact. But we are the ones in the Android ecosystem, the first ones to offer it. So, you know, it tells so much about our direction and our focus on delivering actual user experience — experience which they can feel and not just on paper.”

A Display That Wants to Push the Industry Forward

iQOO is clearly proud of the hardware it’s bringing to the table — especially the new Samsung 2K M14 Lead OLED Display.

“It makes it the only other phone, I think, after the iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 to have this panel,” says Nipun. “On the Android side of things, only iQOO is the one with this Samsung display. Only iQOO, first one.”

He highlights other display innovations too: “We have 2,600 nits of HBM and 6,000 nits peak brightness. But 2,600 at HBM, we have never seen before. 144Hz, of course, is there.”

Nipun also details subtle engineering tweaks that elevate real-world experience: “It has triple ambient light sensors — usually there are two. This increases the speed of changing brightness automatically by 40% when under sunlight. The non-polarized layer is removed, hence the whole feel is more natural — the colours, the brightness, everything is more easy to the eye, more natural. Hence, this display is really very, very powerful and very advanced. In fact, the most advanced for smartphones.”

The Debut of Origin OS 6: What Does it Mean for the iQOO 15?

For years, vivo and iQOO phones have taken some flak in India for FunTouch OS, which, despite its name, wasn’t always that fun to use. The interface often felt cluttered with bloatware, lacked polish in animations, and offered only average levels of customization. But with the iQOO 15, the company is debuting Origin OS 6, a new software foundation that promises to smooth out many of those long-standing wrinkles.

“With Origin, the big philosophy, the big direction, the big vision is we want to be the smoothest Android experience,” says Nipun. “Therefore, if you see when we launched Origin OS 6, we said smooth at Origin. And that is what we are aiming towards. He continues, “We also want to see how the consumers react and give feedback to Origin.”

Cameras, Charging, and Pricing in India — iQOO’s Flagship Balancing Act

The camera setup on the iQOO 15, he confirms, is a triple 50MP setup with Sony’s IMX921 for the primary, JN1 for the ultra-wide, and IMX882 for the telephoto. “You will see no complaints at all,” he says. “Strong hardware tuned with Vivo’s colour science — I think iQOO 15 cameras will be very good.”

Battery and charging have also seen a leap. “Battery will be 7000mAh silicon carbide. Charging will be 100-watt wired and 40-watt wireless,” Nipun adds. “There was no wireless charging last year, so this is another premium addition. And bypass charging still exists.”

Even as iQOO pushes further into the premium space, Nipun insists its value-first philosophy remains. “We have always tried to deliver the maximum possible value to our consumers. Our journey will still remain the same,” he says. “There are many factors at play, including input costs, but the philosophy of the right pricing, giving true value to the consumer, will continue.”

The Shout For Premiumness

“From a design point of view, we have pretty much stayed within the DNA of iQOO. But wherever we could improve or enhance the experience, we have done that,” Nipun explains. “If you see the difference between the 13 and the 15, it is slightly more rounded at the edges — the experience becomes better, the ergonomics get better. The halo light in this case, for example, was more on the outside. Here, we have embedded it inside. So, that is another change.”

The overall idea, he says, was to iterate without losing identity: “Sometimes you do not need to reinvent the whole wheel. But if there are small feedbacks which you can incorporate and make it more user-friendly and look better, that is what we have done with the iQOO 15.”

“We Don’t Need to Be for Everyone — Just the Best at What We Do”

As the interview draws to a close, Nipun reflects on iQOO’s place in India’s smartphone landscape.

“I want to stick to our DNA of performance. That is our DNA. We would like to stick to that,” he says. “Performance means many things for many people. It’s not only equal to esports. As people mature in their smartphone usage, they’ll realize what a strong processor can offer and cannot offer.”

He adds, “If there are 100 people in the market, is iQOO for all 100 people? No, that’s not our intention. Whatever our segment is, we would like to promise that — and that is high performance. If we do that well, we will be home. We don’t need to do anything very fancy — just stick to our basics and the promise we are making to the users.”

The iQOO 15 launches in India on November 26, and Gizbot will be putting all of iQOO’s performance claims to the test through our detailed benchmarks and real-world reviews. Stay tuned for the full deep dive, coming soon on Gizbot.com and our YouTube channel.

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity without altering the intent of the responses.