September 2026 has been a busy month in the consumer tech industry with a bunch of smartphone launches. While OnePlus 16 is gearing up for a Chinese release next month, Xiaomi and iQOO have already unveiled their flagship devices. The three handsets are set to rival each other in the flagship segment and offer one of the best smartphone experiences in the flagship Android smartphone world.
While OnePlus and iQOO will focus more towards performance and gaming, Xiaomi’s offering will aim to cater to photography enthusiasts. For a clearer picture of the differences, here is a comparison of these handsets.
Display: Xiaomi 18 Pro sports a 6.4-inch OLED 120Hz display with up to 4,000nits peak brightness and a 2.66-inch OLED 120Hz secondary screen on the back. iQOO 16 gets a 6.85-inch 2K+ OLED panel with up to 165Hz refresh rate and 10,000 nits peak brightness. The upcoming OnePlus 16 is set to have a 6.78-inch 1.5K OLED display with up to 185Hz refresh rate.
Performance: Under the hood, the 18 Pro draws power from a 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipset. The iQOO 16 sports the even more powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 processor and OnePlus 16 will also debut with this chip.
Software: All phones come with different custom skins. While Xiaomi’s 18 Pro boots on HyperOS 4, the iQOO 16 runs on OriginOS 7 based on Android 17. OnePlus 16 is expected to run on the latest version of ColorOS in China.
Battery: The Xiaomi device houses a 7,000mAh battery with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. The iQOO offering packs a massive 8,400mAh battery with 100W wired and 40W wireless charging support. Of the three, OnePlus 16 is expected to pack the largest 9,000mAh cell with support for 100W wired and 50W wireless charging speeds.
Cameras: Xiaomi 18 Pro flexes a 200MP OIS main + 50MP ultrawide + 200MP OIS periscope telephoto setup on the rear with a 50MP selfie shooter. iQOO 16 ships with a 50MP OIS main + 50MP ultrawide + 50MP 3x periscope telephoto OIS camera on the back and a a 32MP front camera. OnePlus 16 is anticipated to offer a 200MP OIS main + 50MP ultrawide + 50MP telephoto OIS rear camera setup and a 50MP selfie lens.
Also Read: Redmi 17C 5G vs Realme C85 5G vs Motorola G57 Power: Price, performance, battery and more compared
In China, the Xiaomi 18 Pro and iQOO 16 start from 5,999 yuan. The pricing of the OnePlus 16 remains a mystery till now. While these brands launched their premium phones in India after a Chinese debut in the past, things could be different this time due to the RAM and storage crisis.
OnePlus 16 and iQOO 16 could reportedly miss out on an India launch this year. However, chances of an India arrival of the Xiaomi 18 Pro are high. It may debut at a starting price of around Rs 1,00,000 in the country.