Vivo’s new brand iQOO is finally headed to India and it is going to function as a separate brand. The company recently confirmed that it will be launching an iQOO phone powered by the all new Snapdragon 865 mobile platform in India in February. According to the latest statement by iQOO’s Director of Marketing, Gagan Arora to The Mobile Indian, the company plans to launch two smartphones in the country in next month.
According to Mr. Arora, iQOO is gearing up for launch by the second week of February 2020. There is confirmation that one phone will support 5G connectivity while the other one will be a 4G phone. The two smartphones will feature similar hardware and design language but will be separated by a wide price margin. iQOO plans to take the Indian market by storm by pricing its products competitively, and the 4G variant will play a major role in meeting sales targets.
As revealed before, iQOO first phone will be fueled by Snapdragon 865 SoC. Initial reports claim that the device will be an India exclusive and sport numerous industry-first quirks and features. Mr. Arora further added that the smartphone will be an all-rounder with subtle inclinations towards the gaming community. Aiding the endeavor will be a large battery promising numerous hours of unhindered gaming experience.
Mr. Arora further claimed that iQOO will be a separate entity in India, and operate independently of Vivo. He said that the company’s headquarters is already setup in Bangalore, and smartphones will be manufactured here in India. Speaking on the sales network, he added that the upcoming phones will be available through every channel. Although it is relying heavily on online platforms for meeting its initial sales targets. It also plans to sell its smartphones offline.
iQOO currently has 80 members on its payroll in India, and claim to be future-ready for all possibilities that might arise in India. iQOO might try to replicate Xiaomi’s strategy in the country. Last year Xiaomi announced that sub-brands Redmi and POCO were separate entities from parent brand Mi. Other notable Chinese smartphone manufacturers to follow in the footstep include Oppo, whose sub-brand Realme was recently given a free hand in marketing and operations.
Both Redmi and Realme started as budget-friendly smartphone manufacturers but quickly moved on to offering flagship devices under their belt. iQOO was conceived as an exclusive gaming smartphone manufacturer to counter Xiaomi’s Black Shark platform. However, recent reports suggest that iQOO phones will be performance-centric phones with some gaming capabilities and affordable pricing. Vivo had recently trademarked monikers like iQOO Pro, iQOO Neo and iQOO Lite in India. Probably, upcoming iQOO phones in India may carry these monikers.
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