iQOO 15R is being called a Compact Gaming Monster but after testing it for almost 30 Days i have some things to say.

This isn't the average test you've seen everywhere I'll be testing the 15R to the extreme pushing the limits of Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 and you can verify the validity of my information by checking the FPS charts and metrics of each game.

This Test is also posted on Twitter - Link 

For the Full review of the 15R check out my thread here - ( come back later for link )

Before we start:

This is NOT a camera-focused phone.

This is NOT a casual user phone.

This is built for:

• Gamers

• Power users

• Performance freaks

So I tested it that way. I'll also add the youtube links of all my gameplays so you can watch it in better quality since community only allows a max upload size 100 mb per video and 6 videos per thread.

Games Tested:

• GTA 5 (PC Emulation)

• NFS Payback (PC Emulation)

• COD Mobile

• Genshin Impact

• Wuthering Waves

• Zenless Zone Zero

• Warframe

• WreckFest

• Rainbow Six Mobile

• Arknights Endfield

GTA 5 ( PC Emulation )

• Youtube Gameplay  - Link 1 , Link 2 

if iQOO and Snapdragon want they can easily optimize Adreno Drivers to make GTA 5 run at a stable 45 fps at 720p render. The processor is capable it just needs optimization. iQOO cooler used with both PC Emulation tests as without it phone won't survive. 

For now the GPU drivers are not stable enough for PC emulation currently the best processor for PC Emulation is 8 Elite since it's been out for a year and has been optimised for PC emulation

NFS Payback ( PC Emulation )

• Youtube Gameplay - Link 1 , Link 2 

NFS Payback is too heavy for 8 Gen 5 to give stable FPS at 720p and for a compact device with plastic back this is a nightmare. Silver variant with glass back will perform better when paired up with an external cooler.

Even with iQOO Cooler Dark knight 15R couldn't handle this game for more than 20 minutes and fps drops as low as 25 when the heat rises beyond control .At this point you'll be torturing the device for no reason.

Wuthering Waves 

• Youtube Gameplay - Link 1 , Link 2 

Wuthering waves is a GPU dependent game it's too much for 8 Gen 5 to handle at Max settings.

Even pushing 10 watts of power draw Stable 60 fps is impossible and max temperature increases upto 46°C within 10 minutes. Average fps can drop pretty low during combat or in the new Lahai Roi map. It does not Support Q2 Super Resolution or Frame Interpolation.

Add to that plastic back & compact form factor making heat dissipation a challenge for the 15R being unable to maintain 60fps. You need atleast 8 Elite Gen 5 that too with active cooling to sustain 60 fps at max graphics.

Genshin Impact 

• Youtube Gameplay - Link 

Genshin Impact runs pretty stable if you don't use Super Resolution at extreme mode. I tested it on both Native 60 fps with Extreme super Resolution and 144hz interpolation with Ultra High super Resolution. Fps drops as low as 40 during combat and GPU intensive Area.

Genshin Also supports Super Resolution and Frame Interpolation.

• Extreme - Resolution boosted to 1.5K but drops fps to 30fps ❌

• Ultra High - boosts resolution to 900p and no fps drops (best option)✅

Upscaling works best in Genshin out of all the games i tested even CODM and other games dont have good upscale optimization as Genshin.

Frame Interpolation only works best for Genshin Impact and makes the game very smooth but for shooter games like COD or BGMI it slows down touch response and increases latency. Only use it for single player story games.

Warframe

• Youtube gameplay - Link 

This game although runs cooler than wuthering waves it is still very GPU heavy and hits 100 percent GPU utilisation. At Max graphics 8 Gen 5 cannot maintain 60 fps and there are frame drops during combat or heavy areas.

Zenless Zone Zero

• Youtube Gameplay - Link 

Zenless zero is a very combat heavy game and pushes 8 Gen 5 to the limit. 20 mins pushes 15R to 47°C and even Q chip shuts down but 15R tries hard to maintain High power draw.

Zenless also supports Super Resolution at Ultra High but no Frame interpolation support.

Also I've hit the limit of 6 videos per thread so i can't post more videos in this thread but you can check out the YouTube links for the gameplays

COD Mobile

• Youtube Gameplay - Link 

Extremely optimized game no issues with COD mobile.

Wreckfest 

• Youtube gameplay - Link 

8 Gen 5 cannot handle this game at Max Graphics when 20 or more opponents are being rendered and frames will drop heavily. Only in lighter maps and less opponents in a race will it maintain stable 60fps.

Rainbow Six Mobile

• Youtube gameplay - Link 

Extremely optimized game even 8 Gen 2 can run it at Max graphics and stable 60 fps. Matches are extremely short in Rainbow six hence the record duration below.

Arknights Endfield 

• Youtube gameplay - Link 

Although this game is more optimized than genshin or wuthering waves it is still very GPU heavy and can push the temperature as high as 46°C. There are frame drops as low as 45 fps during combat. Ignore the weird fps graph as cutscenes are only rendered at 30 fps which affects the fps chart readings.

My opinion on the Performance Tuning of iQOO 15R

I have to say I'm extremely impressed with how even after being a compact device the 8 Gen 5 is being pushed to it's max even at the cost of more heat. That is how a true gaming flagship should behave.

Heat can be controlled through environment and Cooling fans but a device that doesn't push enough power or has capped performance is never good for gaming and the iQOO 15R pushes peak performance even at 47°C.

Even though Q Chip shuts down due to heat at 46°C the power draw in 15R is maintained even as high as 10 to 12 watts in Wuthering waves or PC Emulation which is commendable.

Should you Buy ?

Yes. Right now iQOO 15R is the cheapest 8 Gen 5 device available if you're interested in Gaming.

Although you should AVOID the DARK KNIGHT variant as it has plastic back which is never good for gaming and heat Dissipation.

My recommendation ?

Go for the Silver Variant of the 15R with Glass back and get atleast 12Gb ram variant ( skip 8gb ram in 2026 )

This Concludes the Testing. Thank you for reading this far 🫡

Signing off

@Rahul S         

@iQOO Connect         @parakram_h         @ShankarSingh         @Mandeep Sharma