The first phone from my first salary was a OnePlus 3, and now there are rumours that OnePlus is shutting down. Plus, there are budget smartphone launches from iQOO, Realme, and Vivo, and Oppo is bringing its ultra-flagships to India for the first time. Frankly, I’ve never seen such a confusing smartphone market in India, and on top of that, we can see that smartphone prices are through the roof. People can’t really decide what to wait for or what to buy.
Now, before we get to the OnePlus news, let’s talk about budget smartphone launches. The iQOO Z1 is at the top of this list. iQOO's Z-series usually has excellent specifications with low prices, and one of the most popular models in the series last year was the iQOO Z10, which provided a large 7,300 mAh battery for a low price.
Upcoming smartphone:
So the Z1 will be an update to that. As per leaks, in India, it might come around the second week of April 2026. According to spec-related news about this phone, there is talk of having a spec configuration like a 6.83-inch 1.5K OLED display and while the processor would be MediaTek Dimensity 8500, a great deal would depend on this being an impressive device based upon the battery life alone, having been mentioned numerous times in multiple blogs.
First off, operating under the assumption that if true, having a massive battery life of 9020 mAh is just unbelievable, as I own numerous portable power banks of upwards of 10k mAh, and to receive that in a smartphone is unbelievable, let alone having 90 watt charge capability. Finally, as for potential price, all reports indicate that we could reasonably expect to see at least $25000, which may amount to somewhere close to previous device price points.
Price hike for better specs:
If companies hike the price in flagships for better specs, people can still extend their budget and get one, like in the case of iQOO 13 to iQOO 15. iQOO 15 had better specs, but the price hike was about 18,000. Now imagine if you do this in a budget phone, like a 15,000 phone, which will cost 25,000, and we don’t realise this. A lot of people in India, or the majority of people in India, are also coming from a dumb phone or budget phone to another budget phone.
For them, it’s not an option; they cannot raise their budget. So if there are huge customers in the budget range, there will be a smartphone company that will sell budget phones. So that’s why you see downgraded specs. Next up, there are not one but two phones from Realme, the Realme 16 and the Realme 16T. Now there is no specific date for the launch, but it is rumoured to launch in the second to third week of April. Last year, Realme introduced the T series with the Realme 15T.
The series T of Realme:
The series T of Realme comes right below their Pro series. According to the spec details we have seen so far regarding this phone, we believe this device will sport a 6.7-inch AMOLED display and a MediaTek Dimensity 8300 processor and have an extremely large 6500 mAh battery in addition to its other features. As for price, it is also rumoured that this device will be priced around the same 25000 range as your average smartphone.
Next up is the Realme 16, and design-wise, it looks very interesting. The Flipkart page for the Realme 16 is live, which reveals the design. If you see, the design looks very similar to the Vivo X300 FE that we covered in the past. And another interesting thing here is that it will come with a small mirror on the back, so you can use that to take selfies from the main camera. Now, if you keep the mirror thing aside, the camera layout we have seen with the Pixel and the iPhone Air as well. The Realme 16 is said to have a display size of 6.5 inches AMOLED powered by MediaTek Dimensity 6400 Turbo chip, and a battery of 7000 mAh or greater, and the other exciting feature will be that it will support two 50 megapixel camera lenses for both general photography and selfies, respectively.
The expected price:
The leak indicates a 20 to 22k rupees price is likely going to be around. Next month, Vivo will also announce its plans to launch several phones. The first device they plan to launch will be the Vivo V70 FE. Leaks suggest that this device could launch within the first week of April. In terms of specs, it is also rumoured that this phone will have a 6.83-inch AMOLED display as well as a 200-megapixel main camera. For performance, you might get a Dimensity 7360 Turbo processor along with a massive 7,000 mAh battery. Now, in terms of pricing, we have seen that the V series is priced slightly higher, so this should also be priced around 30,000 rupees in India.
And now, before we move on to the next launch, let’s talk about OnePlus. Let’s take a look at what has happened till now. Why are the rumours there? One of the main reasons is that the OnePlus India CEO has returned to China; he has already made a decision to back off from his position in India, so basically, right now, OnePlus India doesn’t have a CEO. Now credible news outlets have suspected that OnePlus will shut down everything globally, be it the US, Europe, and additionally in India. OnePlus has asked offline stores to remove the inventory, so offline is being killed.
OnePlus is now Oppo:
Also, OnePlus phones can now be serviced at Oppo service centres. Now, all of this might seem like OnePlus is slowly shutting down everything in India, but here’s what I think. OnePlus is now slowly getting absorbed into Oppo. First, it was OxygenOS, and now service centres, now teams, and everything will just go inside Oppo. So the thing is, the brand OnePlus will still be available in India, but one thing will change for the company, and everything will be run by Oppo from now on. And going forward, rumours are that OnePlus will only be seen to launch our favourite and most loved segment, which is value for money budget phones in India, from now on.
This one just hurts because I’ve always known OnePlus to be a premium or a flagship brand, but I hope things change for them. Now these were the rumours, opinions, and some of them were facts. But as per the official statement from OnePlus, OnePlus's operations in India will continue as they are. So now the bigger question is, should you buy a OnePlus phone as of now?
Well, I would say wait a little bit for things to get clear. And also, there’s a rumour that the OnePlus Nord 6 is coming to India soon. Now, OnePlus has officially confirmed that it will launch in India. The Nord 6 is set to launch on April 7th, and it got a slight design refresh. The camera island looks very similar to the OnePlus 15. So in terms of specs, as per rumours, it will have a 9,000 mAh silicon carbon battery with 80-watt fast charging and 27-watt reverse wired charging.
The specifications:
Along with this, it will have a large 6.83-inch display with a 165 Hz refresh rate, just like the flagship OnePlus 15. For performance, it is rumoured to come with a Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 processor along with a 50-megapixel Sony camera. Now, in terms of pricing, the leak suggests that OnePlus might price it similarly to last year, so it should be around 30 to 35,000, which, if you get it in 2026, is a win. And if you see, the entire OnePlus lineup is slowly moving towards performance and gaming phones. Now, along with the confirmed Nord 6 launch, OnePlus is also rumoured to launch the OnePlus 15s in India. Now it was launched as the OnePlus 15T in China recently, and it is a compact series phone. The previous year, OnePlus started with their compact series, 13S, though it was not quite popular. So the 15s would be an upgrade over the 13s.
The leaks say that it might launch around June 2026. In terms of specs, the rumours suggest that it will have the same 6.3-inch AMOLED display along with the flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset and a massive 7,500 mAh silicon carbon battery. Like for that form factor, that’s quite a lot. Now, in terms of pricing, it will see a slight price bump, and I think it will come around 60 to 65,000 in India. And speaking of OnePlus and Oppo, Oppo is going to bring one phone in India that has never been launched. Like it is the hot topic of the internet right now, it’s the Oppo Find X9 Ultra. Last year, Oppo launched a China-only phone, which is the Find X8 Ultra. As per leaks, it might launch around 21st April in China and select global markets.
Oppo Find X9 Ultra:
Now, why is the Find X9 Ultra trending on the internet right now? Well, see, the Find X9 Ultra has a new 10x optical zoom camera. And what’s so crazy in that, if you ask? See if you look at the video, the footage will look quite stable. This would be the first phone in the world to have lossless quality in videos. As commented on in recent media updates, the device will feature a 200-megapixel (MP) primary rear-facing camera using Sony's latest and highly innovative LYT901 camera sensor.
Additionally, the device will also contain a 50 MP ultra-wide angle and a 50 MP 10 optical zoom (10x) periscope-style rear-facing camera. With regard to processor power, the new device is expected to contain Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset. And packing all that huge camera array, it will also have a 7,000 mAh battery, which will get 100-watt wired charging and 50-watt wireless charging. Now, in terms of pricing, since this is an ultra flagship, the sky is the limit. On a serious note, it might launch around 1.3 to 1.4 lakh in India.
Now Vivo is also in this race:
And not just Oppo, even Vivo will bring for the first time their ultra flagship phone in India, the Vivo X300 Ultra. It is set to launch in China on March 30th. Now, in terms of specs, again, this is a heavily camera-focused smartphone. According to reports, the device should feature a camera arrangement of 3 lenses.
Camera:
The main camera should be a 200-megapixel Sony LYT901, the second camera should be a 50-megapixel ultra wide, and the final camera should be a periscope telephoto lens of 200-megapixels. In addition, this camera bundle will include a front selfie camera of 50-megapixels with autofocus. Now the crazy part about the Ultra is we saw this unboxing video, which is going pretty viral, and this shows not only one but two lens attachments.
So the X300 Ultra will come with two dedicated camera lenses. At this point, it’s a camera that runs on Android. For performance, it is rumoured to come with an 8 Elite Gen 5 processor and a 7,000 mAh battery. Again, since it is an ultra, it will also have ultra pricing, so it should launch around 1.3 to 1.4 lakh in India. Next one, okay, okay, that’s a big question for sure. Oppo Find X9 and Vivo X300 will have better camera and video-taking features than the iPhone 17. And between Find X9 and Vivo X300, I would recommend Vivo X300. It is slightly better due to two reasons. Number one, Find X9 has focusing issues; Vivo X300 doesn’t have that. Plus, Vivo X300 has better battery life because it has an LTPO display. Like I was daily driving it, and I got almost 9 hours of screen-on time.
Vivo X300 buying options:
Plus, Vivo X300 also has USB 3.2 Gen 2. And the second reason is that offline in Vijay Sales or Croma, the Vivo X300 has a very good discount. If you put in card offers and UPI offers, the price comes down from 75,900 to almost 61,000 to 62,000. And for that price, Vivo X300, being the latest flagship phone, is actually a very good deal for 2026. And lastly, about iPhone 17 Pro coming down to 85,000 during BBD, I don’t think that will happen this year. Plus, God knows how much stock will be there.
Just like Ojas, a lot of you have this doubt: should you buy a one-year-old phone with just one less OS update, or should you buy the latest one with the 2026 price hike? See, for most of us, like 90% of people in 90% of smartphone cases, you should buy the previous one.
What about Apple?
For example, if you compare the specs of Oppo K13 versus Oppo K14, which was launched this year, I don’t think anyone should buy Oppo K14. So I think most people should be fine with one year less OS update, but buy one-year-old phones. And when we are talking about flagships, we almost forget about Apple. June 8th is an important date to remember because Apple has announced this date for WWDC.
Now, WWDC is a software event, but Apple has been known to launch hardware stuff in the past 2 to 3 years during WWDC. Now, there are a few things that are already going to launch there. To begin with, it is thought that Apple will unveil an updated version of Siri; however, it appears that the new Siri may actually be more than just a voice assistant, but rather an AI system-wide agent.
Siri would also be outfitted with an app available to iPhones, iPads, and Macs, and would incorporate capabilities such as chat history, the ability to upload files, and a memory of conversations. Like, now Siri will get a lot smarter. It can understand what is on your screen, and it can also operate between apps. And to do all of this on Siri, Apple has struck a billion-dollar deal with Google, and Gemini is in the backend of everything that’s happening.
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So, just a food for thought, if in the future AI is the only way that you interact with your smartphone or open apps, will there be a difference between Android and iOS? Because both of them are run by Gemini. Also, there’s a new update coming to macOS, and this newer update will not be for Intel-based Macs, so macOS 26 was the last update for Intel-based Macs. So, which smartphone are you excited about? Personally, I’m excited about the X9 Ultra and Vivo X300 Ultra.
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