IQOO is a phone brand under the BBK group heritage – that’s the same group behind the likes of OnePlus, Vivo, Oppo and Realme. Here are some details about their operations in India.

1. iQOO is not just a random collection of letters. And no, it is not a different spelling of IQ (intelligence quotient). It actually stands for “I Quest On and On,” reflecting the brand’s commitment to keep improving.
2. The Indian branch of the brand will be based in Bengaluru. That makes it the third major phone brand to be headquartered in the city many people call India’s Silicon Valley (Xiaomi and OnePlus are the other two at the time of writing).
3. Initially seen as a sub-brand of Vivo, iQOO is, however, going to be an independent entity in India and globally. And this extends to everything from its product development to service centers and retail stores. Yes, it will even have separate service centers and will not be “leveraging” those of Vivo, a brand with which many associate it. “Vivo and iQOO are independent brands. We are competitors,” Gagan Arora, Director-Marketing, iQOO, told us.
4. The brand will be launching its first phone in India in February 2020. Although details are scarce at the moment, we have been told it will be a global launch and will be the first phone in the Indian market to come with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor and support for 5G.
5. The brand’s first phone was manufactured in India, using shared manufacturing facilities in Vivo’s plant in NOIDA, India, near the capital Delhi.
6. iQOO’s team in India started with eighty people but we were told its size is likely to go up in the coming days. As of now it seems the company has around 200 employees.
7. The brand is not focusing on a predominantly online or offline retail strategy. Although the brand mostly sells mainly online, it has also been made available in all channels. However Amazon seems to be the preferred destination to buy their products.
8. India is the first market outside of China to get iQOO products. Not a bad start for the brand, and it is also wonderful to see brands getting into this mode.
9. As per briefings in India, iQOO is going to be a brand that is going to be competing mainly on performance. “Best in class performance, perhaps the best in the industry,” Arora said, also indicating that the brand would be bringing a number of innovations to the Indian market.