- Buying a new phone can be a task especially when you don't know what to look for.
- Here's our take on the list of smartphone launches happening in October 2026, from budget to mid-range to flagship.
- iQOO 16 made it to the market little earlier plus, OnePlus 16 is making its launch. Here's the list you should check out.
We got some impressive launches last month; however, every month brings something to cherish. We got our hands on the list of smartphone launches happening in October 2026. From the much-anticipated OnePlus 16 (which may not come out of China) to iQOO 16, the gaming beast RegMagic 12 Pro+ to mid-rangers such as the Oppo F35 series, to S2 FE, and beyond.
List of smartphones launching in October 2026
iQOO 16
Launch date: September 30, 2026
No, you aren’t on the list for phone launches in September, but since we got a last-day entry, we had to feature it here. iQOO 16 has arrived in China with a flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 SoC and a Samsung-made M16 6.85” 1440x3168px 165Hz panel boasting a local peak brightness of 10,000 nits.
Being a flagship phone and among the first few to get the Elite Extreme SoC, the iQOO 16 brings UFS 4.1 storage, LPDDR5X Ultra AM, a 50MP triple rear cam with OIS, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP periscope telephoto sensor with OIS and 3x optical zoom. The phone uses an 8,400 mAh battery plus 100W wired and 40W wireless charging. Other specs include Android 17-based OriginOS 7, a 32MP front cam, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, and IP69/69 out of the box.
Redmi 17C 5G (India)
Launch date: October 1
By the time you read this, Xiaomi has already released the Redmi 17C 5G in India, a few weeks after its unveiling in other markets. With a price tag of INR 20,999 for the base model, the Redmi 17C 5G brings a Dimensity 6300 SoC, 4GB LPDDR4X RAM, and 64/128GB UFS 2.2 storage for the hardware, and HyperOS 3 based on Android 16 out-of-the-box for the software.
The device uses a 6.9” IPS LCD HD+ 120Hz panel with 810 nits of peak brightness. There’s an 8MP front camera and a 50MP rear single camera. The phone has a significantly large battery pack at 6,000mAh with 33W fast charging tech.
Oppo F35 series
Launch date: October 5
Oppo is coming up with its mid-range F35 series on October 5. Set to arrive with two models: the base F35 and F35 Pro. The vanilla F35 comes with a 6.57” AMOLED panel, a Dimensity 6360 SoC, and a dual 50MP+2MP rear setup. The F35 Pro comes with a 6.78” AMOLED panel with a Dimensity 7360 Max SoC, a 50MP+8MP dual rear camera, plus 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The series will arrive with an 8,000 to 10,000mAh battery plus 80W charging tech, and a price tag commencing at INR 37,999 for the base and INR 44K-50K for the Pro variant.
Vivo V80 (India)
Launch date: October 6
Vivo is set to launch another smartphone in the V80 series after V80 Lite. Dubbed the vanilla Vivo V80, the phone is set to arrive in the premium mid-range segment with a new V-series design language and Zeiss-tuned cameras. The phone is speculated to have a 6.59” 1.5K 144Hz flat LTPS OLED and a Snapdragon 7 Gen 4 SoC under the hood. There’s a massive 7,200 mAh battery on board as opposed to a 6,500 mAh unit on the V70. It is paired with 90W fast charging tech.
Tuned by Zeiss, the camera setup includes a 50MP OIS primary, an 8MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto cam with OIS and 3x zoom. Other features tipped ahead of launch include an IP68/69 rating, IR, stereo speakers, an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner, Cinematic video recording at 4K@60pfs, up to 8GB RAM and 256GB of storage, and a seemingly exorbitant price tag (rumored).
Vivo X Fold6 (India/Global)
Launch date: October 6
It seems Vivo has quite a few launches scheduled for October 6. Apart from V80, the Chinese smartphone maker is set to announce the Vivo X Fold 6 in India on the same day, four months after the phone made its debut in China.
Regarding the specs, we have an 8.02” 120Hz AMOLED foldable panel plus a 6.51” 120Hz AMOLED secondary panel. Both of these displays are speculated to have peak brightness of up to 5,000 nits. The phone is likely to have a hinge durability of 600,000 folds.
On the powertrain, there’s a 3nm Dimensity 9500 Super SoC paired with 1TB UFS 4.1 storage, up to 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, OriginOS 7, and a massive 7,000mAh battery with 80W wired charging. Just like the V80, the X Fold 6 will be big on cameras, akin to a Zeiss-tuned 200MP primary cam with OIS, a 50MP secondary ultrawide, and a 50MP periscope telephoto sensor. The premium foldable phone is set to get two 20MP selfie cameras across both inner and outer displays.
Vivo S2 FE (India)
Launch date: October 6
When asked, Vivo says, “I can do this all day,” just kidding. Vivo has a third launch of the day on October 6, i.e., for the Vivo S2 FE. The phone is likely to have a massive 10,000mAh battery as per leaks, although Yogesh Brar puts it at 7,000mAh+ just to be on the safe side.
The phone is likely to host the Dimensity 7300e SoC under the hood that we saw on the Vivo V70. It’s also reported to have a 3,800sq mm VC cooling system. The phone, tipped to arrive at a price tag between INR 30,000 and 40,000, will have a 50MP dual rear cam, OriginOS 6 out of the box, an IP68/69 rating, and a 6.59” 1.5K 144Hz display with up to 5,000 nits of peak brightness.
RedMagic 12 Pro+ (China)
Launch date: October 2026
RedMagic 12 Pro+ is preparing for its launch sometime in October 2026, where it will compete against upcoming flagships OnePlus 16 and iQOO 16. Successor to the RedMagic 11 Pro+, the phone brings the slimmest bezels on board at 0.96mm, as opposed to the 11 Pro+’s 1.25mm. We have the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 SoC under the hood; plus, it will bring liquid cooling tech with an active fan and a ninth-gen under-display cam on board.
The smartphone maker is tagging the 12 Pro+ as the ‘best-feeling flagship to date.’ It packs in a purported 6.85” AMOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate; however, not much is known about the phone so far.
OnePlus 16 (China)
Launch date: October 2026
Well, OnePlus 16 is cooking’. The phone has already entered the pre-ordering stage in China, although the launch is likely to happen only in October. We are not certain about the global launch, as reports suggest OnePlus could pull out flagship phones from these markets, including India.
The OnePlus 16 features a 6.78” BOE X4 flat AMOLED panel with a 165Hz system-wide refresh rate and a 185Hz gaming refresh rate, a hefty 9,000mAh battery, a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 SoC, 16GB LPDDR6X RAM, and up to 1TB UFS 4.1 storage. The phone is confirmed to arrive with a ginormous 200MP snapper at the back, flanked by a 50MP periscope telephoto and 50MP ultrawide snapper.
Oppo Find X10 series (Global)
Launch date: October 2026 (TBD)
We just entered the month of October, and it’s already packed with a lot of upcoming smartphone launches. Oppo Find X10 series will make its global launch this month after the Chinese launch last month. With apparently no official date announced yet, we are left with assuming the phone will arrive someday this month.
The series packs in a standard Oppo Find X10 powered by a Dimensity 9600M SoC, Mali-G1 Ultra MC12 GPU, up to 12GB RAM, a 6.59” FHD+ 144Hz 2,000 nits display, a 200MP primary plus a 50MP ultra-wide, and a 200MP tertiary periscope telephoto lens on-board.
There’s also the X10 E in the picture, housing a slightly watered-down Dimensity 9500s SoC, a 6.59” AMOLED 120Hz 1,800 nits display, and a triple rear cam setup with a 50MP primary, a 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto shooter with two-axis OIS.
Wrapping up!
That’s our take on the list of smartphone launches in October 2026 that you should be on a look out for. From the glory of powerful flagship phones to mid-rangers and budget, the list gives you access to all the incoming and upcoming launches so that you can make a better buying decision. Check out our previous list of smartphone launches for more options.
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