September 2026 will be closing out with a bang, as we will see the first Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6-powered phones launching this week. Some of the upcoming phones include the flagship iQOO 16 and Honor Magic 9 series, alongside more budget offerings like the Oppo K14 Plus and the HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G.
Upcoming Phones Launching This Week
Here's a quick look at the upcoming phones launching this week, as we gradually move into October 2026:
| Phone(s) | Launch Date |
|---|---|
| Honor Magic 9 Series | September 28, 2026 |
| Oppo K14 Plus | September 29, 2026 |
| iQOO 16 | September 29, 2026 |
| HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G | September 29, 2026 |
| Redmi 17C 5G | October 1, 2026 |
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1. Honor Magic 9 Series
The Honor Magic 9 series China launch is scheduled for September 28, 2026, and the lineup will include the Honor Magic 9, Honor Magic 9 Pro and Honor Magic 9 Pro Max. The series will be one of the earliest adopters of the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset.
Apart from this, the Honor Magic 9 series camera specs were confirmed recently. The upcoming Magic 9 series will feature a 200 MP main camera and a 200 MP telephoto shooter.
Honor is teaming up with ARRI for the optics, bringing the ARRI LogC3, ARRI Movie Mode and ARRI Look features to the phones. Apart from this, the phones are also confirmed to arrive with support for a 200mm teleconverter lens and a new 500m teleconverter option.
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2. Oppo K14 Plus
Next up, the Oppo K14 Plus launch date in India is confirmed for September 29, 2026, at 12:00 PM IST. It will go official in Solar Orange and Star White colourways and come in 6 GB + 128 GB, 8 GB + 128 GB and 8 GB + 256 GB variants.
The Dimensity 7360 Max chipset will power the Oppo K14 Plus and the phone will run on ColorOS 16 out of the box. However, it will most likely be part of the ColorOS17 eligible devices list.
The phone will also feature a 120 Hz display and for photos and videos, a 50 MP main rear camera with OIS. It will also be capable of capturing 4K videos.
Fueling it all will be a massive 8,000mAh battery. The Oppo K14 Plus will also bring solid durability to the table with an IP69K rating.
Judging by its specifications, the Oppo K14 Plus price in India could be set anywhere between Rs 30,000 and Rs 35,000, or maybe even more considering the RAM crisis.
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3. iQOO 16
The iQOO 16 launch date in China is confirmed for September 29, 2026, at 7:00 PM CST (or 4:30 PM IST). It's undoubtedly one of the most anticipated flagship phones this year, powered by the latest and greatest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset.
Other than that, we know that the flagship will arrive in Chasing Light, Legend and Racing Track colourways, with an interesting "Square Deco + UFO" camera module design.
The iQOO 16 will run on the latest Android 17-based software and OriginOS 7 features out of the box and will be the first phone to feature Samsung's M16 OLED 2K 165 Hz display that can achieve a local peak brightness of a whopping 10,000 nits.
Additionally, the iQOO 16 camera details were confirmed recently, and we know that it will arrive with a 50 MP OmniVision OV50Q main camera, a 50 MP ultra-wide lens and a 50 MP Sony IMX-882 3x "W-shaped" periscope telephoto lens.
Sadly, the iQOO 16 may not launch in India, as per leaks and reports. If that's the case, it will indeed be disappointing and as an iQOO 12 user, I'd certainly want the brand to continue releasing its top-tier flagships in the country every year (hoping for the best, sigh).
Oh, and one more thing: the flagship iQOO Pad Ultra will launch alongside the iQOO 16 and it will also be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6! The iQOO Pad Ultra display specs were also revealed recently and it will feature an 8.8-inch 165 Hz OLED panel with up to 4,500 nits of peak brightness.
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4. HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G
Up next, we also have the HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G India launch scheduled for September 29, 2026, at 12:00 PM IST. Phew, a busy day for sure. Anyway, the HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G is most likely a budget phone, judging by its specifications.
The phone will feature the Dimensity 6300 chipset and pack a big 6,000mAh battery, paired with 33W fast charging. Optics wise, the phone will sport a 64 MP Sony IMX682 primary rear camera and a 2 MP macro shooter. Meanwhile, at the front, a 13 MP camera will take care of selfies and video calls.
Out of the box, the HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G will run on Android 16 and it will also come with Indus by Sarvam AI right out of the box, which is an on-device AI with support for 22 regional languages.
Taking its revealed specs into account, the HMD Vibe 2 Pro 5G price in India could be set between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000.
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5. Redmi 17C 5G
Finally, ending the week and marking the beginning of the next month is the Redmi 17C 5G India launch on October 1, 2026. The Redmi 17C 5G is a budget phone that will feature a massive 6.9-inch 120 Hz display and a 6,000mAh battery.
In addition, the Dimensity 6300 chipset will power the phone and a 50 MP main rear camera will handle photos/videos. That's all for now, but we do expect the brand to reveal more details in the coming days leading up to the launch.
The Redmi 17C 5G price in India could be set between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000, from the looks of it.
Apart from this, here are some other upcoming phones in October 2026 that you should know of:
- Ai+ Pulse 2 FE India launch on October 5
- Vivo V80 India launch on October 6
- Vivo S2 FE India launch on October 6 as well
- Mivi One 5G India launch on October 8
- Xiaomi 18 Pro India launch (date undisclosed)
- Oppo Find X10 series India launch (date undisclosed)
- Vivo X500 series India launch (date undisclosed)
- OnePlus 16 China launch (date undisclosed)
- RedMagic 12 Pro+ series China launch (date undisclosed)
That said, October 2026 is certainly seeming like a busy month for phone launches. If you ask me, I'm particularly excited for the next generation of flagship phones powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 chipsets, like the OnePlus 16 and RedMagic 12 Pro+.
Stay tuned for all the updates as the exact launch dates of these flagships will also be revealed in the coming days and weeks!
