iQoo’s Milestones and Future Plans: Exclusive Interview with CEO Nipun Marya
In a year that’s shaping up to be a milestone for iQoo, the company has just completed its four-year operations in India and has reached one million members in its official community, iQoo Connect. As a smartphone manufacturer known for launching fewer devices in a year, iQoo is looking to expand its portfolio calculatively. This year, the brand has already launched the iQoo Neo 9 Pro, Z9, Z9 Lite, and Z9x smartphones, and is now set to expand the Z-series further with the launch of Z9s.
Ahead of the big launch, Nipun Marya, CEO of iQoo India, sat down with Gadgets 360 to discuss the brand’s journey, challenges, and future plans. When asked about the journey of the brand, Marya said, "The last four years certainly have been challenging, but more than challenging, they have been rewarding. As a brand, we have learned so much about ourselves, our consumers, and the Indian market. As a result of whatever we learnt – the business has also grown strongly and steadily, which is encouraging."
The iQoo Connect community has been a key pillar of support for the brand, with Marya stating, "We recently crossed one million iQoo community members, and they are also people who guide us, help us, and challenge us many times. So, the last four years have been extremely rewarding."
Marya also shared his favorite iQoo device in the portfolio, revealing that it’s the iQoo 12. When asked about the upcoming Z9s series, he said, "The iQoo Z9s series launch is a very exciting one for us because rarely has it happened that we launch multiple products simultaneously. And it has never happened in the Z-series. We will have Z9s and Z9s Pro – two products in the line-up."
The Z9s series is expected to redefine the segment, with Marya emphasizing that the phones will offer the best performance, excellent cameras, and exceptional build quality. He also confirmed that the Z9s series will include two phones and that the brand is looking to offer a choice in whatever price segment customers want.
When asked to break down the iQoo smartphone portfolio, Marya explained that the DNA of iQoo is the highest level of performance, not just performance. The Z-series targets students or people who have just started their first jobs, while the Neo-series is focused on performance and esports. The flagship range, the numbered series, has the best of iQoo and the best smartphone technology available.
Marya also spoke about AI, stating that it’s a very promising technology with a long future ahead. He emphasized that AI is at the centre of whatever iQoo is doing, and the brand is looking at use cases of AI not just in cameras but also in esports, performance, battery charging, and more.
The upcoming Z9s smartphones will include some AI features right out of the box, and Marya confirmed that the brand is looking to offer a holistic experience of AI in its devices. With the iQoo Z9s series launch scheduled for later this month, stay tuned to Gadgets 360 for more updates.
