iQOO Pad Ultra Launches Today: Fan-Cooled 8.8-Inch Gaming Tablet
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The iQOO Pad Ultra launches in China today, September 29, 2026, at 7 PM local time alongside the iQOO 16. It is an 8.8-inch OLED “e-sports tablet” that is just 5.74mm thick, weighs about 298g, and packs something you almost never see in a tablet this thin: a built-in active cooling fan that spins up to 14,500 rpm.
Okay, I will be upfront. Small gaming tablets are my weakness. I have spent way too many hours on 8-inch slates because they hit the sweet spot between a phone screen that is too small and a 12-inch tablet that is too heavy to hold in bed. So when iQOO teased a fan-cooled 8.8-inch tablet with a flagship chip, I got genuinely excited. Here is everything iQOO has confirmed so far.
iQOO Pad Ultra launch date and time
iQOO confirmed on Weibo that the Pad Ultra debuts at the same September 29 event as its iQOO 16 flagship phone. The show starts at 7 PM China time, which is 4:30 PM in India and 11:00 UTC. iQOO is also introducing a new gaming headset at the same event. The tablet is China-first for now, with no global or India launch announced yet.
iQOO Pad Ultra specs at a glance
| Feature | iQOO Pad Ultra | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Launch | Sept 29, 2026, 7 PM China time | Official |
| Screen | 8.8-inch OLED, centred punch-hole, slim bezels | Official teasers |
| Thickness / weight | 5.74mm, about 298g | Official teasers |
| Cooling | Built-in fan, 30 x 30 x 3.5mm, 14,500 rpm, 0.94 CFM airflow, 1,661 sq mm dissipation area | Official |
| Chip | Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 (2nm) | Expected |
| Battery | About 9,000mAh | Expected |
| Accessories | Stretchable G1 game controller, back grip / double-sided clip | Official |
| Software perks | Cross-device game space, PC emulator, PC streaming, big-screen mode | Official |
| Colours | Ender Black, Star Silver | Official teasers |
| Price | Not yet announced | Revealed at launch |
A tablet with a fan? Yes, really
Gaming phones have had fans before, usually as clip-on accessories or bulky built-in systems. Putting one inside a 5.74mm tablet is a bold move. iQOO says the fan measures 30 x 30 x 3.5mm, spins up to 14,500 rpm and pushes up to 0.94 CFM of air across a 1,661 square millimetre heat-dissipation area. The official teaser even shows the fan through a see-through render, and the square camera module on the back doubles as an air vent with a glowing blue LED ring.
Why does this matter? Flagship chips can hit very high peak speeds, but in a thin tablet they usually throttle within 10 or 15 minutes of heavy gaming because the heat has nowhere to go. A fan moves that heat out of the chassis, which should keep frame rates steady in long sessions. That is the whole pitch here: sustained performance, not just a big benchmark number.
The display and size
The Pad Ultra uses an 8.8-inch OLED screen with a centred punch-hole selfie camera and thin bezels on every side. iQOO has not confirmed the resolution or refresh rate yet, but given iQOO’s gaming focus I would expect at least 144Hz. At 298g it weighs roughly the same as a large phone plus a case, which makes it far easier to hold for long gaming sessions than a full-size tablet.
The most obvious rival is Lenovo’s Legion line. We covered the Lenovo Legion Y700 Infinite earlier, and it is the tablet I think most buyers will cross-shop. The Pad Ultra’s fan is the clearest point of difference.
Chip and battery
Reports point to Qualcomm’s new 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, the same top-tier chip in the iQOO 16 and the headline product of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit 2026. Pairing that chip with active cooling is exactly the combination a gaming tablet needs. The battery is expected to be around 9,000mAh, which is big for a tablet this thin and light. Charging speed has not been confirmed.
Gaming accessories and software
iQOO is not just selling the slab. It is preparing two dedicated accessories: a stretchable G1 game controller that clamps around the tablet like a Nintendo Switch, and a back grip with a double-sided clip for more comfortable one-handed holding.
On the software side, iQOO says its upgraded cross-device game space supports a PC emulator, PC game streaming and a big-screen mode. If the PC emulator runs well on the new chip, this could double as a mini handheld PC for lighter Windows titles, which is a genuinely fun idea.
Expected price
iQOO has not shared the price. Small premium gaming tablets in China usually land somewhere between CNY 2,500 and CNY 4,000, depending on memory. With a flagship chip, a fan and OLED screen, I expect the Pad Ultra to sit toward the upper half of that range. I will update this once official pricing is out tonight. Until then, treat any number you see as a guess.
My take
The iQOO Pad Ultra is the kind of niche, slightly crazy product I love to see. Most tablet makers chase thinness or pen support. iQOO is chasing sustained frame rates, and it is willing to put a fan inside a 5.74mm body to get there. If the price is right and the fan is quiet, this could be the best small gaming tablet of the year. The big question is whether it ever leaves China. You can read the original launch report on My Mobile India.
Who should actually buy it?
If you mainly watch Netflix, read comics or take notes, this is not your tablet. A regular 11-inch tablet with a bigger screen and pen support will serve you better and probably cost less. The Pad Ultra makes sense for three kinds of people: mobile gamers who play long ranked sessions and hate throttling, commuters who want something bigger than a phone that still fits in a small bag, and tinkerers who want to try PC emulation and game streaming on a pocket-sized screen. If you fall into one of those groups, I would keep an eye on tonight’s pricing.
FAQ
When does the iQOO Pad Ultra launch?
It launches in China on September 29, 2026, at 7 PM local time, at the same event as the iQOO 16.
Does the iQOO Pad Ultra have a cooling fan?
Yes. It has a built-in 30 x 30 x 3.5mm fan that spins up to 14,500 rpm and moves up to 0.94 CFM of air.
How big and heavy is the iQOO Pad Ultra?
It has an 8.8-inch OLED display, is 5.74mm thick and weighs about 298g.
Will the iQOO Pad Ultra launch in India?
iQOO has not announced an India or global launch. For now it is a China-only product.
Priya covers gaming hardware and peripherals, testing everything from mechanical keyboards to high-refresh monitors. A lifelong PC gamer, she focuses on what actually matters once you are in the game.
