IQOO'S INDIA HUSTLE IS MORE GAMBIT THAN GIMMICK

Chief executive NIPUN MARYA is steering IQ00 with a laser focus on raw performance, real-world value, and the beastly new Neo 10, capturing a diverse Indian audience and now strategically tackling the offline arena. This isn't just another phone launch; it's a statement of intent of the phone manufacturer

- Sahil Mohan Gupta

THE AIR IN A FIVE-STAR RESTAURANT in Delhi is thick with the lunch-time babble, a stark contrast to the calm eicentre that is Nipun Marya. On a rather hot May afternoon, just before the curtains were officially lifted on the iQOO Neo 10 for the reviewer community, the iQOO CEO, looking every bit the seasoned tech-strategist in his sharp business casuals (a branded tee subtly peeping from under his coat, a quiet nod to the mission), is a study in composed articulation. Eloquent, smart, humble - the descriptors fit. He's a man who has navigated the labyrinthine Indian tech market from multiple vantage points: shaping Samsung's flagship narratives, understanding the grassroots with Lava, and then as Vivo's chief marketer during its meteoric ascent. Now, he is the “chief geek of the geeks,” helming iQOO, Vivo's performance-bred progeny. “

iQOO’s phones are more sports coupés,” it is often said, drawing parallels to the BMW M Sport models with which the brand shares a design philosophy, “than the jack-of-all-trades Mercedes S-Class models that Vivo's latest and greatest often denote.” It’s a potent analogy, hinting at a machine honed for a singular, thrilling purpose: undiluted performance. Yet, the narrative isn’t confined to the neon-lit world of esports. Marya reveals a surprising statistic to BW Businessworld, “All our internal data shows that when it comes to gaming, it is around 40-45 per cent at most.” He goes on to say that “the remaining 60 per cent are non-gamers (people who don’t even play a single game).”

This begs the question: who are these everyday users, these non-digital-athletes, flocking to what many perceive as a gamer’s brand?