The iQOO Hackathon 2026 is India’s first phone-first AI hackathon series, organized by iQOO and Reskilll. Four city battles across Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, and Hyderabad challenge developers to build AI-powered solutions using the iQOO phone as a primary development device. Total prize pool: Rs 40,00,000. The Grand Finale is in Bengaluru, October 9-11, 2026.
What is the iQOO Hackathon?
Unlike traditional hackathons where you code on a laptop for 48 hours, the iQOO Hackathon introduces a phone-first, hybrid development model. You build with the iQOO 15’s Snapdragon NPU for on-device AI, use Office Kit to bridge phone and laptop, and demo your final product on the phone itself.
The event puts the performance capabilities of the iQOO 15 to the test – participants code, build, and solve complex problems using their phone as part of their development workflow. 55% of build time is “Red Light” (phone only), 45% is “Green Light” (both devices).
Who Organizes It?
iQOO (the smartphone brand known for performance-first flagships) partnered with Reskilll (India’s largest hackathon platform with a 7M+ developer community) to create this format. Reskilll handles the platform, registrations, judging infrastructure, and developer community. iQOO provides the hardware, AI credits, and the phone-first challenge format.
The 2026 Series: 4 Cities + Grand Finale
| City | Date | Duration | Prize Pool |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru | Aug 29-30, 2026 | 30 hours | Rs 6L |
| Pune | Sept 5-6, 2026 | 30 hours | Rs 6L |
| Chennai | Sept 12-13, 2026 | 30 hours | Rs 6L |
| Hyderabad | Sept 26-27, 2026 | 30 hours | Rs 6L |
| Grand Finale (Bengaluru) | Oct 9-11, 2026 | 48 hours | Remaining pool |
Top 6 teams from each city (3 student + 3 professional) advance to the Grand Finale. That’s 24 qualified teams plus direct registrations competing for the national title.
What Makes the iQOO Hackathon Different?
Phone-First Build (Not Phone-Optional)
55% of your build time is Red Light – phone only, no laptop. Office Kit is your bridge: screen mirror, shared clipboard, file transfer, and remote control. This isn’t a gimmick – it’s 25% of your judging score measured by HackTracker device data.
On-Device AI on Snapdragon NPU
Local and open-source LLMs running directly on the phone’s Neural Processing Unit. No cloud dependency. No API costs. Models like Phi-3, Gemma 2B, and Whisper Tiny run inference on-device at speed. AI credits for the weekend are provided free.
Two Separate Tracks
Students and working professionals compete in separate buckets. Both get Rs 1.5L top prize per city. Your team stays within one bucket – no mixing.
Device Data Scoring (Can’t Fake It)
25% of your score comes from HackTracker – actual device telemetry measuring phone usage (15%) and Office Kit usage (10%). You can’t claim phone-first in your pitch if the data says otherwise.
Prize Breakdown
Per City Battle (Rs 6L each)
| Category | Winner | 1st Runner-up | 2nd Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working Professionals | Rs 1.5L | Rs 1L | Rs 70K |
| Students | Rs 1.5L | Rs 80K | Rs 50K |
Total series pool: Rs 40,00,000 across four cities + Grand Finale + special awards.
7 Problem Tracks
- FinTech and Commerce – payments, lending, financial inclusion
- Smart Education – AI tutoring, study workflows, assessment
- HealthTech – healthcare, wellness, fitness, mental health
- Productivity – workflow automation, task management
- Smart Living – IoT, smart homes, connected devices
- Developer Tools – tools for devs to create, test, deploy faster
- Open Innovation – anything with a local/open-source model at the core
A local or open-source model at the core earns brownie points across all tracks.
What Every Participant Gets (Free)
- iQOO flagship phone – loaner device for the event (handed over at Saturday check-in)
- Office Kit + AI credits – phone-to-laptop bridge + free inference credits for the weekend
- 10-15 mentors on the floor from product, AI/ML, and the Reskilll network
- 5-person jury drawn from industry
- Meals included on event days
How to Register
- Visit iqoo.reskilll.com
- Select your city battle (Bengaluru, Pune, Chennai, or Hyderabad)
- Register solo or as a team of up to 3
- Submit your idea for screening
- Get shortlisted for the on-ground battle
No invite needed. No referral needed. No campus nomination. Open applications, idea screening, then the battle. Free to enter.
The Scoring Rubric
| Criteria | Weight | Source |
|---|---|---|
| End product quality | 30% | Jury |
| Novelty and impact | 20% | Jury |
| Creative phone use (camera, voice, on-device AI) | 15% | HackTracker device data |
| Technical depth | 15% | Jury |
| Office Kit usage | 10% | HackTracker device data |
| Demo and presentation | 10% | Jury |
Key insight: A well-built simple product beats a broken complex one. And the 25% from device data is measured automatically – no way to fake it in your pitch.
How to Prepare
- Download Office Kit for your laptop (pc.vivoglobal.com) and practice screen mirror + remote control
- Research local LLMs that run on Snapdragon NPU (Phi-3, Gemma 2B, Whisper Tiny)
- Build a mini app that uses phone camera + on-device AI before the event
- Plan your Red Light work – know exactly what you’ll build during phone-only time
- Read the complete hackathon winning playbook
Who Should Participate?
- Students from any college in India (CS, IT, ECE, any branch)
- Working professionals in IT, AI/ML, product, mobile development
- AI enthusiasts who want to build with on-device models
- Mobile developers looking to push phone capabilities
Teams cannot mix students and professionals. Max team size: 3.
Past iQOO Hackathon Events on Reskilll
The iQOO x Reskilll partnership has previously hosted TechQuest (in-person AI mobile workshops in 4 cities) and the original iQOO Hackathon in early 2026 that received 500+ registrations across Delhi NCR and Bangalore editions. The City Battles 2026 series is the biggest edition yet – expanded to 4 cities with 8x the prize pool.
What NOT to Do
- Don’t build a web-only app – the demo MUST run on the iQOO phone. Web apps that ignore phone features miss 25% of the score.
- Don’t skip Office Kit practice – fumbling with it during Red Light wastes precious hours
- Don’t use only cloud APIs – on-device/local models earn extra points per the rubric
- Don’t come without a plan – the Red Light/Green Light split needs pre-planned task distribution
Register Now
Registrations are open for all four city battles. Pick your battleground and start preparing.
Register for iQOO Hackathon 2026 – City Battles
More hackathons: Browse all hackathons on Reskilll | AI hackathons | Student hackathons