The OnePlus 16: The Most Exciting Phone from the Brand in Years

Today marks the launch of the OnePlus 16 in China, representing the brand’s first flagship device since exiting the US and European markets earlier this summer. Fortunately, it appears to be one of the most impressive offerings from OnePlus in quite some time.

As is typical for OnePlus devices, the 16 is all about performance, featuring the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, with options for up to 1TB of storage and 16GB of RAM. Powering this beast is a massive 9,000mAh silicon-carbon battery, one of the largest found in any Android flagship to date. The charging capabilities are equally impressive, boasting 100W wired and 50W wireless charging.

On the display side, the phone introduces a 185Hz OLED panel for the first time. This not only supports 185fps gaming in compatible titles but can also operate at up to 165Hz across the system UI, a notable achievement for high refresh rate displays.

Even the camera system, which has historically been a weak point for OnePlus, has seen significant improvements. The main camera now features a higher resolution of 200 megapixels, a larger 1/1.4-inch sensor, and a faster f/1.4 aperture compared to the OnePlus 15. This upgrade should address previous concerns about low-light performance. The rear camera setup is rounded out with 50-megapixel ultrawide and telephoto lenses, the latter benefiting from a substantial upgrade to a 1/1.95-inch sensor.

The design also includes a unique touch, with a silver finish that incorporates LED lighting displaying a prominent “16” along with what the company describes as galactic coordinates. While the light patterns are fixed, they will reportedly flash in different rhythms to alert users about calls, messages, battery status, and more.

The OnePlus 16 is available in China starting at ¥5,699 (approximately $850). With OnePlus no longer operating in the US or Europe, a launch in those markets seems unlikely.