OnePlus has launched the OnePlus 16 in China, starting at CNY 5,699 (≈ $852) during its promotional period. The flagship comes with a 9,000 mAh battery capacity, a 200 MP main camera, a 185 Hz display, and Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6. It won’t launch in the U.S. or Europe, following the company’s exit from those regions. India availability is still unconfirmed.
The OnePlus 16 is power-packed
OnePlus confirmed the OnePlus 16 on its Weibo account after the Gaming Conference in late September. The phone then launched at an event in China on October 12 at 7 p.m. local time, and open sales began on today at 10 a.m. China time.
The brand also shared official images of the phone in all three colors. The new phone runs Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 and pairs it with an upgraded Glacier cooling system. The vapor chamber is 40% better, and the device adds custom chips for network, display, and touch to improve connectivity and responsiveness.
The battery is now 9,000 mAh, up from 7,300 mAh on the OnePlus 15, and it supports 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. Wired charging reaches 80% in 37 minutes, and there's a promise of at least five years of battery health, although there's no word on charging cycle figures.
The OLED display reaches 185 Hz in supported games and runs at 165 Hz across the system. The phone’s main camera is a 200 MP 1/1.4-inch sensor with an f/1.6 aperture, alongside a 50 MP ultrawide and a 50 MP 3x telephoto using Sony’s IMX882 sensor, which measures 1/1.95 inches. Last year’s telephoto used a smaller 1/2.76-inch sensor.
The front camera is also 50 MP, and there’s support for full-resolution 200 MP shots with an XPAN-style mode and a wide 65:24 aspect ratio.
Unsurprisingly, it’s more expensive than before
Colors available for the OnePlus 16 include Tomorrow’s Starlight, Dark Forest, and Mars Masterpiece. In particular, Tomorrow’s Starlight has LED lighting on the back that glows around the 16 logo and flashes for calls, notifications, charging, and games.
Other features include ColorOS 17, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor, IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings, and stereo speakers.
OnePlus confirmed the full pricing on Weibo. The 12 GB/256 GB model starts at CNY 5,699 (≈ $852), or CNY 5,199 (≈ $777) with China’s national phone subsidy. The 12 GB/512 GB model costs CNY 6,499, or CNY 5,999 after subsidy, while the 16 GB/512 GB model costs CNY 7,199, or CNY 6,699.
The top 16 GB/1 TB model costs CNY 8,199 (≈ $1,226), or CNY 7,699. Subsidies vary by region, but the promotional pricing runs through November 13.
It’s a steep jump from last year, when the OnePlus 15 launched in China at CNY 3,999 (≈ $598) for its base model, and its top 16 GB/1 TB model cost CNY 5,399 (≈ 807). Even at its promotional price, the OnePlus 16’s base model now costs more than the OnePlus 15’s top model did.
