The OnePlus 15 was the last global flagship from the company. Since it launched, OnePlus left the global market to focus only on India and China. Well, mostly on China – this week, the company announced the OnePlus 16 for the Chinese market. As for India, there is conflicting information on whether or not the 16 will be available. One tipster claims that the company will launch the cheaper OnePlus 16R and that it “might” launch the full-fat 16 flagship too.
So, this might be an exercise in futility, but what do you think about the OnePlus 16? Would you buy one if you had the chance? Before you answer, let’s look at the upgrades.
OnePlus 16 color options
The new model upgrades to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, up from the Elite Gen 5. It starts with 12GB/256GB memory and has upgrades all the way to 16GB/1TB. This generation also brings a larger 9,000mAh Si/C battery (up from 7,300mAh on the previous model) with 100W wired and 50W wireless charging.
The company also equipped the OnePlus 16 with its first-ever 200MP sensor (1/1.4”). It also has a larger 1/1.95” sensor in the telephoto camera (vs. 1/2.76”), but with a slightly shorter 3x lens (73mm vs. 80mm). There’s a 50MP ultra-wide camera on the back and a 50MP ultra-wide selfie camera (18mm lens) on the front.
The display is a 6.78” 185Hz LTPO panel from BOE. Well, it runs at 165Hz most of the time with only a select few games supporting the full 185Hz.
OnePlus 16
Sounds like an awesome phone and if you are in China, you can get one for CNY 6,000 – that is how much a 12GB/256GB unit costs. Okay, this might sound like sour grapes, but we don’t love the 50% price hike – the 12GB/256GB OnePlus 15 launched at CNY 4,000 last year. Even the 16GB/1TB model was only CNY 5,400. The global 12GB/256GB model launched at $900 / £850 / €950 / ₹73,000, so a 50% increase over those prices would have made it a tough sell. And keep in mind that the Chinese prices are usually better than the global ones.
Following its launch in China, the Oppo Find X10 series will launch in India next week. For the sake of comparison, we’ll note that the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max is 13% more expensive at CNY 6,800 for a 12GB/256GB unit. The Oppo Find X10 and Find X10 Pro Max will be available globally, by the way, not just in China and India, unlike the OnePlus 16.
So, what do you think – are you sorry that the OnePlus 16 isn’t available globally? And if you are in India, would you consider the OnePlus 16 if it indeed launches in the country?