Expected in October in China, the OnePlus 16 is already generating plenty of chatter. If the latest revelations from well-known leaker Digital Chat Station are anything to go by, the brand intends to make a statement by pushing past today’s hardware limits, particularly when it comes to the display and battery life.
These details are still very much at the rumour stage, but they sketch out the outline of a flagship with no compromises whatsoever.
A display that redefines smoothness
The main selling point of the OnePlus 16 is said to be its screen. The phone is tipped to carry a flat 6.78-inch OLED LTPO panel customised by BOE (1.5K resolution).
What makes this display exceptional is its fluidity: where the OnePlus 15 topped out at 165Hz, the OnePlus 16 is reportedly aiming for a minimum of 185Hz, and the brand is even said to be evaluating the possibility of going as high as 240Hz. Should that pan out, it would be a genuine revolution for responsiveness, especially in mobile gaming.
On top of that, thanks to LIPO encapsulation technology, the screen is said to feature extremely thin symmetrical bezels measuring just 1 millimetre on all four sides. It is also reported to support the ultra-wide BT.2020 colour space.
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro and LPDDR6 memory
Driving a panel like that takes colossal processing power. The OnePlus 16 is said to be one of the first phones to pack Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chip (codenamed SM8975).
This new architecture is reportedly paired with the brand-new LPDDR6 memory standard, promising transfer speeds never seen before. With that arsenal, OnePlus is aiming squarely at gamers and lining itself up against its future rival, the iQOO 16.
200MP camera and a titanic battery
The rest of the spec sheet is every bit as outsized. On the camera side, the rear module is said to include three sensors:
- A 50-megapixel main sensor.
- A 50-megapixel ultra-wide.
- A 200-megapixel periscope telephoto, ideal for zooming in without losing quality.
But the biggest surprise (and perhaps the biggest engineering challenge) concerns battery life. Leaks point to a cell edging close to the 9,000 mAh mark. Combined with the next-generation chip, that capacity raises hopes of record endurance, even with the screen set to 240Hz.
Price and availability
The OnePlus 16 is expected to launch on Android 17 (with the OxygenOS 17 skin internationally). In China, the base version (12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage) is said to sell for around 5,000 yuan (roughly 680 euros excluding tax). We stock the full OnePlus smartphone range, along with a case to match your OnePlus to go with it.
