The OnePlus 16 looks so good, you might want to import one
The OnePlus 16 is official, and as expected, it’s looking good enough to warrant a laborious import process.
Oppo’s much-diminished sub-brand has just launched its latest flagship phone over in China. It’s called the OnePlus 16 (no surprises there), and it’s looking pretty tasty.
The phone runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chip (that’s the new top-of-the-line one), alongside up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
Around the front, there’s a 6.78-inch LTPO OLED display with a sharp 1272 x 2772 resolution and an elevated 185Hz maximum refresh rate. The latter is a ‘nice to have’ rather than a genuine standout feature, given that it’ll only be achieved in selected games.
OnePlus 16 camera and battery
When it comes to photography, the OnePlus 16 supplies a 1/1.4” 200Mp f/1.6 main camera, a 1/1.95” 50Mp f/2.6 3x telephoto, and a 50Mp f/2.0 ultra-wide. There’s another 50Mp camera around front.
Not quite the Oppo Find X10 Pro Max, then, but pretty promising nonetheless.
Perhaps the most eye-catching spec here is a whopping 9000mAh battery. Given how long the OnePlus 15 lasted with its 7300mAh cell, this thing could go on for multiple days between charges, even if global versions usually drop the capacity slightly.
There’s also 100W wired and 50W wireless charging, ensuring fast top-ups. However, frustratingly, there’s still no built-in magnets for Qi2 charging without a case.
Oppo
OnePlus 16 import potential
Pricing for the OnePlus 16 starts from CNY 5,999, which translates to about £680. That’s the sort of low initial fee that could make it worthwhile, even when you slap on a hefty import charge.
That’s what it’s going to take, since parent company Oppo has confirmed that the OnePlus brand is all done in Western markets. If only the company had opted to go out with a 16-shaped bang, eh?
Interestingly, reports suggest that there will still be a global model of the OnePlus 16. You won’t be able to buy it through official channels in the UK, US, and Europe, but this should hopefully make the process of importing the phone (without all that China-specific software) much easier.
While it won’t trouble our best phones guide (which focuses on models with good UK and US availability), it’s definitely one to keep an eye on.
