Back in January, I told you not to worry about reports of OnePlus being discontinued. We were here before, I said, in 2021 and again in 2023, and OnePlus continued regardless of both times. Well, I was wrong, and the OnePlus 16 did more than I expected.
After months of behind-the-scenes shifting, that became clear something was going on, OnePlus confirmed its exit from the European and North American markets back in July.
And as far as these things are concerned, it is a pretty decent one; OnePlus phones will continue to receive software updates from Oppo, with Android 17 currently rolling out to a handful of devices, and long-term support commitments will be honored.
I wrote a lot about it while it was going on, and I had made my peace with it. Let’s be honest, OnePlus has been drifting closer to Oppo since owner BBK Electronics announced a merger in 2021, and the writing has been on the wall for a while. After all, the early rumors did not appear out of the blue.
Then, earlier this week, OnePlus announced the OnePlus 16 in China, and I’m no longer at peace with it.
A seriously delicious spec sheet
Part of the problem is that the OnePlus 16 isn’t just a minor update over last year’s already fantastic OnePlus 15.
The headline upgrade is, of course, the huge 9,000mAh silicon carbon battery – almost double that of the 5000mAh cell in the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. But despite that massive capacity, it still manages to fit into a body that’s 8.5mm thick and weighs 220g. For context, Apple’s top-end iPhone 18 Pro Max measures in at 8.8mm and 249g – although it’s a bit of an outlier with its heft.
That’s paired with fast 100W wireless and 50W wireless charging, with OnePlus claiming the former provides 80% charge in just 37 minutes, along with bypass charging for those long gaming sessions.
That’s not all either; it’s one of the first phones to pack Qualcomm’s new 2nm Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, paired with 12- or 16GB of RAM. Considering that the OnePlus 15 managed to beat most other phones running the same 8 Elite Gen 5 with better optimization, I would expect the same from the 16.
It also leans further into this performance with the screen, which remains a 6.78-inch AMOLED panel, although the refresh rate has been increased to an even faster 185Hz. OnePlus was one of the few manufacturers to reach out to popular mobile game makers to work on support for the ultra-fast refresh rate with the 165Hz-enabled OnePlus 15, working well with titles like CoD Mobile, so it’s not just a marketing number like it would be on other phones.
The camera also has a much-needed glow after the slight downgrade of the OnePlus 15, with a 200MP main camera with a rather large 1/1.4-inch sensor, supported by a 50MP 3x periscope, 50MP ultra-wide and even a 50MP selfie camera around. It won’t take on the best camera phones, but it should be a solid all-round snapper by the numbers.
That is the phone I’ve been asking OnePlus for years; an endurance monster with flagship power and no real weak spots. And the year has come that I can’t buy it.
ColorOS does not make it an Oppo phone
The biggest change is a shift in software; the OnePlus 16 will no longer ship with the OnePlus-flavored OxygenOS, instead with Oppo’s ColorOS 17 out of the box. That’s not just a China thing either – OxygenOS is being phased out entirely, with existing OnePlus phones moving to ColorOS with Android 17.
There’s an argument I’m sure some will make that with the new software, Oppo phones and OnePlus phones are practically indistinguishable from each other – I’m sure that’s the attitude Oppo would like people to take – but that’s really not the case.
Yes, they may look similar and even share features like the Snap Key, but Oppo and OnePlus phones have always been built for different people – especially at the flagship level. Oppo’s Find X flagships go all-in on photography with its Hasselblad partnership, while OnePlus was the brand that chased speed, battery and smoothness above all else.
This means that mobile games are no longer provided; MediaTek-powered Find X phones have never been able to compete with the Snapdragon-powered OnePlus alternatives in performance and battery life, and I can’t see that changing with the impressive spec sheet that the OnePlus 16 offers.
Essentially, the phone with a 9,000mAh battery, a 185Hz screen and gaming-focused bypass charging is the one that will stay in China. The one we get is a camera phone first and foremost.
Importing isn’t really an option either
Of course, me could go down the path of importing a OnePlus 16, but a China-market phone comes with the usual caveats; it has software vastly different to what we get in western markets, there could be network band compatibility issues, there’s no UK warranty and, of course, no OnePlus UK to turn to if anything goes wrong with it.
That’s a lot of stress for a phone brand that was a safe bet until earlier this year.
It’s also not as cheap as it used to be. The OnePlus 16 starts at CNY 5,999 (around £671/$896) in China, 50% more than the OnePlus 15 when it launched in the region last year. That’s pretty much in line with what I said in August, when Qualcomm confirmed that its chips are getting more expensive: flagship prices only go one way, and the “flagship killer” price tag OnePlus built up is long gone.
The real loss is choice
What gets me the most is not the OnePlus 16 itself, but what its absence means for the UK market.
OnePlus was the Mark is pushing large batteries, fast charging and high refresh rates into the mainstream, and in doing so it has kept up the pressure on Samsung and Google. Without it, there’s one less company forcing big names to do better, and one less option for people who care more about performance and endurance than having the best zoom lens.
Oppo will no doubt attract many former OnePlus fans, and other Chinese brands will fill the big battery, big performance gap in the UK market, but the OnePlus 16 is a reminder that the best phones aren’t always the ones that arrive on these shores. And this year will not be one of the best.