The OnePlus 16 is off to an impressive start in China, selling more than 70,000 units within its first hour of going on sale. Unfortunately, buyers in Europe and North America will not be able to get their hands on the new flagship through an official local launch.
According to OnePlus China President Li Jie, who shared the numbers on Weibo, the OnePlus 16 recorded the strongest comparable launch time sales among the best Android phones of this year.
He also described the growth as unusually strong for the industry, although OnePlus did not disclose how many units the previous model sold during its opening period, making it difficult to judge how significant the increase really is.
The strong start is not particularly surprising, as the OnePlus 16 brings to the table. The phone has a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, which increases to 185Hz in supported games. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, putting it firmly among the more powerful Android flagships available.
Photography also gets a lot of attention, with a 200MP main camera with optical image stabilization, alongside a 50MP periscope telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom and a 50MP ultra-wide camera with autofocus. There is also a 50MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.
Perhaps one of its biggest selling points is the huge 9,000mAh battery that supports 100W wireless and 50W wireless charging. The phone also carries IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings for dust and water resistance, while the ColorOS 17 is based on Android 17. Prices start at CNY 5,999 (about $896) in China.
It won’t hit these shores
Despite its promising launch, the OnePlus 16 will not go to Europe or North America after the company withdrew from both markets in July. That leaves buyers in those regions missing out on a flagship with some impressive specs, especially its massive battery and high-refresh-rate display.
For now, the early sales of the OnePlus 16 suggest that there is still a lot of demand for the brand in its home market, even if its international reach has become significantly smaller.