OnePlus 16: Another frustratingly China-only 200 MP flagship smartphone

The trend for China to get all the best toys continues, with the OnePlus 16 being a meaningful upgrade over the previous model and featuring a 200 MP main camera on a large 1/1.4-inch sensor.

OnePlus launched the OnePlus 16 in China on October 12. It will not be sold officially in the US or Europe, following the company's withdrawal from both markets earlier this year, and that’s a shame because it looks to be an extremely capable phone with a starting price of CNY 5999, roughly $900.

Camera system

The main camera uses OnePlus’s first 200 MP sensor, a 1/1.4-inch unit behind an f/1.6 lens (23mm equivalent), with autofocus and two-axis OIS. It’s worth pointing out that 200 MP images are available in a high-pixel mode that the user selects manually, so they are not the default. The rear camera shoots JPG, HEIF, and RAW. Listed shooting modes include a Master mode, which OnePlus says gives a film-like look, a wide-format mode, tilt-shift, long exposure, and an underwater mode.

A 50 MP ultrawide (f/2.0, 16mm equivalent, 116-degree field of view) and a 50 MP periscope telephoto complete the rear set. The telephoto is f/2.6 at a 73mm equivalent, with a 1/1.95-inch sensor (reported to be a Sony IMX882) and two-axis stabilization. Optical zoom stops at 3x, with 6x lossless zoom and up to 120x digital. The front camera is 50 MP with autofocus and an 18mm equivalent lens.

Imaging runs through LUMO Imaging, the in-house system that replaced Hasselblad tuning on the OnePlus 15.

For video, the rear cameras record 8K30, and 4K at 30, 60, or 120 fps. Dolby Vision is supported at 4K and 1080p, at up to 120 fps. Slow motion runs at 120 fps in 4K, 240 fps in 1080p, and 480 fps in 720p. A pro video mode, dual-view recording, HDR video, and a super stabilization mode are all listed, with video zoom of up to 3x optical and 18x digital. The front camera, meanwhile, records up to 4K60 and also offers pro video and dual-view modes.

Both LOG recording and Open Gate were rumoured pre-launch, but there’s nothing about that on the official spec sheet unless we’re missing something.

185 Hz screen

Elsewhere, you have a Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 (2 nm) processor and a 6.78-inch flat BOE OLED with a 2000 nits peak brightness that runs up to 165 Hz, and an impressive 185 Hz in games. Sadly, that 165 Hz isn’t available for the camera interface. A 9000 mAh typical battery (rated 8780 mAh), 100 W wired and 50 W wireless charging, provide plenty of grunt. Including a claimed almost full day of video consumption.

The phone measures 161.42 x 76.67 mm (6.36 x 3.02 in), is 8.45 to 8.55 mm (0.33 to 0.34 in) thick depending on color, and weighs about 220 g (7.8 oz). The Mars Masterpiece version is lighter at about 217 g (7.7 oz) thanks to a glass fiber reinforced composite back. Ratings are IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K. There are three colors: Dark Forest, Mars Masterpiece, and Tomorrow's Starlight, the last with LED lighting effects on the back, which sounds like a bit of a gimmick for a phone that from the sounds of it really doesn’t need one.