OnePlus has confirmed that the OnePlus 16 will be one of the first phones with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, Qualcomm’s new top chip, announced on 22nd September. On 21st September, OnePlus opened pre-reservations in China and showed the phone’s design, colours and memory options. There’s no price or launch date yet. Leaks point to October, and OnePlus has a gaming event on 28 September before that.

OnePlus is a Chinese phone brand owned by OPPO. The OnePlus 16 is its 2026 flagship and replaces the OnePlus 15, which launched in China on 27 October 2025.

StatusPre-reservations open in China
Launch dateNot announced; leaks point to October
PriceNot announced
ChipSnapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6
ScreenBOE X4 panel, 165Hz in every app, up to 185Hz in games
SoftwareColorOS 17, based on Android 17
Memory12GB/256GB, 12GB/512GB, 16GB/512GB, 16GB/1TB
ColoursDark Forest, Mars Masterpiece, Tomorrow’s Starlight (with back lights)
MarketsChina confirmed; no other market announced

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 is the faster of the two chips Qualcomm announced this week. It’s Qualcomm’s first chip made on a 2nm process. Against last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the chip in the OnePlus 15, Qualcomm says graphics are 44% faster and the processor is 13% faster. We’ve explained both new chips, and every phone confirmed with them. The Xiaomi 18 Pro Max went on sale with the same chip on 23 September.

A 16GB, 1TB OnePlus 16, listed under the model number PYB110, scored 5,384,433 on AnTuTu, a benchmark app that rates phone performance. It uses LPDDR5X memory and UFS 4.1 storage, the same types as the OnePlus 15, not the newer LPDDR6 and UFS 5.0 the chip supports.

AnTuTu V12 listing for the OnePlus 16, model PYB110, with 16GB and 1TB, scoring 5,384,433

OnePlus 16 specs so far: Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, 165Hz in every app, and a leaked 9,000mAh battery.

Refresh rate is how many times a second the screen redraws the picture. A higher number makes scrolling and games look smoother. The OnePlus 15 has a 165Hz screen but holds most apps at 120Hz. The OnePlus 16 runs every app at 165Hz, including apps from other developers, and goes up to 185Hz in games that support it.

The panel comes from BOE, the Chinese display maker, and uses a new light-emitting material called X4 that the two companies developed together. The borders around the screen are 1.15mm on all four sides.

OnePlus is pitching the phone at gamers first. The 28 September event covers 185fps gaming and what OnePlus calls an e-sports triple chip, a set of its own chips that includes a custom touch controller. So if you play a lot of games on your phone, this is the model OnePlus has tuned for you.

The OnePlus 16 looks a lot like the OnePlus 15, with a square camera block in the top left corner and big rounded corners. A customisable key on the side can be set to nine functions, including silent mode, the torch and the voice recorder.

The OnePlus 16 in its three colours

There are three colours:

  • Dark Forest, which is black
  • Mars Masterpiece, a light orange with a wind-eroded texture on the back
  • Tomorrow’s Starlight, a silver-grey with a “silk glass” back that resists fingerprints

Tomorrow’s Starlight is the only version with Interstellar Light, OnePlus’s name for lights under the back glass that show a “16” and a set of galactic coordinates. They light up for incoming calls, messages and red envelopes, the cash gifts people send in Chinese messaging apps, and they move with games and music. OnePlus says there are four light effects.

OnePlus’s poster for Interstellar Light on the OnePlus 16 in Tomorrow’s Starlight

The OnePlus 15 column comes from OnePlus’s own spec page. OnePlus hasn’t confirmed the battery, charging or camera numbers. They come from a certification filing and leaks, which we rounded up this month.

SpecOnePlus 16StatusOnePlus 15
ChipSnapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, 2nmConfirmedSnapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, 3nm
Screen6.78-inch, 1.5K, BOE X4Size and resolution leaked6.78-inch, 1.5K
Refresh rate165Hz in every app, 185Hz in gamesConfirmed165Hz, most apps at 120Hz
RAM12GB or 16GB LPDDR5XSizes confirmed; type from AnTuTu12GB or 16GB LPDDR5X
Storage256GB, 512GB or 1TB, UFS 4.1Sizes confirmed; type from AnTuTu256GB, 512GB or 1TB, UFS 4.1
Battery9,000mAhLeaked7,300mAh
Wired charging100WCertification filing120W
Wireless charging50WLeaked50W
Main camera200MP, 1/1.4-inch sensorLeaked50MP
Ultra-wide camera50MPLeaked50MP
Telephoto camera50MP periscope, 1/1.95-inch sensorLeaked50MP periscope, 3.5x
SoftwareColorOS 17 (Android 17)ConfirmedColorOS 16 (Android 16) at launch

If the leaks hold, the OnePlus 16 gets a battery 1,700mAh bigger than the OnePlus 15’s and gives up 20W of wired charging speed. ColorOS 17 replaces OxygenOS on OnePlus phones, as we reported in July.

OnePlus hasn’t priced it. The OnePlus 15’s launch prices in China are the best guide, and the OnePlus 16 drops the OnePlus 15’s 16GB/256GB version.

OnePlus 15 version, launch priceCNYUSDKES
12GB/256GB3,99959677,000
16GB/256GB4,29964183,000
12GB/512GB4,59968589,000
16GB/512GB4,89973095,000
16GB/1TB5,399804104,000

Expect it to cost more. Qualcomm told its customers that chips shipped after 1 September would cost more, and memory has got more expensive all year. The first phone on the new chip, the Xiaomi 18 Pro Max, launched at CNY 1,000, about USD 149 or KES 19,300, more than the 17 Pro Max did.

The OnePlus 16 is a single model, with no Pro or Ultra, like the OnePlus 15. Last year the cheaper Ace 6 launched the same day as the OnePlus 15.

PhoneStatusChipMarket
OnePlus 16Confirmed, pre-reservations openSnapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6China
OnePlus Ace 7Leaked, not confirmedSnapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with a cooling fanChina
OnePlus 16RTipped to replace the OnePlus 16 in India, not confirmedNot knownIndia

China is the only confirmed market. The OnePlus 16 is the first OnePlus flagship since the company stopped launching new products in Europe and North America in July. OnePlus hasn’t said whether it’s coming to India.