OnePlus 16 is arguably the best phone you'll never be able to buy

Quick Summary

OnePlus has announced its new flagship phone, the OnePlus 16, but you won't be able to buy it.

Withdrawing from the US and Europe, the new super flagship phone is only going to be available in China.

OnePlus made the shock announcement that it was pulling out of Europe and the US in July, and its first affected flagship, the OnePlus 16, has been launched in China.

The phone was previewed heavily, but now we have all the details of this device, even if you're not actually going to be able to buy it. Instead, Oppo is increasing its efforts in Europe with the Find X10 Pro Max currently running through a staggered release.

At a glance, these phones share a lot of parental DNA, but while Oppo focuses on camera power, it seems that the OnePlus 16 positions itself for performance – and it's a shame we're not going to be able to get one.

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The OnePlus 16 carries a similar design to the OnePlus 15 (similar to the Oppo Find X9 and Find X10 devices), although it's the Tomorrow's Starlight version (a translation) that's interesting, because it has illuminated section under the back.

Power comes from the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, the top-tier of Qualcomm's new hardware, while there's an Oppo developed "e-sports triple chip" designed to boost touch, graphics performance and network speeds for an advantage in gaming.

There's a Glacier Cooling System boasting a 40% vapour chamber performance boost and 50% improvement in the thermal gel, designed to keep the chip cool and ensure prolonged gaming. OnePlus says the cooling system keeps the heat away from your hands too.

The display is capable of 185Hz across a number of titles – including PUBG, no surprises there – while it's a BOE-supplied 6.78-inch f-OLED panel, with 2,000 nits brightness and support for HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.

Sitting behind all of that is a 9,000mAh battery with 100W wired charging and 50W wireless charging with a compatible charger. There's bypass charging for use when gaming, of course, with the promise of over eight hours of hardcore gameplay from a single charge.

Finally, we have a 200-megapixel main camera with 1/1.4in sensor, a 50-megapixel 3x telephoto with 1/1.95in sensor and 50-megapixel ultrawide camera.

ColorOS 17 runs the whole thing on Android 17.

The prices start a CNY5,999 which about £700 or $900, although as we said at the start, OnePlus has no plans to sell this phone to you.

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Chris has been writing about consumer tech for over 15 years. Formerly the Editor-in-Chief of Pocket-lint, he's covered just about every product launched, witnessed the birth of Android, the evolution of 5G, and the drive towards electric cars. You name it and Chris has written about it, driven it or reviewed it. Now working as a freelance technology expert, Chris' experience sees him covering all aspects of smartphones, smart homes and anything else connected. Chris has been published in titles as diverse as Computer Active and Autocar, and regularly appears on BBC News, BBC Radio, Sky, Monocle and Times Radio. He was once even on The Apprentice... but we don't talk about that.