OnePlus 16 could offer serious camera phone competition

OnePlus could be planning to change the selection of cameras on the OnePlus 16, introducing a 200-megapxiel sensor. That would see it joining other major manufacturers offering a high-resolution lens – but it might not be what you think.

While Samsung is best known for using a high-resolution sensor, it's not to the only Android phone brand to do so, as we've seen the same move made by the likes of Xiaomi, Honor, Vivo and Redmi, with Realme and Oppo also offering that high pixel count.

Such sensors are used in different ways. On one hand, Samsung uses it as the primary sensor, but for others, that high resolution is used for the telephoto camera, which is where the last two companies on that list come into play.

The details of OnePlus moving to a 200-megapixel camera first appeared in January, with Digital Chat Station making the suggestion on Weibo. More recently, Smart Pikachu has said that OnePlus will implement the same solution as Realme, which means using it as a 200-megapixel telephoto camera.

This, perhaps, shouldn’t come as a surprise, because that's the same as the Oppo Find X9 Pro, where the Samsung HP5 sensor is used for the telephoto camera. As Oppo and OnePlus operate under the same umbrella, it looks like OnePlus will just be following Oppo's lead.

That sounds like a great solution too, because the Oppo Find X9 Pro is a great phone. The design of the Find X9 Pro and OnePlus 15 was already very close, so it would shock no one to see the move to a 200-megapixel sensor for OnePlus.

The idea behind using a higher resolution sensor is to boost the performance of hybrid zoom solutions, allowing sensor cropping while retaining fidelity in the image to help get closer to the subject. The result should be better images, before any processing comes into play.

It's also thought that OnePlus will use the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6, which has yet to be announced. We'd predict that to appear at Snapdragon Summit, which in 2025 was held in September.

That could outline the timeframe for the launch of the new OnePlus flagship device – which is thought to be getting a price increase as it moves towards the flagship end of the spectrum. So far OnePlus device have been about challenging those top devices, but with price increases expected across Oppo and OnePlus phones, it may move into more direct competition.

The launch of the new OnePlus phone is likely to run in line with a new Oppo flagship phone, but before we get to the launch of those next-gen devices, we're expecting to see the OnePlus Nord 6 launched as well as the Oppo Find X9 Ultra.