OnePlus 16 Review: A Conservative Flagship With 185Hz Display and 9,000mAh Battery

The review said the OnePlus 16 is visually almost identical to the OnePlus 15 aside from its colors and back-panel finishes. It keeps the square metal Deco module that first appeared on the OnePlus 13T and later spread across the OnePlus 15 series. The only visible change on the left side is an extra antenna slit below the customizable shortcut key. ifanr said the sharp edges of the Deco can begin to lose paint after only a few days of caseless use, forcing users to choose between the bare-hand feel and protecting the body.

OnePlus continues to use different materials and surface treatments for different colors. The OnePlus 16 comes in Tomorrow Starlight, Dark Forest and Mars Masterpiece. The Tomorrow Starlight version uses a glass back, while Mars Masterpiece uses a fiberglass composite, giving them slightly different textures. ifanr said both retain the dense, cool metal and warm glass feel that has long been associated with OnePlus. The frame and back panel are highly color-matched, although the transition between glass and metal remains visible.

The Tomorrow Starlight model includes the letters X and 16 and fictional galactic coordinates L 227.26° B 16.87° on the back. Through an Interstellar Light Effects setting, these markings can emit warm light as a customizable notification breathing light. Contour lines also appear when the phone is held vertically. ifanr said the back panel already has enough visual elements and that adding contour lines may be over-design.

On the front, the OnePlus 16 keeps the same 1.15mm equal bezels on all four sides as the OnePlus 15. ifanr noted this is less striking than the under-1mm bezels on the OPPO Find X10 and Xiaomi 18 Pro. The 1.5K screen, developed with BOE, raises its refresh rate to a peak of 185Hz and can run at 165Hz globally in daily use, an upgrade from the previous generation's partial 165Hz mode. The review called it a display at the level of an esports monitor.

In Delta Force, ifanr ran the third-tier HD graphics setting at 185Hz in the 48-player All-Out Warfare mode. The review said controls remained responsive, frame rates were stable and low frames stayed above 170 fps. Heat was distributed evenly across the body, and after half an hour of gaming the phone was only warm. The phone is powered by a 9,000mAh battery. In the reviewer's usage, it lasted more than two days on a charge, or 14 to 16 hours of screen-on time, with 100W SUPERVOOC wired charging and 50W wireless charging.

ifanr said imaging is the area where the OnePlus 16 makes the most obvious compromise, though it still improves over the previous generation. The camera system uses a 200-megapixel 1/1.4-inch Samsung HPE main sensor and a 1/1.95-inch IMX882 3x periscope telephoto sensor, up from a 50-megapixel main camera and a JN5 telephoto. All lenses support 4K Live Photos. The phone uses the parent company's LUMO imaging system and retains Master Mode, but the Hasselblad partnership is gone. ifanr described the camera as practical for daily shooting rather than top-tier.

The OnePlus 16 runs ColorOS 17, the same system as the OPPO Find X10 series, and its shortcut key is also similar to OPPO's. ifanr said sharing a system may be less interesting, but ColorOS has well-regarded animations and fluency, and its Xiaobu Memory is considered by the editorial team to be the strongest system AI.

OnePlus entered the international market 12 years ago with the Never Settle slogan and was among the few Chinese phone brands to open major US carrier channels. It recently announced it would stop launching new products in Europe and the US and is refocusing on China. ifanr said the OnePlus 16 still carries the brand's attention to CMF, grip, speed, a dedicated shortcut key and haptic feedback through a large X-axis motor. The review argued that the phone's conservatism and innovation are two sides of the same coin: it does not try to break the existing smartphone paradigm, but adds craft and design touches within cost, technology and market limits. At a starting price of 5,699 yuan, ifanr asked whether consumers will accept such a young and expressive design.

Editor's Summary

OnePlus 16 is a flagship that prioritizes reliable performance, battery life and display refresh rate over radical design change, according to ifanr. It keeps the square metal camera module, raises the refresh rate to 185Hz and uses a 9,000mAh battery, but its starting price rises to 5,699 yuan. The review says the phone remains recognizably OnePlus even as the company shifts focus away from Europe and the US.