OnePlus 16 Review: specs and features, camera quality test, gaming benchmark, user opinions and photos

OnePlus 16 - An Expensive Work-Around

The Chinese company OnePlus strives to constantly delight its loyal fans with high-quality new products. And the manufacturer often excels in creating flagships. Unfortunately, in 2025, the developer decided to maintain its pricing policy at all costs amid the global economic crisis, resulting in a top-end model that was less than impressive in several ways. Today's review subject rectifies this situation, albeit at a significantly higher price.

The device continues the design concept of its predecessors, which is actually a plus. The familiar camera module, whose chamfered corners mirror those of the body, the soft-touch tempered glass back panels, the metal frame, and the barely visible screen bezels make it clear that we're dealing with an expensive device. And the icing on the cake is IP68 water resistance. The nearly 7-inch AMOLED display doesn't emphasize image clarity, although at a resolution of 2772x1272 pixels, it's quite good. Its main strengths are a blazing 165Hz refresh rate, meticulously calibrated color reproduction, and a peak brightness of over 4000 nits. Of course, the AMOLED panel also benefits from a highly effective oleophobic coating.

The technical specifications include the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro CPU, 12GB/16GB RAM, and an Adreno 850 GPU. This combination sets new performance records for Android devices, with an AnTuTu benchmark score of over 4,500,000. In gaming apps like Zenless Zone Zero, Genshin Impact, and others, the device achieved a stable 120 frames per second at maximum graphics settings. There are no frame rate drops even during long gaming sessions, only some heating of the all-in-one PC. Battery life is impressive, too, with a battery capacity of up to 9000 mAh. You don't have to worry about the device suddenly running out of power for up to 2-3 days. Buyers can choose between 50W wireless charging and a 100W wired charger. Storage options include 256GB, 512GB, and 1024GB.

Photography has been significantly improved. The main 200-megapixel camera module has significantly improved the detail in evening shots; detecting noise and blur in such photos is difficult. The 50-megapixel telephoto lens with 3x optical zoom also features hybrid image stabilization. Distant objects will be captured without loss of detail. The 50MP wide-angle lens is a bit more limited, but still holds its own against the aforementioned sensors. Loud and rich stereo sound, support for 5G, NFC contactless payments, and eSIM (not available in all regional versions) round out the list of advantages of this now-pricey, but still incredibly attractive device.