The OnePlus 16 could bring a clear upgrade to its camera system, with a new leak (via) from Chinese tipster Smart Pikachu pointing to a 200MP periscope telephoto lens. The sensor is expected to be Samsung’s HP5, which has already been used in phones like the Realme GT 8 Pro.
For OnePlus, this lines up with where the last generation fell short. Zoom has been reported by users to be the weakest part of its camera system, especially beyond mid-range focal lengths. Moving to a higher-resolution periscope sensor gives it more room to improve detail and consistency in those conditions.
OnePlus 16 could feature a more balanced camera setup
Alongside the telephoto, the OnePlus 16 is expected to use two 50MP sensors for the main and ultrawide cameras. That keeps the setup aligned with what most flagships are doing now — similar resolution across lenses, with fewer obvious weak points. With OnePlus, the main camera has generally held up, but the gap between lenses has been more noticeable. The expected setup suggests the company is trying to reduce that difference.
The rest of the phone looks like a typical flagship update. A 1.5K display with a high refresh rate is expected, with some reports suggesting it could go up to 200Hz, though that isn’t confirmed. The phone is also tipped to run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chipset, built on a 2nm process, paired with LPDDR6 RAM. That points to improvements in performance and efficiency, which has been a consistent focus for OnePlus. An ultrasonic fingerprint sensor and OxygenOS 17 based on Android 17 are also expected.
Pricing is estimated to start around CNY 5,000 (roughly Rs 67,600), which would be slightly higher than previous models. The launch is expected in China around October, followed by a global rollout in November.
In this flagship segment, camera performance has become one of the main ways phones are separated. Devices like the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Vivo’s X-series have already pushed ahead on zoom and overall consistency, while Google’s Pixel lineup focuses more on processing and software. OnePlus has usually been the safer choice for performance and software, but with cameras that required some compromise. Based on current leaks, the OnePlus 16 looks like an attempt to reduce that gap.
