I was fine with the OnePlus 16 pulling out of the US and the EU, but I wasn't prepared for this low blow

The OnePlus 16 is two things: an upcoming beast of an Android phone with a top-shelf chipset and a 9,000 mAh battery… and a source of tech depression. It's because it's going away.

As if the rumored-but-mostly-confirmed pullout of American and European markets for OnePlus wasn't bad enough, but now we have to deal with another reality: the possibility of the OnePlus 16 never stepping out of China.

It was fine until five minutes ago

At the start of the week, I was happy, I just didn't know it; but then I stumbled upon the latest OnePlus 16 rumors. This time, it wasn't about hardware specs or expected software features. Instead, it was about the rather dark scenario that the OnePlus 16 likely won't launch in any international markets.

For months and months, we've been hearing that something's wrong over at OnePlus and the company is about to wave the West goodbye. This was basically confirmed in mid-July 2026.

OnePlus' reported exit from the US and Europe appears to come down to a combination of weak sales, financial pressure and the increasingly complicated business environment for Chinese smartphone brands. Its US market share reportedly fell from 1.8% in 2021 to just 0.1% in 2025, leaving it far behind Apple, Samsung, Google, Motorola and others.

That makes it harder to justify the cost of maintaining a full retail and distribution operation in US and EU markets, particularly as Oppo is also dealing with financial challenges due to the shortage of RAM chips. Geopolitical tensions between China and the US is another layer of difficulty that we don't need to delve too deep into. But it's safe to say that Western markets can be even less attractive for Chinese brands.

What about India?

This is where the plot thickens. India is a huge ("yuuuge"), vital smartphone market. It's also next door to China (easier shipping) and whatever the tensions between the two countries, India isn't flooring the sanctions pedal like some other (coughs in US) countries.

That's why I expected the OnePlus 16 to be released officially in India at the very least. But no, the aforementioned leak says that the OnePlus 16 might stay exclusive to China.

You might say that it's irrelevant to US and EU users whether the OnePlus 16 remains official in India or not. But I beg to disagree.

For those of us in the West who still buy phones outside the Samsung/Apple/Google triumvirate, an Indian OnePlus is a very different proposition from a Chinese one. Indian models run an OS that is built around the international Android ecosystem and comes with Google Mobile Services, the Play Store, Gemini and the usual sharing and connectivity features already in place.



The Chinese versions, meanwhile, run the China-focused ColorOS build, which doesn't include Google's services out of the box and comes with a much heavier dose of Chinese apps, services and regional integrations that can be difficult or impossible to remove. You can often get Google services working on a Chinese OnePlus, but "possible" and "pleasant to live with" are two very different things. No matter what you do, chances are that you'll still end up with Chinese symbols in a menu here or there.

I've imported phones before, and I'm perfectly willing to put up with some quirks if the hardware is good enough, the price makes sense and the phone gives me something I can't easily get locally. But there's a limit to how much tinkering I want to do just to make a $1,000-plus phone behave like a normal Android device, especially when things such as background restrictions can interfere with notifications from apps like WhatsApp or Gmail. An Indian model running ColorOS (OnePlus will move away from its own OxygenOS) gives Western buyers something much closer to the OG OnePlus experience.

Against the current

Sure, most people aren't going to order a phone from India. They want to click "buy" and wait for the delivery guy. But a few of us still have some of that adventurous spirit left and we're perfectly happy importing a phone from the other side of the world if the hardware is tempting enough.

But even such aficionados have limits. Dealing with a China ROM, Chinese services, aggressive app management and missing Google services can sour the taste of it all. If India disappears from the equation too, we're left choosing between putting up with all that nonsense or skipping the phone altogether.

That's why a China-only OnePlus 16 would be a real shame.

Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off

$90

$210

$120 off (57%)

Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.

Buy at Mint Mobile