The best flagship that users in the US and in the EU won't be able to get easily—a.k.a the OnePlus 16—could be going through a radical redesign.
OnePlus is pulling from many Western markets and its upcoming champion will focus on China and India, as we reported recently.
Hello (again), circular island
You shouldn't take the next information with a pinch of salt, but, rather, with a bucket of salt. There's an unofficial look at the alleged OnePlus 16 and it's the first of its kind.
There's plenty of time until the OnePlus 16 gets unveiled (this could happen in October), so beware that things can (and most likely will) change several times in the next two months.
Per Gizmochina, there's a teaser image post that is "making the rounds on Chinese social media platforms":
Somebody apparently came up with a clearer AI image based on the one above and it looks like this:
It looks nothing like the OnePlus 15 so far—just look at that circular camera island. The current flagship by OnePlus comes with a rectangular camera plateau. If the circular camera island in the image above materializes on the OnePlus 16, it'll mean that the company is going back to the OnePlus 13 (it too had a circular camera island on its back) style.
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Why two cameras?
Previously, we reported that we're expecting the OnePlus 16 to come with a new 200 MP main camera along with a 50 MP ultra-wide and a 50 MP dedicated telephoto.
The image above, however, shows the alleged OnePlus 16 with two cameras, not three. This alone makes the whole thing too sketchy to be a serious teaser.
Which is the secondary camera you wish to see gone?
247 Votes
The ultra-wide.
29.96%
The telephoto.
21.46%
The selfie.
12.55%
The second dedicated zoom, one is enough.
36.03%
What else do we know?
The OnePlus 16 could be big for gamers, as we told you in another article.
The phone is expected to combine Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro chip with a high-refresh rate display for smoother visuals and faster touch response than most flagship phones.
The rumored 9,000mAh battery also suggests much longer gaming sessions without needing to recharge, while the powerful chipset should have no trouble handling demanding titles. If the leaks are accurate, the OnePlus 16 could become one of the strongest gaming-focused Android flagships of 2026.
But, as I said in the beginning, unless a miracle happens, users in the US and in the EU can kiss OnePlus goodbye, as the company is shutting down from many western markets.
OnePlus is still alive, though:
OnePlus is launching a ridiculously affordable new handset with crazy good battery life
OnePlus is gone, but its true successor is already in my pocket
RIP OnePlus: the flagship killer era may be over as the brand leaves key markets
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Sebastian is one of PhoneArena’s senior opinionators. A veteran news writer with almost 20 years of experience in media and technology, he not only covers all the hot news about Galaxies and iPhones, but often provides hot takes on industry trends. He’s fascinated with camera-focused flagships from the likes of Oppo and Vivo, as well as foldable phones.
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