Leak reveals OnePlus 16: Monstrous 9000mAh battery and 200MP camera
The first specifications of the OnePlus 16 seem to be in. That's pretty early, though, since the device is not expected to be released until the fourth quarter of 2026. If OnePlus doesn't change its mind in the meantime and is still around at the end of 2026, we can expect a beast of a phone.
The leak mentions a 9000mAh battery and a 200MP camera. And it also mentions 120W fast charging and a high 1.5K resolution OLED screen. Not to mention a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro? With this chipset, the device would have unprecedented processing power for AI applications and gaming, far ahead of the current standard.
It's a summary from the list of specs OnePlus Club gives and which AndroidHeadlines writes about. But what do these specs say and what do they tell you?
To answer that, let's first take a look at the current flagship: the OnePlus 15. That, like the upcoming 16, features a flat screen with high 1.5K resolution for razor-sharp images. Although the resolution is slightly lower than the 2K on the OnePlus 13 and its predecessors. That's not a big deal, by the way: we doubt many people will notice the difference while it does have a tangible effect on power consumption.
However, the biggest difference is the increased battery capacity. Since OnePlus switched from Lithium-Ion to the Silicon-Carbon battery technology, known for its higher energy density, the capacity has increased from 5000 mAh in the OnePlus 11 to 7300 mAh in the OnePlus 15. And so there will be an additional 1700 mAh of capacity according to this rumor. As a user, you're going to notice that.
Substantial strides are also expected on the camera front. OnePlus is moving away from the Samsung JN5 sensor for telephoto and may adopt the Samsung ISOCELL HP5 sensor. The effect? The resolution quadruples and the zoom range may increase from the current 3.5x.
In the fall of 2026, the OnePlus 16 will possibly go up against the iPhone 18 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro and the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. While Apple is presumably focusing on integrating Google Gemini into Siri and Google on AI perfection, OnePlus trumps the competition on paper with brutal hardware. With a battery capacity nearly double what we expect from the competition, and the superior processing power of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 Pro, OnePlus seems to be positioning itself as the ultimate choice for power-users.
Future of OnePlus uncertain
Incidentally, it remains to be seen whether OnePlus will still exist by then and we will actually see the OnePlus 16. It was recently reported at AndroidHeadlines that OnePlus might merge into parent company Oppo. Earlier, previously expected models such as the OnePlus Open 2 and the compact 15s were dropped.
