The OnePlus 16 is off to an impressive start in China, selling more than 70,000 units within its first hour of going on sale. Unfortunately, buyers in Europe and North America won’t be able to get their hands on the new flagship through an official local launch.
According to OnePlus China president Li Jie, who shared the figures on Weibo, the OnePlus 16 recorded the strongest comparable launch-period sales among this year’s best Android phones.
He also described the growth as unusually strong for the industry, although OnePlus hasn’t revealed how many units the previous model sold during its opening hour, making it difficult to judge just how significant the increase really is.
The strong start isn’t particularly surprising given what the OnePlus 16 brings to the table. The phone features a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, which can climb to 185Hz in supported games. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, paired with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, putting it firmly among the more powerful Android flagships available.
Photography also gets plenty of attention, with a 200MP main camera featuring optical image stabilisation, alongside a 50MP periscope telephoto lens offering 3x optical zoom and a 50MP ultrawide camera with autofocus. There’s also a 50MP front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.
Perhaps one of its biggest selling points is the enormous 9,000mAh battery, which supports 100W wired and 50W wireless charging. The phone also carries IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings for dust and water resistance, while running ColorOS 17 based on Android 17. Pricing starts at CNY 5,999 (around $896) in China.
It won’t hit these shores
Despite its promising launch, the OnePlus 16 won’t be heading to Europe or North America, following the company’s withdrawal from both markets in July. That leaves buyers in those regions missing out on a flagship with some impressive specifications, particularly its massive battery and high-refresh-rate display.
For now, the OnePlus 16’s early sales suggest there’s still plenty of demand for the brand in its home market, even if its international reach has become considerably smaller.
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