Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. News

A 200MP sensor might put OnePlus 16 back in the camera race later this year

After recent camera downgrades and the end of the Hasselblad partnership, OnePlus could be signaling a change in imaging strategy.

Add as a preferred source on Google
Rear shell of OnePlus 15.
OnePlus 15 Nadeem Sarwar / Digital Trends

The OnePlus 15 has turned quite a few heads for its performance and battery life, but if there’s one thing that keeps users and reviewers longing for more, it’s the cameras. After ending its partnership with Hasselblad, OnePlus downgraded the cameras on its recent flagship, but its successor might be able to turn things around.

According to the Indian tipster Yogesh Brar, the “next OnePlus flagship,” likely the OnePlus 16, could feature an improved primary camera. Per the tipster’s X post, the purported flagship could feature a 200MP primary sensor, a major step up from the 50MP sensor on the OnePlus 15.

Next OnePlus flagship
200MP + 50MP + 50MP (3.5X Tele)

But…

— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh) January 19, 2026

200MP camera on the OnePlus 16 could make a difference

Apart from the primary camera, the handset is said to feature two 50MP shooters: one could be the ultrawide sensor, and the other could offer up to 3.5x optical zoom.

Recommended Videos

Since Brar didn’t mention the sensor size for aperture, it isn’t immediately clear whether the other two sensors would be an upgrade or a downgrade over the current one.

If the company improves sensor sizes across the board and finds its signature tuning, which has been missing for the longest time, the OnePlus 16 might just sport the best camera system on a OnePlus flagship ever.

Currently, OnePlus uses its own DetailMax Engine to compensate for the lack of better hardware, but it can only do so much.

If you look at other Chinese flagships like the Vivo X300 Pro and Find X9 Pro, both of them have a 200MP sensor mated to a periscope zoom lens that unlocks high optical zoom.

The primary and ultrawide cameras on these phones feature 50MP sensors. So, is there a chance that the OnePlus 16 could adopt the same approach? I wouldn’t completely deny that.

Meanwhile, OnePlus seems to have cancelled the OnePlus 15s, previously believed to be the compact flagship in the OnePlus 15 lineup (similar to the OnePlus 13s).

Shikhar Mehrotra
For more than five years, Shikhar has consistently simplified developments in the field of consumer tech and presented them…
iOS 27 could change how your muscle memory swipes notifications on a phone
Number, Symbol, Text

Apple is reportedly preparing a potentially disruptive change to how notifications work in iOS 27 and iPadOS 27.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, incoming notifications now slide in from the left side of the screen in internal builds of the software. On its own, that might sound like a simple visual tweak. But it appears to be part of a much larger rethink of navigation gestures — one that could force longtime iPhone users to retrain years of muscle memory.

Read more
Smartphone screens are about to enter ridiculous refresh rate territory like gaming monitors
Camera island on OnePlus 15.

For years, smartphone makers have been locked in a race for brighter screens, thinner bezels, and sharper resolutions. Now, it looks like the next battleground could be refresh rates — and things are getting a little absurd.

A new leak suggests OnePlus is exploring a roadmap that could eventually bring 240Hz OLED displays to its flagship phones. That’s a number typically associated with competitive gaming monitors, not devices that spend most of their time scrolling through social media feeds and watching YouTube videos. According to tipster Digital Chat Station, OnePlus is considering a gradual jump through 165Hz and 185Hz panels before ultimately reaching 240Hz in future devices.

Read more
The next-gen Siri in iOS 27 might still ship as a beta experience in the early days
Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

Apple has spent the better part of a year trying to convince users that a smarter Siri is still on the way. Now, a new report suggests the company may be preparing expectations before the assistant finally arrives.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is internally referring to the revamped Siri as a “beta” and “preview” product, signaling that the company may not present the software as a finished experience when it launches later this year. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Apple followed a similar playbook with the original Siri, which carried the beta label for roughly two years after its debut.

Read more