OnePlus just launched its new flagship killer for 2026, the OnePlus 16 5G smartphone. OnePlus has gone all in with top-of-the-line hardware, including the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6 chipset, a flagship 200MP camera sensor, and a massive 9000mAh battery. It offers competitive pricing, making it a strong contender against Apple and Samsung flagships. In the current market, Vivo’s subsidiary gaming smartphone maker, iQOO, has also launched a top-tier flagship, the iQOO 16. It features solid hardware including the Snapdragon 8 Elite Extreme Gen 6, Samsung’s M16 OLED panel, triple 50MP flagship cameras, and an 8400mAh battery. This raises the question: which phone, the OnePlus 16 or the iQOO 16, has the edge in today’s flagship market, and which should you consider buying? We’ve got the answers.
OnePlus 16 launched on October 12, 2026, with sales starting in China. iQOO has also launched the iQOO 16 first in China.
For the India launch, iQOO India CEO Nipun Marya confirmed at the IMC 2026 event in New Delhi that the phone will launch soon, while rumours suggest iQOO will launch the iQOO 16 flagship in India by the second week of November. Here are the specifications and feature comparison.
The OnePlus 16 uses an aluminum frame, with a glass back and a glass front, both protected by CrystalShield.
OnePlus has made no major design changes, with a similarly housed camera inspired by its previous-year flagship, the OnePlus 15.
However, OnePlus has added new colours for this year’s flagships, including Dark Forest, Mars Masterpiece (Martian Masterpiece) in a light orange or salmon-pink shade, and Tomorrow Starlight with a silver-grey finish.
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