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

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.

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.

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).