OnePlus 16 design, colors officially revealed: New ‘Lighting Effects’ and specs teased

OnePlus has finally given us a proper look at its upcoming flagship, the OnePlus 16. After months of anticipation, the company has officially revealed the phone’s design and three colour options, and opened pre-bookings in China. The new phone keeps several design elements from the OnePlus 15, including the square camera module and familiar button layout.

Must Read: Govt brings new BIS rule for phone screen protectors: What buyers need to know

But one new addition could make the phone stand out on a table. OnePlus calls it the “Interstellar Lighting Effect”, a rear-panel lighting system that can alert users to calls, texts, and other notifications.

OnePlus 16 gets three colour options

The OnePlus 16 will be available in Tomorrow’s Starlight, The Dark Forest and A Martian Masterpiece. The phone has a square camera module at the back with three cameras and retains the placement of the power, volume and key from its predecessor.

Must Read: Googlebook laptops are finally here: Meet 5 flagship Android laptops from Acer, Asus, Dell, HP and Lenovo

The company has also opened pre-bookings in China, though it has not announced the price yet. The phone will not have an 8GB RAM option. Instead, buyers will get 12GB or 16GB RAM, with storage options including 256GB, 512GB and 1TB.

New lighting feature works as a notification system

The biggest design change is the “Interstellar Lighting Effect” on the rear. The lights can turn on for incoming calls, texts, game highlights and more. However, what OnePlus means by “game highlights” is still unclear.

The feature will be exclusive to the Tomorrow’s Starlight variant. The silver-coloured phone also has multiple areas on the rear that appear designed to light up, including a star symbol, “Area 16” text and two coordinates.

The OnePlus 16 is expected to feature a 200MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide and 50MP periscope telephoto camera, along with a 165Hz display that could reach 185Hz during gaming.

While OnePlus has officially revealed the phone in China, its availability in India remains uncertain. Multiple reports suggest the company could instead bring the OnePlus 16R to India as its flagship, although OnePlus has not confirmed this. It will not be available in the US or Europe.