OnePlus put a fan into the phone, and the Ace 7 Pro sold immediately 125 % more than its predecessor! It also has 185 Hz and 9 000 mAh

On October 29, OnePlus presented in China its gaming phones OnePlus Ace 7 and Ace 7 Pro, less than three weeks after the flagship OnePlus 16. Both have a small fan inside that blows air onto the chip and under the back cover, a display with a refresh rate up to 185 Hz, and a battery with a 9,000 mAh capacity. They went on sale immediately after the presentation, and according to the OnePlus boss in China, Ace 7 Pro achieved a 125% better result in the first sales compared to last year’s Ace 6.

A fan hidden in the camera module

For the first time, the Ace series phone got active cooling, whereas last year’s Ace 6 was still using passive heat dissipation. OnePlus calls it dual-path Ice River cooling, because the first airflow goes directly onto the chip and the second cools the back cover, so the phone doesn’t get hot in your hand after longer gaming. The chip sits above tower-like fins similar to those on graphics cards, and under them is a large vapor chamber. The manufacturer promises the fan is quieter, moves more air, and is more resistant to dust than what China’s standard requires. Its fan speed is controlled by a separate temperature sensor that can estimate temperature changes in advance.

According to OnePlus, after one hour of playing Peacekeeper Elite at 185 frames per second, the chip temperature drops by up to 10 °C, but this is the manufacturer’s claim, not an independent measurement. The GSMArena portal points out the unusual placement of the air-intake grilles, which sit on an elevated camera island, while gaming phones like RedMagic have them on the side frame. Despite the air openings, the body is rated IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K.

Recently, the fan inside the phone also showed up in the iQOO Neo 12, which, according to Notebookcheck, will be a direct rival to the Ace 7 Pro in China. Besides cooling, both phones also have three custom OnePlus chips: G3 for more stable connectivity during online gaming, P4 for display, and T3 for touch. According to the manufacturer, it should cut latency when swiping by 80% and when tapping by 43%.

Display 185 Hz and battery 9 000 mAh

Both phones feature a 6,78-inch LTPO OLED panel from BOE with a resolution of 2 772 × 1 272 pixels and a peak brightness of 2 000 nits. The highest 185 Hz is enabled only in supported games, but across the entire system—including the menu and browser—it runs at 165 Hz and can drop as low as 1 Hz when needed. Last year’s Ace 6 had a ceiling of 165 Hz, while the same display as the new Ace models also landed on the flagship OnePlus 16.

In both models, the battery is 9 000 mAh and you can charge it with 100 W via SuperVOOC, plus the universal UFCS standard. When you play with the charger connected, you can enable a mode where power goes straight to the phone and the battery doesn’t heat up unnecessarily.

OnePlus Ace 7 Pro: Full Snapdragon and a periscope

The more expensive OnePlus Ace 7 Pro is powered by Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, the same Qualcomm flagship chip that, for example, is also used in OnePlus 15. On the back there’s a 200 MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture and optical stabilization, paired with a 50 MP periscope telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom. It lacks an ultrawide sensor; according to GSMArena, that’s probably because the fan took up space in the module. It records video in 4K at 120 fps or 8K at 30 fps and also supports a Log mode.

It’s sold in black, white and light blue, and you can choose from the 12 + 256 GB version up to 16 GB + 1 TB. Both models have a metal frame, an ultrasonic in-display fingerprint reader, stereo speakers, NFC, an IR blaster and Wi-Fi 7, running ColorOS 17 with Android 17.

The base OnePlus Ace 7 is cheaper by 400 yuan

Cheaper OnePlus Ace 7 runs Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in version V. The processor is the same, but the graphics are split into two parts with smaller dedicated memory, so in games the full-version performance won’t be reached. OnePlus promises a stable 165 frames per second in demanding games. Instead of a telephoto lens, it has an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, while the 200MP main camera and 16MP selfie camera remain the same.

GSMArena says the fan in the base model doesn’t have bidirectional airflow, but Gizmochina and Notebookcheck don’t mention any difference in cooling between the models. You can get the Ace 7 in black, white, and a two-tone variant with a transition from silver to copper, with up to 16 GB RAM and 512 GB storage.

Prices in China and conversion to euros

The base Ace 7 starts in China from 4 399 yuan (around €593) and the Ace 7 Pro from 4 799 yuan (around €647). The most expensive Ace 7 Pro with 16 GB RAM and 1 TB storage comes to 7 299 yuan (around €984). The conversion using the ECB rate is only indicative, because on import customs duty, VAT, and the seller’s margin will be added.

Sale is 125 % better than with Ace 6

OnePlus China President Li Jie wrote on Weibo that the Ace 7 Pro achieved 225% of last year’s Ace 6 sales in the first sale, which means a 125% increase. He also claims that OnePlus 16 and Ace 7 Pro have this year’s best first-day sales among all Android phones. As Gizmochina notes, the figures come from the company itself and there are no independent data to corroborate them.

According to Li Jie, shoppers in physical stores are most attracted to performance, 185 Hz in games, the ColorOS 17 system, and a camera with a 200MP sensor and a periscope. He added that some discounts are only valid for a limited time.

Will the Ace 7 arrive as OnePlus 16R?

Ace phones have traditionally been sold outside China under a different name. OnePlus 12R was basically Ace 3, and OnePlus 13R was Ace 5. OnePlus 15R, which is also sold here, however, didn’t come from Ace 6 but from the later Ace 6T, which has the same Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip and a 6.83-inch display. That’s why it’s worth asking whether the Ace 7 will become the OnePlus 16R. GSMArena says some expect it with the base Ace 7, while Gizmochina mentions speculation about the Ace 7 Pro as the 16R model for India, but OnePlus has not confirmed any of that.

Against the theory that it would be a rebranded Ace 7 is an October leak that we wrote about. According to it, OnePlus 16R will get three 50MP cameras and a battery over 7 500 mAh, which doesn’t match the Ace 7 specs. It also wouldn’t officially come to Europe anyway, because OnePlus ended the launch of new products in Europe and North America in August. However, Chinese versions of OnePlus can still be imported here via trusted sellers, as was the case with OnePlus 16—you just need to account for a Chinese system without Slovak and without B20 band support.

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