Expectations skyrocket when OnePlus releases a new phone every year. Flagship performance is now more reasonably priced thanks to this brand. To take the year traditions forward, the OnePlus 15 has finally been released. And this might possibly cause some disruption in the global markets, including the USA and India. Right off the bat, this smartphone is the most powerful Android flagship to date. For the past two weeks or so, it has been our daily driver, and here is our experience with this gadget. This is the OnePlus 15 Review you should not miss.
In This Article
Design and Display
The new design immediately catches your eye. There have been many changes to the OnePlus 15. A significant update is that the top-left corner of the back panel now features a rectangular camera island instead of the traditional circular module. This aligns with the look of modern flagship phones. They have also made the camera housing smaller. The back of the phone is flat and bears an engraved OnePlus logo, which gives it a tidy appearance. This is beneficial for mobile gamers because it makes the device easier to hold and reduces accidental touches during gameplay.
The firm has used materials that are stronger than titanium. Some colour options feature micro-arc oxidation (MAO) technology, which provides the coating with a ceramic-grade finish that is more durable and easier to maintain than titanium and aluminium. The mid-frame is crafted from strong metal. The device’s high durability ratings, such as IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K, ensure it is highly resistant to dust, submersion, and high-pressure water.
In general, it has a pretty advanced look. Did you know that all three models are different, not only in colour but also in how they are made and how they feel? The black and ultraviolet colours have a soft, smooth feel. There is also a very faint glint of brilliance around the border of the ultraviolet. But this sandstorm version, which we have for the review, is our favourite colour option. The back panel is made of fibreglass or fibre-reinforced plastic and has a soft-touch matte finish that feels excellent to the touch. Also, the coating doesn’t attract any fingerprints at all.
The OnePlus 15 has a large battery, yet it remains slim, measuring about 8.1mm to 8.2mm thick and weighing between 211g and 215g. It is easier and more convenient to handle because it is approximately 161.4 mm x 76.7 mm.
The OnePlus 15 has undergone notable button modifications. The key change is the addition of a new button called the Essential Key, or Plus Key. This button is positioned in the upper left corner of the phone frame and replaces the Alert Slider that was previously found on OnePlus flagship models. You can configure the Key to perform various quick actions or shortcuts. It is a dedicated button that you can personalise.
In addition to this, the OnePlus 15 has traditional buttons like the Power/Lock Button and Volume Rocker. All of these buttons are on the right side of the frame. The volume rocker is located above the power button for easy access for users.
The USB Type-C port is positioned in the centre of the bottom edge and supports USB 3.2 Gen 1. Next to this port is a dual nano-SIM tray that can also utilise eSIM technology. The device features stereo speakers: a main speaker on the bottom edge and an earpiece or secondary speaker on the top. The OnePlus 15 includes a powerful three-mic noise cancellation system that eliminates background noise during calls and recordings, ensuring clear audio.
The phone features an IR blaster at the top edge, allowing it to function as a universal remote for various devices, such as TVs and air conditioners. The OnePlus 15 does not include a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, in line with current flagship design trends. Instead, users must connect audio devices via the USB-C port or Bluetooth 6.0 wireless.
The smartphone also has an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor integrated into the screen for secure authentication and convenience. We checked it a lot of times, and not once did it give us a chance to bicker.
Overall, we really appreciate the phone’s premium feel. A lot of focus is made on the phone’s display because the OnePlus 15 has a unique feature that makes it stand out from other phones.
The bezels surrounding the screen are very slim and uniformly balanced on all four sides. This results in a high screen-to-body ratio ranging from 90.8% to 95.5%. Such a design provides a fully immersive visual experience from edge to edge. The display is a large 21.6-inch LTPO AMOLED with a cutout for the selfie camera. The transition from slightly curved panels to entirely flat ones improves the device’s performance, which is excellent news for gamers.
The screen is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass Victus 2, resulting in it being less likely to break or scratch.
Refresh rate and touch responsiveness are two important features that affect how well the display works. The AMOLED screen on the device has a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz and advanced touch response technologies. This refresh rate is much better than the 120Hz that most gadgets have. No other company offers this kind of experience, which is important for gaming. That’s really cool. The screen is very clear and, as far as we know, the first of its kind.
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Touch response rates usually range from 1,440Hz to 2,400Hz, but this device has a dedicated touch response chip that makes it reach an impressive 3,200Hz. This chip makes sure that tapping is accurate and that no inputs are missed. The display currently lacks an anti-reflective coating, which may reduce clarity. However, OnePlus offers a special tempered glass that is said to perform well against reflections.
Because of this, the device is highly responsive to touch, making it perfect for activities requiring quick reflexes, such as gaming, fast typing, or smooth scrolling.
OnePlus also chose a 1.5K resolution (1,272 x 2,772 pixels) for its new OLED display so that it could reach a refresh rate of 165 Hz, which is very high. This resolution is lower than the 2K and QHD+ resolutions found on the predecessor, the OnePlus 13 (Review).
The screen can reach 1,800 nits, so it’s visible in direct sunlight. It can also get very dim, down to 0.5 to 1 nit for optimal viewing in complete darkness. So, it’s a stunning giant display that’s perfect for the outdoors.
In terms of colour and HDR performance, the display supports 1.07 billion colours and works with high-end HDR formats, like Dolby Vision and HDR 10+. Therefore, the supported content has bright colours, deep blacks, and rich contrasts. The display is also TÜV Rheinland Intelligent Eye Care certified. Over that, it has features like “Reduce White Point” and a mix of DC-like and 2,160 Hz PWM dimming to make it easier on the eyes when you constantly use it.
The display stands out in particular, offering a level of performance that no other brand can match.
Performance and Cameras
Now let’s talk about performance. OnePlus has worked hard to improve performance.
The Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 Mobile Platform powers the OnePlus 15. This platform employs advanced 3nm technology to optimise performance. It features a Qualcomm Oryon CPU with eight cores: two Prime Cores that can reach speeds of up to 4.6 GHz, and six Performance Cores that operate at speeds of up to 3.62 GHz.
For your information, it is touted to provide roughly 20% improved total CPU performance and 35% higher power efficiency than the previous generation.
The Qualcomm Adreno 840 takes care of graphics, which makes them 23% faster and the battery 20% longer. The Adreno High Performance Memory (HPM) provides 18MB of dedicated memory to speed up rendering. Additionally, the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU integrated into the device enables generative AI tasks on the device, which enhances AI performance by 37%.
The 360-degree Cryo-Velocity Cooling System has a big, tearable 3D Vapour Chamber (VC), a white graphite back for extra cooling, and an aerogel insulation layer made from aerospace technology that is right under the display.
This advanced technology successfully regulates heat, protecting the structural integrity of internal components and managing the phone’s exterior temperature during demanding activities such as gaming, and more importantly, it can maintain high frame rates in games for longer than many rivals.
For demanding games like BGMI, Genshin Impact, and Call of Duty, the phone keeps a steady frame rate of 120 FPS or even 165 FPS. But remember that the OnePlus 15 might consume a lot of power, which can lead to significant thermal throttling under heavy, sustained loads, even though it has a superior cooling system. Yes, and the gyro sensor has been fine-tuned to be highly precise for gamers. We mean that even slight movements of the wrist make things very smooth and the shooting very accurate.
The phone’s fast LPDDR5X RAM supports Parallel Processing 2.0, which allows you to run multiple demanding apps simultaneously without issues.
Antutu Score: 36,67,095
OxygenOS 16 offers many features that simplify tasks. One of these is Dual App Control, allowing you to use two apps simultaneously. The Mind Space app now works with Google Gemini, which is a big step forward. Users can easily take a picture of their screen by pressing the plus key. The image is then analysed and saved in the MindSpace app. The most significant change here is that users can now use Google Gemini to access saved content from the Mind Space app more intelligently and effectively, instead of having to scroll or search through the app themselves. AI-powered camera features like AI Portrait Glow and AI Scan also help you take better pictures.
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The phone’s lock screen has been redesigned and now offers more customisation options, such as new clock designs and widgets that make it easy to access information. You can drag and drop toggles in the Quick Settings panel, which simplifies the process. The device also features cross-ecosystem connectivity, making it easy to transfer files between macOS, Windows, and Apple devices. Additionally, the handset is NFC-enabled.
The new OS introduces visually appealing Flux themes to the lock screen, which look even better with the new depth wallpapers. These wallpapers look fantastic and also utilise AI to generate captions for the photos you select. Additionally, a full-screen, always-on display feature allows users to keep their favourite wallpaper on the lock screen. A newly redesigned control centre offers more customised options while enabling users to swiftly swipe left to access notifications.
Smooth and fluid animations set the system navigation apart and make the user experience more enjoyable. Furthermore, users can now add shortcuts to app icons and arrange them in pill shapes that are either horizontal or vertical. Lastly, native apps now have a new frosted glass design that makes the interface look cleaner and more modern overall.
OnePlus has promised to support its flagship smartphones for quite a while. The OnePlus 15 will get four major updates to the Android OS and six years of security fixes. The device will come with Android 16 (OxygenOS 16) and will be guaranteed to get updates up to Android 20. Smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 and Google Pixel 10 series offer a longer commitment of seven years for both OS and security updates. This is great for people who want their gadgets to last as long as possible.
The OnePlus 15 features a highly versatile triple 50MP camera system on the rear, now powered by an in-house computational photography engine, marking a departure from the previous Hasselblad partnership. Furthermore, the OnePlus 15 boasts smaller sensor sizes compared to the OnePlus 13. So, this gadget can still capture decent shots? Okay, let’s look at some samples.
Daylight performance is strong, with photos exhibiting clean quality, good dynamic range, and true-to-life colours due to a very fast shutter speed. While the Hi-Res mode offers 26MP outputs, the DetailMax Engine uses pixel-binning to enable 12.5MP photos; however, the improvements in detail are sometimes inconsistent.
The primary camera’s images are of excellent quality, with a good balance of colours and brightness. The blue skies are well-exposed, and even on cloudy days, the light gradient is captured effectively. Without the usual oversharpening, the greens appear accurate. All of the colours are accurately depicted. In terms of dynamic range, the camera usually does a good job of maintaining respectable details in the shadows; however, occasionally, shadow details seem a little squashed.
The size of the sensor limits its capacity to capture images in low light, which might lead to images with dull colours or a softer appearance. But the video quality is particularly impressive because this is the first Android device that can record 4K 120FPS video with Dolby Vision support, which enhances slow-motion and high-dynamic-range content.
The telephoto sensor offers an impressive range of zoom options, from a conventional 1x zoom to a 2x crop zoom, the native 3.5x zoom, and a 7x cropped zoom. This zooming versatility enables users to snap photographs from a variety of distances while keeping clarity and detail.
However, in low-light settings, the telephoto lens struggles with colour accuracy and focus speed, perhaps resulting in less vivid or noisier photographs than the primary camera.
Now we’ll examine ultra-wide performance. During the daytime, photo quality is acceptable, with detailed preservation and minimal distortion due to a high resolution of 50MP. However, there are consistency issues, as it exhibits poor colour accuracy and fluctuating white balance compared to the primary and telephoto lenses, resulting in a series of images that appear markedly different.
An ultra-wide lens can capture stunning images in good weather and proper lighting. The sensor can also serve as a macro lens, resulting in good close-up shots.
The small sensor size (1/2.88-inch) considerably reduces performance in low-light circumstances. When compared to photographs captured with the primary camera, ultra-wide shots taken at night have more softness, higher noise, and lower resolution.
Next, we tested the device’s portrait photography skills, finding that the 3.5x telephoto lens delivers the best images. The images have excellent colour fidelity, particularly in skin tones, and very precise edge detection. Zooming in, it is clear that the edge detection retains clarity even in fine details like hair strands.
Surprisingly, even while capturing moving subjects, the gadget produces crisp photographs in 90% of cases. The OnePlus 15 improves the photographs with more punch and contrast, adding to their overall visual appeal. In low-light circumstances, the portrait mode continues to impress, with minimal halo effects around light sources, well-controlled highlights, and rich colours that do not sacrifice detail.
We took a bunch of portrait selfies, and they turned out great. The quality is obvious, thanks to the excellent lighting, making them ideal for social media use. Even in low-light situations, the selfies effectively preserved proper skin tones and noise levels, resulting in visually pleasing photographs.
Overall, the portrait mode works well in many situations. It does a great job of capturing both people and things, with nice background blur effects and colours that look true to life.
The 32 MP front camera delivers exceptional detail and clarity for daytime selfies, making them ideal for social media. Autofocus (AF) enhances usability by enabling the camera to focus precisely on targets, whether in close-up or group shots, which is crucial for quick photos. It utilises the RGBW pixel array of the Sony IMX709 sensor to capture more light than standard RGB sensors, resulting in brighter and better-exposed photos in low-light conditions.
The OnePlus 15 stands out in the premium smartphone market mainly because of its long-lasting battery, which has a capacity of 7,300 mAh. Users can expect 4 to 5 days of use on a single charge in moderate-to-heavy conditions, relieving charging worries. Furthermore, the device features 120W SUPERVOOC quick charging, which provides a full day’s battery life in less than 20 minutes of charging. That large battery capacity can be charged to 100% in just under 40 minutes. That’s incredible.
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Verdict
Before wrapping up, we must discuss the price, which we believe is particularly favourable and inviting. The 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage will be available at Rs 72,999, whereas the 16GB of RAM with 512GB of storage is priced at Rs 79,999.
The OnePlus 15 offers an excellent experience, emphasising design, durability, and performance. The mobile features a simple design, a flat screen, a redesigned camera module, aerospace-grade materials, a highly responsive display, and a large 7,300 mAh silicon-carbon battery. It is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 CPU and delivers top-tier performance, including gaming at 165 FPS and a dedicated Wi-Fi chip for enhanced connectivity. Overall, it is a great choice for those seeking a high-performance smartphone built to last.
Pros
- Massive battery and fast charging capability
- Stable performance thanks to Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, and paired with the 360-degree Cryo-Velocity Cooling System
- Super fast 165Hz LTPO AMOLED display
- Highest grade protection
- Supports 4K video recording @120FPS (industry’s first feature)
Cons
- Gets warm during extended gaming
- Only 4 years of OS updates (Samsung and Google promise 7 years)
