The OnePlus 15 is the direct successor to the OnePlus 13, despite releasing in the same calendar year. OnePlus skipped a number for a number of reasons, so while the name is a bit strange, there are some definitive upgrades to be aware of.
But the OnePlus 15 also isn’t an upgrade in every area. It’s got worse camera sensors — although our OnePlus 15 camera review proves that OnePlus’s new camera software makes up for that — and many people aren’t crazy about the clearly iPhone-inspired changes to the hardware and operating system.
Thankfully, OnePlus makes up for this in other areas. The battery life is beyond stellar and is easily the best among any flagship phone in existence today. Charging is faster than ever, a feat that’s made even better by the inclusion of a charger in the box, and performance is literally chart-topping, especially if you’re a mobile gamer. Is this the right phone for you? Let’s look at what makes it better and worse than the competition.
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What’s better
The OnePlus 15 is unequivocally better than every other phone in five ways: battery life, charging speed, display quality, durability, and overall performance. If these three categories are important to you, buy the OnePlus 15. My OnePlus 15 review points out just how much better each of these categories is than the competition, and it’s not even close.
You’ll get at least 2 full days on a single charge, owing to a massive 7,300mAh battery that’s about 50% larger than most smartphone batteries. Because OnePlus is using electric car battery tech, the phone actually weighs less than the competition despite the battery’s size. And when you have to charge it, the packed-in charger will give you a full charge in under 45 minutes, again, despite the larger size.
All of that is packed into an even stronger frame that boasts IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings. Most phones just have IP68, which is great for everyday life, but OnePlus is protecting its phones against everything you could possibly do, even including high heat and water jets. Only Honor offers anything even close.
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The display on the OnePlus 15 is the best I’ve ever tested. It’s a brilliant 165Hz OLED that sports tons of wonderful eye care features that annihilate anything Google or Samsung are doing today. While the Pixel 10 Pro family gets brighter by a few hundred nits, the OnePlus 15 is just a tad brighter than the Galaxy S25 Ultra, all without nasty low-frequency PWM dimming that hurts my eyes.
Since the display runs at up to 165Hz, OnePlus has partnered with a handful of popular game developers to ensure that popular titles like Call of Duty Mobile and PUBG run at 165Hz with no stuttering or frame drops. OnePlus also implemented a new dedicated touch response chip that ensures the action follows your finger movements faster than any phone, and in my testing, that’s definitely the case.
And while the camera isn’t faster than the OnePlus 13, the front and primary sensors deliver better quality than that phone in any light. That’s saying quite a bit, given how good the OnePlus 13’s main camera sensor was. The OnePlus 15 also includes better video recording, including 4k120 video and full LOG and RAW options.
What’s worse
OnePlus made some radical design changes with the OnePlus 15 that have become a point of contention among fans. While some laud the new “clean design” language, many others — including myself — are sick of seeing Android phones bow to Apple‘s overly flat and boxy design language. OnePlus had an excellent thing going with the OnePlus 13’s ergonomics, and this phone is anything but ergonomic.
If you put a case on your phone, you may not care as much, but there’s no doubt that a lot of what made OnePlus phones look unique is gone with the OnePlus 15. One of the worst losses is the Alert Slider, a wholly unique three-way toggle switch that has graced nearly every major OnePlus phone since the OnePlus 2.
OnePlus got ripped a new one when it removed the Alert Slider on the OnePlus 10T, but this time around, it replaced the Alert Slider with a “Plus Key” that’s semi-customizable. Why the company couldn’t just add a Plus Key above or below the Alert Slider is confounding, but by removing a fan favorite feature, the company has irritated long-time followers.
My initial impressions of OxygenOS 16 on the OnePlus 13 were quite positive, but my excitement for the latest OnePlus operating system update has waned since then. I’ve run across a number of annoying bugs that weren’t present in OxygenOS 15, and while OnePlus has added more features to its theme engine, it’s still overly difficult to find, buried in settings instead of being on the home screen.
OnePlus also opted to default to several iOS-style UI options on the OnePlus 15, yet again annoying fans who didn’t ask for an iPhone clone. You can change these options, thankfully, but there was no reason for OnePlus to make these alternate designs the default other than to blindly copy iOS.
It’s also worth noting the areas where the OnePlus 15’s camera is worse than the OnePlus 13. Low-light capture takes longer for all sensors, and while the front and main lenses are better in most cases, the telephoto and ultrawide sensors were downgraded. Since there’s no Hasselblad branding, the popular XPAN mode is also gone.
Should you buy?
At $899, this phone still offers a better value than comparable models by Samsung and Google, including better battery life, faster charging, a better display, a more durable build, and faster performance. Ironically, OnePlus no longer has the edge on a more comfortable design with the latest changes, as each of these companies now uses a boring iPhone-like boxy design on its latest models.
OnePlus offers four OS updates and six years of security updates, which is short of the seven that both Samsung and Google offer. I won’t call this “worse” even though the numbers are lower because I don’t think it negatively affects any meaningful percentage of users, but it’s something to keep in mind if you hold on to phones for more than 7 years.
Spending $999 on the model with 16GB RAM and 512GB storage still saves you around $300 compared to Google and Samsung, and gives you access to more storage and even better multitasking capabilities. While I would have liked to see better camera sensors and less iOS-inspired OS design, it’s hard to argue with saving hundreds of bucks while still getting so many advantages over the competition.
Despite it’s generic design, the OnePlus 15 is one of the best phones you can buy today. With six years of promised updates, the best battery life, charging speed, performance, durability, and display, plus a price that’ll save you around $300 over the competition, it’s hard to argue with OnePlus.
FAQ
When does the OnePlus 15 go on sale and for how much?
The OnePlus 15 goes on sale as of November 18, although preorders begin November 13. In the United States, the release date is to be determined due to the ongoing government shutdown. The phone starts at $899 for the lowest configuration and $999 for the highest specs.
Does the OnePlus 15 have an alert slider?
The OnePlus 15 does not have an alert slider. Instead, the company traded it for a Plus Key, which can be customized with nine different functions, such as toggling between ringer modes, saving screenshots to Mind Space, or disabling it entirely.
Is the OnePlus 15 waterproof?
The OnePlus 15 is not waterproof (no phone is), but it is highly water-resistant. The phone comes with several IP ratings, including IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K, meaning it can be submerged for a certain period of time and withstand high-pressure, high-temperature water jets from various angles.
Does the OnePlus 15 support Qi2 magnetic wireless charging?
The OnePlus 15 does not support Qi2 magnetic charging. Rudolf Xu, senior product marketing manager at OnePlus, explained that the reason the phone does not feature built-in magnets is because “magnets are too heavy, and we already reserve most of our space for a bigger battery.”
How fast are OnePlus 15 charging speeds?
The OnePlus 15 supports 80W charging in the United States, while other regions support charging as fast as 120W, due to voltage differences. Wireless charging caps out at 50W.
