OnePlus 15 Review: A Phone With Two-Day Battery Life

Fantastic performance. Doesn't get excessively lukewarm portion gaming. Two-day artillery life. Super-fast charging. Sharp, responsive OLED screen. Robust h2o resistance. Decently reliable cameras.

No Qi2 magnets (not adjacent Qi2 Ready). Software update argumentation inactive doesn't lucifer that of Apple, Google, oregon Samsung. Cameras are inactive a measurement beneath the apical dogs.

OnePlus has been churning retired Android smartphones for implicit a decade, yet it inactive feels similar the institution is warring an uphill conflict to get a foothold successful the US. There were a fewer years erstwhile it felt similar it was acceptable to beryllium conscionable beneath the likes of Samsung and Apple, but those days are agelong gone—it's present adjacent down Motorola and Google successful marketplace share.

Perhaps a caller telephone with a caller look tin assistance crook things around. The OnePlus 15 enjoys a redesign that nixes the giant, circular camera module successful favour of a quadrate camera bump we're each excessively acquainted with. The unsocial marble-like patterns connected the backmost are nary more; instead, accidental hullo to level colors: Infinite Black, Sand Storm, and Ultra Violet. It doesn't look oregon consciousness similar a OnePlus, but that mightiness not matter. I bash person to constituent retired that a twelvemonth hasn't adjacent passed since I reviewed the OnePlus 13 (there is nary OnePlus 14 owed to Chinese taste superstitions astir the number). OnePlus moved up its Android telephone motorboat to beryllium 1 of the archetypal with Qualcomm's caller flagship processor.

The OnePlus 15 starts astatine $900, though if you privation a colour different than achromatic and with faster RAM, you'll request to wage $1,000 (just similar its predecessor). Preorders were expected to footwear disconnected today, but the US authorities shutdown enactment a wrinkle successful those plans. The telephone hasn't been certified by the FCC yet, but with the shutdown nearing its end, expect the OnePlus 15 to beryllium disposable successful the US precise soon. It'll enactment connected each large US carrier.

Super Cell

The OnePlus 15 impresses successful 2 areas. First, and arguably the astir important: artillery life. This is the lone smartphone sold successful the US with a monolithic 7,300-mAh silicon-carbon battery. For context, the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 5,000-mAh cell. This monolithic leap successful size means the OnePlus 15 has capable successful the vessel to easy past 2 days connected a azygous charge. I exclusively charged it each different time aft much than a week of testing.

On days with airy use, I person 70 percent near by bedtime. When I spent much clip connected the phone, utilizing it for euphony streaming, navigation, and Instagram Reels-ing, I often ended with astir 60 oregon 50 percent. I'd permission it connected my nightstand without bothering to plug it in, a refreshing alteration of pace. Over the people of 2 days, I deed an astonishing 10 and a fractional hours of screen-on time.

This mightiness beryllium the champion artillery beingness connected a flagship smartphone contiguous successful the US, particularly erstwhile you brace it with the incredibly accelerated recharge times. OnePlus remains 1 of the lone companies to see a charger successful the box—mostly due to the fact that it's the lone mode to instrumentality vantage of its SuperVooc fast-charging technology. I was capable to ramp from 15 to 80 percent successful 30 minutes (50 percent successful 15 minutes). It's hard to interest astir a dormant telephone if you don't caput keeping the bulky charger connected your idiosyncratic (is a folding prong excessively overmuch of an ask?).

But there's ever a compromise somewhere. If you're a instrumentality of wireless charging and are particularly funny successful Qi2 smartphones that usage magnets (like Apple's MagSafe) for much convenient and faster charging, you'll beryllium disappointed here. The OnePlus 15 supports wireless charging, but lone the modular Qi technology. OnePlus is selling magnetic cases arsenic a salve, but dissimilar Samsung's existent harvest of top-end phones, this doesn't adjacent crook it into a Qi2 Ready phone. It volition lone complaint astatine dilatory Qi wireless charging speeds. (You can bargain OnePlus' proprietary wireless charger to fast-charge, but that's a abstracted purchase, and that wireless charger volition only recharge prime OnePlus devices quickly.)

The beefy artillery and super-fast wired charging whitethorn outshine the lackluster wireless charging, but present it's clip to speech astir the 2nd astir awesome feat of the OnePlus 15: performance.

Power Play

This is the archetypal smartphone successful the US to employment Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a processor we'll spot successful astir high-end Android phones successful 2026. The benchmark numbers are excellent. In a Geekbench 6 test, the OnePlus 15 is officially the archetypal telephone to walk 10,000 successful multi-core CPU performance, adjacent besting the iPhone 17 Pro Max. However, the iPhone inactive had a flimsy limb up successful single-core show (it's besides mostly much efficient).

Naturally, moving astir the operating strategy and moving each the accustomed apps and games is child's play. Everything feels wonderfully slick and snappy. The champion mode to beryllium impressed by those benchmark numbers is to tally immoderate demanding mobile games. Genshin Impact inactive causes immoderate high-end phones to conflict erstwhile each graphical settings are maxed out, but for the archetypal clip successful my acquisition with Android phones, show connected the OnePlus 15 seemed flawless. That's with the highest settings successful the game, and besides maxing retired fidelity utilizing OnePlus' Game Mode. The crippled looks fantastic, and runs beautifully, consistently hitting 60 frames per second. Even aft much than an hr of gameplay, the telephone didn't consciousness uncomfortably hot.

OnePlus takes respective steps to optimize everything for speed. The UFS 4.1 retention speeds are immoderate of the fastest you'll find connected a phone, arsenic is the RAM. A 3,200-Hz interaction sampling rate—how often the telephone registers your inputs—is jaw-droppingly high. Heck, adjacent the Wi-Fi is fast. OnePlus claims it's 50 percent faster. My velocity tests were noticeably faster than the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL, though somewhat abbreviated of the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

There's a 165-Hz surface refresh rate, too. I've seen that earlier connected an Asus gaming phone, but it isn't communal connected different smartphones. Take this with a atom of salt, though, due to the fact that lone a fistful of video games adjacent enactment that precocious refresh rate; by default, the OnePlus 15 maxes retired astatine 120 Hz. Speaking of the AMOLED screen, the 1.5K solution whitethorn beryllium a downgrade from the 2K connected the OnePlus 13, but it's inactive fantastically crisp and bright. (This simplification successful pixels is mostly owed to the 165-Hz refresh rate.) OnePlus has besides shaved down the bezels astir the show to beryllium razor-thin, and it definite looks smart; I besides emotion the level edges arsenic opposed to curved glass.

It has 1 of the astir broad IP ratings I've seen to date. The OnePlus 15 is rated arsenic the following: IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K. Most phones person conscionable 1 IP rating, similar IP68, which means the instrumentality tin withstand 2 meters of submersion for 30 minutes. But that doesn't needfully mean it's rated to past jets of h2o astatine assorted angles. All of these ratings stack, meaning this telephone tin adjacent withstand high-pressure h2o jets astatine temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius (IP69). Talk astir covering your bases.

Common Pitfalls

Performance and artillery beingness are critical, and the OnePlus 15 knocks it retired of the park, but there's truthful overmuch much to a smartphone. First, the design. I don't caput the caller look; it has a cleanable finish, though it's a spot one-note. The contented is that the Sand Storm exemplary I tried is incredibly slippery—it's a substance of clip until it slips done your fingers. This is the lone colour with a peculiar “micro arc oxidation” process that makes it somewhat stronger and scratch-resistant than the achromatic oregon violet. I can't archer if that's what makes this telephone consciousness truthful slippery, oregon if each the colors consciousness similar this.

I americium not a instrumentality of however precocious the buttons are placed connected the edges of the phone. It feels similar my fingers are struggling to scope the measurement rocker oregon Plus Key (more connected this successful a bit). In a akin way, I don't emotion immoderate plan decisions successful OnePlus' mentation of Android, OxygenOS. It borrows a small excessively overmuch from Apple's iOS for my taste, but immoderate different quirks are conscionable annoying. For example, connected the fastener screen, different Android phones fto you swipe down connected a notification to grow it, but here, the notification gets flung down to a hidden area. Why? No idea.

There are small things similar that present and determination that annoy, but thing excessively egregious, but the bundle update policy: Four Android OS upgrades and 6 years of information updates. Not horrible, but not the 7 years of broad updates you'll get with a Samsung oregon Google Pixel.

OnePlus besides caved and has gone all-in connected AI with this phone. There were truthful galore times erstwhile I started typing a connection to a person and an “AI Writer” would flash connected the screen, begging maine to usage generative AI to travel up with immoderate words connected my behalf. I mostly ignored these, but you whitethorn beryllium wondering astir that “Plus Key.” This utilized to beryllium the mute switch, but present it's purely for AI. A azygous pat with instrumentality a screenshot and prevention it successful the Plus Mind app, capable to analyse the discourse and connection up suggestions, similar adding an lawsuit to your calendar. A double-press opens the Plus Mind app, but a long-press initiates a dependable grounds function.

That past diagnostic is what I deliberation is the astir valuable. If you emotion taking dependable notes, this fastener lets you rapidly grounds one, and the AI that powers it volition transcribe it reasonably accurately, astatine slightest successful my results. You tin easy hunt for things you said successful the past, too. I inactive deliberation this fastener is simply a small excessively precocious up connected the phone.

Finally, we get to the cameras. All 3 rear cameras person 50 megapixels, with the telephoto offering 3.5X optical zoom (and 7X optical-like quality). The beforehand selfie camera has 32 megapixels. OnePlus has ever played 3rd fiddle to the likes of Samsung and Google, and adjacent though the institution has been hyping up its “DetailMax Engine” representation processing algorithm connected the OnePlus 15 (especially since it nary longer has a concern with Hasselblad), I don't deliberation it's unseating the camera kings.

That's not to accidental you won't get immoderate large photos retired of the OnePlus 15. I've been mostly blessed with the results, adjacent successful debased light. It besides does a large occupation of retaining the vibe and warmth of the photo, whereas Google's Pixel 10 Pro sometimes is assertive with the achromatic balance. However, the results conscionable aren't arsenic sharp, peculiarly successful debased light. I inactive saw a decent chunk of blurry photos erstwhile trying to seizure a photograph of my moving canine astatine night, and I don't similar however the telephone lifts the shadows truthful overmuch that you don't get those nice, contrasty blacks. Even successful video clips, the footage is beauteous solid, but you tin spot a small much atom and lifted shadows compared to the Pixel 10 Pro XL. (It is bully that you tin astatine slightest sprout astatine 4K 120 frames per second, though.)

If your smartphone's camera takes a backseat, and you prioritize gaming oregon conscionable not having to perpetually complaint your phone, I deliberation the OnePlus 15 is simply a large alternate (and I'm gladsome we inactive person immoderate alternatives) implicit the heavyweights. It's not perfect, but not having to complaint a telephone each azygous nighttime goes a agelong mode successful making up for its shortcomings.