OnePlus 15 Review: Has The Flagship Killer Finally Settled?

	OnePlus 15 - Starting At $899, Find It On OnePlus.com The OnePlus 15 makes some tradeoffs in display and imaging but continues to deliver great performance and killer battery life while still undercutting the competition.
	Premium design Gorgeous 165Hz display Solid cameras Excellent performance Spectacular battery life Fast wired and wireless charging, charger in the box Clean and responsive software IP69K ingress rating ×Alert slider is back	No more alert slider Lower resolution display Downgraded cameras No more Hasselblad partnership No mmWave 5G Thermally challenged at times

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So, what does this all mean? Are these tradeoffs a downgrade or simply a change of direction? Does this handset deserve your attention or has OnePlus lost the plot? Is the lack of Hasselblad partnership a big deal? Read on in my OnePlus 15 review here to find out...

OnePlus 15 Hardware, Design, And Build Quality

I really hope you like iPhones. Because camera pod aside, that’s basically what the OnePlus 15 looks and feels like. This means you get a completely flat 6.78-inch AMOLED screen, slab sides, rounded corners, and a Plus Key which mimics the placement and operation of Apple’s Action button, right down to the UI, and replaces OnePlus’ beloved alert slider. Frankly, this new copycat design is rather generic, and that’s a bummer.
Gone are the 2.5D front glass and back panel, thin sides, vegan leather back, round camera island, alert slider, and superior ergonomics of the OnePlus 13. Instead you get a brutalist design with sharp edges, a fiberglass back, and a camera squircle that’s similar to the Pixel 10 Pro Fold’s, but rotated 90 degrees. While I appreciate the family resemblance with the OnePlus 13s/13T and Oppo Find X9 series, I can't help but think this is a step in the wrong direction.

The Micro-Arc Oxidation Sand Storm Finish Is Tough Stuff

Now don't get me wrong. Just because I'm critical of the OnePlus 15’s design doesn't mean I don't like it. This phone looks attractive, feels premium, and is well made. I'm particularly fond of the micro-arc oxidation finish and Sand Storm colorway of my review unit. It looks like concrete, feels like paper, and is extremely hard – hard enough to scratch other phones – as I discovered when I accidentally slipped the Oppo Find X9 Pro into the same pocket as the OnePlus 15.
Between this hard finish on the frame and camera pod, and the fiberglass back panel, the OnePlus 15 Sand Storm should be extremely durable. Other hues include Ultra Violet and Infinite Black, which both feature a standard aluminum frame and a glass back, and are slightly thicker (8.2 vs. 8.1mm) and heavier (215 vs. 211g). Regardless of which model you choose, the OnePlus 15 boasts Gorilla Glass Victus 2 in front and an IP69K dust and water ingress rating.

The OnePlus 15’s control and port layout is familiar. You’ll find the volume rocker and power/lock key on the right side, and that new, programmable Plus Key on the left. The bottom edge is home to one of the speakers, the USB Type-C port (USB 3.2), the dual nano-SIM tray, and a pair of microphones; the other speaker and a third microphone are located on top. And if you're wondering what happened to the IR transmitter, it's in the camera island.

OnePlus 15 Specs And Features

Processor & 5G Platform	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Display	6.78-inch 1.5k LTPO AMOLED, 2772x1272 resolution, 1-120Hz + 165Hz
Memory	12/16GB LPDDR5X Ultra/Ultra+
Storage	256/512GB UFS 4.1
Rear-Facing Cameras	50MP 1/1.56” f/1.8 Main OIS, Omni-Directional PDAF - 50MP f/2.0 116º Ultra-Wide PDAF - 50MP f/2.8 3.5x Triprism Telephoto OIS, PDAF
Front-Facing Cameras	32MP f/2.4 AF
Video Recording	Up to 8K @ 30fps, 4K @ 120fps, 1080p @ 120fps, 4k slow-mo
Battery	7,300mAh, 100W SuperVOOC wired charging, 50W AIRVOOC wireless charging
OS	Android 16 with OxygenOS 16
Dimensions	161.4 x 76.7 x 8.1mm (fiberglass back) - 161.4 x 76.7 x 8.2mm (glass back)
Weight	211g (fiberglass back) - 215g (glass back)
Connectivity	802.11be Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0+LE, NFC, USB-C, LTE, 5G (sub-6GHz)
Colors	Infinite Black, Ultra Violet, Sand Storm
Pricing	Starting At $899 - Find It At OnePlus.com

OnePlus 15 Display Quality

Do you prize refresh rate over resolution? If that’s the case, then you’ll be impressed with the OnePlus 15’s 6.78-inch 165Hz 1.5k screen (an industry first) that replaces the OnePlus 13’s 6.82-inch 120Hz 2k (Quad HD+) display. Both are 10-bit 20:9-ish LTPO AMOLED panels with 2160Hz PWM dimming that support HDR 10+ and Dolby Vision; both are bright and beautiful, with vibrant colors, deep blacks, and excellent viewing angles.
Whereas the OnePlus 13’s screen resolution is 3168 × 1440 pixels (510 ppi), the OnePlus 15 clocks in at just 2772 x 1272 pixels (450 ppi). On the flip side, the new display is marginally brighter at 1800 nits HBM (vs. 1600 nits HBM) and features thinner bezels (just 1.15mm). And while both screens boast a 1-120Hz adaptive refresh rate, the OnePlus 15’s display can also ramp up to 165Hz for gaming, either natively or via frame interpolation.

That’s nice, but I’m skeptical that anything beyond 120Hz really makes any difference. Plus, lowering the resolution seems like taking a step back. Regardless, I think most people will be happy with the OnePlus 15’s display, and there's no question this bright LTPO screen delivers.

OnePlus 15 Camera Performance And Image Quality

Imaging is where the OnePlus 15’s tradeoffs are the most obvious – and perhaps the most controversial. First, OnePlus and Hasselblad have ended their partnership. This means OnePlus’ new flagship no longer benefits from Hasselblad’s camera tuning and lacks features like the iconic XPAN mode. Second, the OnePlus 15 now relies on smaller 50MP sensors with smaller aperture lenses than what the OnePlus 13 delivered. And frankly, that’s unfortunate
So, are these shooters really a downgrade? On paper, this is clearly the case. In practice, though, the OnePlus 15 still takes excellent pictures. OnePlus’ new imaging pipeline, the DetailMax Engine, does a lot of the heavy lifting here, no doubt helped along by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s ISP. As such, missing Hasselblad features aside, you’re still getting a solid photo and video experience no matter the conditions.
There are three 50MP rear cameras: an f/1.8 1.0-micron main shooter (1/1.56-inch Sony IMX906) with omni-directional PDAF and OIS, an f/2.0 0.61-micron 126-degree ultrawide (1/2.88-inch Omnivision OV50D) with PDAF, and an f/2.8 0.64-micron 3.5x tri-prism telephoto lens (1/2.76-inch Samsung S5KJN5) with PDAF and OIS. In front, you’ll find a 32MP f/2.4 0.8-micron selfie camera (1/2.74-inch Sony IMX709) with AF.

All three rear shooters support 4-to-1 pixel binning for better low-light performance. This combines groups of four nearby pixels into one larger pixel and outputs 12MP pictures. In addition, the main camera and 3.5x telephoto both support in-sensor cropping. This works by reading only the 12MP center portion of the 50MP sensor to achieve near-”lossless” 2x and 7x images, respectively, at the expense of slightly worse low-light performance.
When taking pictures at 1x or 3.5x (the main camera and telephoto’s native magnification) – and given enough light – the OnePlus 15 merges several pixel-binned 12MP shots for dynamic range with a 50MP image for detail, resulting in quality 26MP photos. Recent iPhones do something similar, but output 24MP photos. By default, the OnePlus 15 captures images at 12MP, and 50MP in high-res mode.

The OnePlus 15 offers a broad range of photo modes including night (all four shooters), portrait, macro (using the ultrawide), action, interval, 50MP high-res, panorama, long exposure, document scanner, and tilt-shift. Other features include filters, soft light options, Smart scenes (stage, silhouette, and fireworks), Master mode (a pro/manual mode with additional controls), and 10fps Clear burst (a dual-exposure algorithm for improved detail and reduced blur).
In addition, the OnePlus 15 records stabilized Dolby Vision HDR video (with stereo audio) at up to 4k 120fps (rear) and 4k 60fps (selfie). Video modes consist of 8k 30fps (main), portrait (main, tele, selfie, up to 4k 30fps), ultra steady (up to 4k 60fps rear, 1080p 30fps selfie), pro (manual, rear, 21:9, LOG, up to 4k 120fps), slow motion (rear, 4k 120fps, 1080p 240fps, 720p 480fps), time lapse (up to 4k 30fps), and dual view (rear plus selfie, 1080p 30fps).

Considering the downgraded camera specs and lack of Hasselblad tuning, I headed into this review expecting to be disappointed. Thankfully, I was wrong: the OnePlus 15 takes lovely pictures, with plenty of detail, accurate colors, and well-balanced exposure. Low-light performance and dynamic range are excellent as well. Selfies look great, and video quality is competitive too. Log video recording with live LUT preview is a welcome addition.