OnePlus 15 Review: Has The Flagship Killer Finally Settled?
The OnePlus 15 runs the company's OxygenOS 16, which is based on Android 16. As you’d expect, OxygenOS 16 continues to deliver the kind of fluid and polished software experience OnePlus is known for. But just like the OnePlus 15’s copycat iPhone design, OxygenOS 16 is beginning to look and feel more like iOS than I’m comfortable with. For example, there’s now a Categories tab in the app tray which mimics the App Library in iOS, and this can’t be disabled.
OnePlus 15 Software, User Experience, And AI Chops
Notifications and quick settings are now split by default (you have to swipe down from the top left for notifications, and swipe down from the top right for quick settings), just like in iOS. Thankfully, you can switch back to Android’s combined quick settings and notifications drawer. Also, have you seen the Plus Key UI? It’s almost identical to the Action button UI in iOS. Speaking of which, you can set the Plus Key to access something called Mind Space.
Enter OnePlus AI Mind Space
Mind Space is a part of OnePlus AI, alongside Google’s Circle To Search, Gemini, and Gemini Live, and is very similar to Nothing’s Essential Space – both in scope and operation. OnePlus calls Mind Space “a unified and searchable repository for your digital memories”. It’s a personal, on-device knowledge base that’s deeply integrated with Gemini, and it handles your data within a hybrid private cloud that’s end-to-end encrypted to safeguard your privacy.Simply press the Plus Key to capture a screenshot and store it in Mind Space, long-press to record a voice memo, and double-press to open Mind Space and see everything you’ve captured and logged. You can also press the Plus Key within the camera app to store images in Mind Space. It’s pretty cool, but is it really useful? That depends on what your priorities are, and how much you’re willing to use it. I didn’t find it very useful.
Here’s a quick rundown of some of the other tools included with OnePlus AI.
- Al Recorder transcribes audio from meetings or interviews, distinguishes between different speakers, and generates concise summaries.
- Al Portrait Glow intelligently fixes underexposed or overexposed portraits by automatically enhancing light and shadow, giving subjects a natural, studio-quality glow.
- Al Scan lets you scan physical documents, photos, or whiteboards and convert them into clean, distortion-free PDFs.
- Al PlayLab provides tech enthusiasts with early access to experimental AI features, such as "YumSee" for menu translation and "Party Up" for video creation.
Like before, OnePlus is committing to four years of OS upgrades and six years of security updates for the OnePlus 15, which is reasonable. My review unit came with very little pre-installed bloatware. Netflix was the only pre-installed app besides OnePlus’ (generally useful) apps and Google’s (inevitable) apps. That’s acceptable in my book, considering Netflix is quite popular and easy to uninstall.
OnePlus 15 Review Summary And Top Takeaways
I’m conflicted about the OnePlus 15. While it’s still a well-rounded flagship that delivers great value, some cracks are starting to show. On the one hand, you’re getting premium hardware, a beautiful 165Hz display, solid cameras, excellent performance, spectacular battery life, fast charging speeds, and delightful software – all for $899. At the same time, the OnePlus 15 comes with some tradeoffs that are difficult to overlook.
Between the iPhone-influenced hardware and software, lower resolution screen, downgraded shooters, lack of Hasselblad tuning, and missing alert slider, it feels like OnePlus has lost a little bit of its soul with this handset release. Then there’s all the weirdness I experienced running benchmarks – from the unexpected results to occasional overheating problems. Yes, the OnePlus 15 performs like a champ day-to-day, but it’s also clear that the software still needs more time in the oven.
This phone will surely receive tweaks and fixes in the form of software updates down the road, but I have to review what's on the table today. So, while I certainly recommend the OnePlus 15, I cannot give it our coveted Editor’s Choice award this time around. The flagship killer isn’t gone: it has just settled.
