OnePlus 15 Review: Solid, settled Never Settler at a premium price

It may have outgrown its flagship killer roots, but OnePlus remains a key player in the premium flagship space, and an utter headache for the likes of Samsung, Google, and at times even Apple, thanks to its blend of clean design and smooth performance. But does the OnePlus 15 have what it takes to continue rattling premium flagship cages, even without the aid of Hasselblad? Let’s find out.

OnePlus 15 design and appearance: Classic, classy, and…a bigger OnePlus 13s

In terms of design, the OnePlus 15 moves a step ahead from the OnePlus 13 and takes a few pages out of the design book of the OnePlus 13s. It is slightly more compact than the OnePlus 13, being 161.4 mm tall to 162.9 mm, and is also slimmer at 8.1 mm as compared to 8.9 mm. It has a tall glass front with narrow bezels, a flat back, and straight sides, but with smoothly rounded corners. The circular camera unit, which has been an integral part of OnePlus flagships for the past three years (it started with the OnePlus 11), has been replaced with a square one with rounded corners, housing three cameras and a flash. At about 211 grams, the OnePlus 15 is not super light, but it has a reassuring, solid feel to it

We got the Infinite Black variant, which is our favourite, although the slightly golden Sand Storm variant with its Micro Arc Oxidation tech-laden frame and fibre glass back is the one being showcased by the brand, and the Ultra Violet is likely to turn the most heads. The Infinite Black looks quietly refined with its matte finish, which keeps fingerprints at bay and lets you wipe away small scratches (do try it!). The sides are jet black too, with a customisable Plus key on the top left replacing the famous OnePlus slider, with the volume rocker and power/ display keys on the right, and the Type-C port, SIM card slot, and speaker grille on the base. The top has a speaker and an infrared port.

The overall impression of the OnePlus is of an elegant design with a clean finish. There is nothing edgy or eccentric about it. To quote OnePlus’ own words, “It is a design that does not shout for attention but commands respect.” This is one classic, classy phone. It is pretty tough too – the front of our unit came with Gorilla Glass Victus 2, an aluminum alloy frame, and a Gorilla Glass 7i back. The entire phone also has IP69 and IP68 ratings, enabling it to survive a fall in the water.

In simple terms, the OnePlus 15 looks like a bigger version of the OnePlus 13s, and nothing like the OnePlus 13. Those who want designs to be more dramatic might feel a little disappointed, but we like the understated and yet premium feel that the phone brings to the table.

OnePlus 15 Specs and Hardware: A step up overall, but Hasselblad’s not along

The OnePlus 15 has premium specs to go along with its premium design. It comes with a 6.78-inch LTPO AMOLED display with a resolution of 2772 x 1272, a maximum brightness of 1800 nits, an adaptive refresh rate of 1-120 Hz, and a special peak refresh rate of 165 Hz in gaming. The phone is the first in the Indian market to come with the latest chip on the flagship block, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, which is paired with 12 GB or 16 GB of superfast LPPDDR5X Ultra or Ultra+ RAM and 256 GB or 512 GB of speedy and efficient UFS 4.1 storage.

Each of the three cameras on the back has a 50-megapixel sensor. The main camera is a Sony IMX906 sensor with OIS, and supporting it are a telephoto sensor with OIS possessing 3.5x optical, 7x lossless zoom, and 120x digital zoom, and an ultrawide with a 116 degree field of view and autofocus. A 32-megapixel camera in front handles selfies. The slim frame of the phone also hosts the largest battery in its segment, a 7300 mAh one, which is light and compact thanks to what OnePlus calls its advanced Silicon NanoStack technology, and comes with support for 120W SUPERVOOC charging and 50W wireless charging, with a wired charger in the box. Also on board are stereo speakers and an infrared port that lets you use the phone as a remote. Keeping all this running is OnePlus’ OxygenOS 16 on top of Android 16, with a number of AI features, including the much-hyped Mind Space feature, which can be accessed through the action button.

There are, however, some notable absentees from the OnePlus spec party. The cameras are no longer designed in collaboration with the legendary Hasselblad, and not only does it have a slightly smaller display (6.78 inches as compared to 6.82 inches), but it also does not feature a quadHD display (the first OnePlus flagship since the OnePlus 9 to miss out on this). OnePlus says it had to cut down the resolution of the display as it was not possible to have a 165 Hz refresh rate, which makes sense, but it does seem a small step back, although it is hardly a deal breaker – there are FHD+ devices out there with much higher price tags. All said and done, the OnePlus 15 is pretty top-end by spec standards.

OnePlus 15 cameras: Consistent performers, (do we miss you, Hasselblad?)

There has been a lot of interest in the performance of the cameras of the OnePlus 15 cameras, with the exit of Hasselblad from the OnePlus camera scene. OnePlus says the cameras now come with what it calls the DetailMax Engine, described as an “advanced suite of computational algorithms that work in concert to maximise the potential of the camera hardware, delivering exceptional clarity in any shooting scenario.” Stripped of terminology, this camera tech is made to ensure we do not miss Hasselblad and its unique touches.

And well, to be fair, the OnePlus 15 by and large delivers some very good photographs, especially in good light conditions. The main sensor is easily the star of the show, capturing a lot of detail, and although purists might find the colours slightly more saturated than in the past, the results are very pleasant to the eye, with good contrast and colours. The telephoto surprised us with some rather impressive lossless zoom and even 120x digital zoom snaps – the processing is visible and takes time, but unless one is looking for crazy levels of sharpness and clarity, one can get some very good zoomed-in snaps from the OnePlus 15. We would say it is comfortably ahead of the OnePlus 13 in this department.

The ultrawide camera not only provides a good, wider perspective but also, thanks to the presence of autofocus, doubles up as a decent macro snapper. For low-light images and videos, we would recommend sticking to the main sensor, as the telephoto and ultrawide are at their best in good light conditions. The selfie camera is largely similar to that on the OnePlus 13, and while it does deliver good results in decent light conditions, it is a bit of a disappointment in terms of detail as compared to the much sharper selfie snapper on the OnePlus 13s.

There are a truckload of shooting options here, including different light conditions, smart scenes (Stage, Silhouette, and Fireworks), and of course, a plethora of filters. There are also plenty of AI tools out there, ranging from AI Eraser and AI Recompose to AI Blur and AI Detail Boost, but they do not come installed out of the box and have to be downloaded. There is a small learning curve with both the regular as well as AI tools, but once we got the hang of them, we were able to get some very good snaps from the OnePlus 15. Video quality is good from the main sensor in good light conditions, but it will not give the iPhone sleepless nights.

The big question, of course, is whether one misses Hasselblad on the OnePlus. Well, that really depends on how extensively you used the filters, Xpan mode, and special presets. We did miss them to an extent, but not to a deal-breaking extent. The OnePlus 15 is a very steady and consistent camera performer, capable of very good photography for those with patience.

OnePlus 15 performance: A smooth performer, aided by OxygenOS

Its top-of-the-line specs make the OnePlus 15 a terrific performer. OnePlus has been showcasing its gaming prowess, and while the phone does not have the plethora of blinking lights and customisable buttons that are the trademarks of gaming phones, it is capable of handling literally whatever one throws at it, be it Call of Duty, BattleGrounds Mobile, or the Asphalt Racing series. The 165 Hz refresh rate makes a notable difference, especially when you switch back to a normal refresh rate while gaming. The display is impressively bright and colourful, and the speakers deliver good quality audio, although they are not the loudest we have heard. Impressively, the phone hardly heats up even during intense gaming sessions. The OnePlus 15 might look cut for the executive life, but it is a very good multimedia performer.

It also turns in a super performance when it comes to routine and everyday tasks. It is the first OnePlus device to come with OxygenOS 16 out of the box, and the new interface runs smoothly on the OnePlus flagship. Whether it was browsing the Web, scrolling social media, editing content, or messing around in the world of mail and messaging, the OnePlus 15 sailed through them all without any effort. We were able to comfortably run a dozen apps side by side without the phone either heating up or lagging or stuttering. We did find the presence of some third-party apps like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn, and “utilities” like App Picks a little surprising in a premium flagship, but OxygenOS 16 by and large offers a clean and smooth experience.

There is plenty of AI onboard, too. The phone comes with Plus Mind, OnePlus’ special tool that captures and analyzes whatever is on the phone’s screen (or what you are seeing if you have the camera open) and also lets you record audio with a long press. Gemini integration lets you search and analyse information in Mind Space, where all your notes from Plus Mind are kept. There are also tools like AI Recorder, which transcribes meetings, and AI Scan, which transforms photographs and whiteboards into PDFs. Of course, there is Gemini right out of the box, and a number of other tools, as well as AI PlayLab, which gives one early access to OnePlus’ forthcoming AI tools. As long as you have a good Internet connection, as many AI tasks do need connectivity, the OnePlus 15 will deliver a very good AI experience.

OnePlus might have showcased the gaming prowess of the OnePlus 15, but to us, it is a superb all-rounder and a great device for those who just want a phone with flagship muscle. Pretty much a smooth operator with no lags.

OnePlus 15 Battery Life and Charging: Big battery, fast charging boss

The OnePlus 15 turns in one of the most impressive battery performances we have seen on a flagship in terms of both stamina and charging. That 7300 mAh battery is not just a big number on the spec sheet. Although it initially saw us through a day of heavy to normal use, it actually got better with time, and at the time of writing, it easily gets through a day and a half of heavy to normal use, and with a little care, can easily last two days.

The 120W SUPERVOOC charger in the box gets the phone from 0 to 100 in a mere 45 minutes. We found ourselves easily getting about 50 per cent extra charge in about 15 minutes, which, thanks to the large size of the battery, was enough to see us comfortably through close to a day of use. This is pretty much the best flagship in town for those who want great battery life as well as a phone that they need to charge about 3-4 times a week.

OnePlus 15 Prices: Still a premium flagship headache

The OnePlus 15 is available in the following RAM and storage variants:

• 12 GB/ 256 GB: Rs72,999
• 16 GB/ 512 GB: Rs 79,999

Those prices might strike diehard OnePlus loyalists as being on the high side (the OnePlus 13 started at Rs 69,999), and certainly make the OnePlus 15 the most expensive “normal” OnePlus ever. However, it still is one of the most affordable new flagships out there and is significantly more affordable than the iPhone 17 (Rs 82,900 onwards) or the Pixel 10 (Rs 79,999), and is very likely to be more affordable than even the forthcoming Galaxy S26.

OnePlus 15 challengers: Predecessor blues and the usual crowd

iQOO 15: The only price challenger
Not officially out, but easily the biggest challenger to the OnePlus 15. It comes with a similar chip and has a more edgy design, and comes with a lower price tag too. Even FunTouch OS has been phased out.

OnePlus 13: The shadow of the predecessor
It has a higher resolution display, Hasselblad cameras, and has been updated to OxygenOS 16, too. It loses out on gaming performance and battery, and its design seems a little less sleek now, but this has solidly unsettling potential for the new Never Settler.

Pixel 10: Compact, classic Google
No, it does not have the specs of the OnePlus 15, but it has comparable cameras, a much more compact frame, a super distinct design, and remains the best pure Android showcase out there.

iPhone 17: The iPhone on the horizon
It does get outspecced, but you get the iPhone experience, complete with stunning video performance and super selfies, as well as a compact design.

OnePlus 15 Review Verdict: Settle for this?

The OnePlus 15 is one of the best premium-level flagships you can get at the time of writing. The phone might not have the edgy innovation that made OnePlus legendary, but it covers all bases and is a very smooth performer with an elegant design. If you are in the market for a phone that can take on the best and while willing to pay a premium price, but are not keen to spend more than what is absolutely necessary, the OnePlus 15 is as good as it gets. It might not be a specialist in any department, but it is a capable, premium all-rounder. It is a very settled smartphone from the Never Settling brand.

Buy OnePlus 15

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