In January, I had the opportunity to go hands-on with the OnePlus (OP) 13. I even gave 13 reasons why I really liked the phone, which included a great battery, a stylish design, and a snappy and smooth experience. The OP13 is a flagship smartphone, and although it was launched globally in January, it was first released in China several months before my hands-on experience with the device. OnePlus always releases its phone in China first, so it wasn’t surprising that we had to wait a while for the OnePlus 13. However, for the latter half of the year, OnePlus is changing things.
On October 27, OnePlus launched the OP15 in China. Typically, we’d have to wait several months, but the company is bringing the OP15 to Canada and the rest of North America in November. This means that, ahead of the launch, I put the OnePlus 15 through its paces, and while it has an entirely different design and some AI experiences that people will immediately write off, the OP15 is better than its already spectacular predecessor in every sense.
The OnePlus 15 is the company’s latest and greatest, which can easily stand up against any other smartphone on the market. Seriously, the device is a powerhouse and can compete with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra and even the iPhone 17 Pro in various aspects.
Absolute Unit
The OnePlus 15 is an absolute powerhouse and can tackle almost anything you throw at it. The device’s performance is fabulous. I can play games, write articles, and scroll through Instagram without any lagging or stumbles. Powering this powerhouse is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 alongside 16GB of RAM, which is why it’s so incredibly snappy. This is the first Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 device in Canada, and the OnePlus 15 showcases the impressive capabilities of Qualcomm’s latest and greatest. Using Geekbench 6, we can determine that the OP15 has a single-core score of 3,621 and a multi-core score of 10,757, which are by far the best scores I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. It’s insanely impressive. However, at the end of the day, the OP15 isn’t at the same level as a laptop; we’re not there yet.
The smartphone never really gets warm, which is likely thanks to its 360 Cryo-Velocity Cooling System that uses a vapour chamber to perform internal cooling alongside an aerogel screen cooler, ultimately keeping the device cold to the touch, even after several games of Marvel Snap.
I was not only impressed by its snappy performance, but the OP15 also boasts amazing battery life, surpassing that of its predecessor, the OP13, and even comparing favourably, if not better, to the iPhone 17 Pro Max. This is due to the device’s 7,300mAh battery, which is significantly larger than that of any other smartphone in the country. It’s truly a great power source able to last nearly two full days. On one occasion, I charged the device to 100 per cent at about 9pm on Thursday. The handset survived until Saturday, around 6pm, with a bit over seven and a half hours of screen-on time. During the period, I played more than three hours of Marvel Snap, listened to music, scrolled Instagram, flirted on dating apps and watched videos on YouTube. Additionally, the OP15 features 120W wired charging, allowing it to charge super quickly.
Dramatic makeover
The battery and performance were my favourite parts of reviewing the OnePlus 15, and while I’m not as impressed with the design. However, I like that the company made such a drastic change to the handset’s appearance. So much has changed, from the camera bump and rear material to ditching the alert slider and the curved screen.
The OP15’s design is far flatter than its predecessor, with a flat screen, rear and sides. It’s starting to feel more like an iPhone every day. The camera bump is now square-shaped, with rounded corners that match the device’s corners. I’m reviewing the Sand Storm model, which features a fibreglass back panel and an MAO-treated frame. This means that the frame’s material has undergone the Micro-Arc Oxidation treatment process, which is used to create a hard, ceramic-like coating on materials like aluminum. The device also comes in Ultra Violet and Infinite Black. I’ve dropped the handset a couple of times, and the coating seems to scratch and ding pretty easily, especially the surface on the camera bump. They’re tiny and barely noticeable, but worth noting.
The phone feels great in your hand, and when I handed the smartphone to my co-worker Brad, he immediately noted how good it felt. On the right side of the frame, the OP15 features two buttons: a volume rocker and a power button. On the left side, the device features the new ‘Plus Key,’ designed with AI in mind, which can be reprogrammed. This isn’t the first time OnePlus has had the Plus Key; it was first spotted on the OnePlus 13s, but the device didn’t make it to Canada.
On the front, the OnePlus 15 features incredibly thin bezels measuring 1.15mm on all four sides, which is slimmer than those of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the iPhone 17 Pro. It’s impressive and really makes the 6.78-inch 1.5K LTPO panel stand out. Furthermore, the OP15 features a 165Hz refresh rate with a 1272 x 2772-pixel resolution display, and videos, games, and images pop.
The phone caps at 120Hz refresh rate when you’re performing mundane tasks like scrolling Instagram, but when you’re playing games, the phone can bump up to 165Hz refresh rate. This looked great when I was playing games like League of Legends: Wild Rift, which looked fantastic. I also played Marvel Snap and streamed games with Xbox Cloud Gaming. However, not every game like Marvel Snap is capable of utilizing the 165Hz refresh rate, unfortunately. I also like its crazy high 3200Hz touch sampling rate that makes gameplay snappy and very responsive.
Breath of Fresh Air
OxygenOS 16 is quite nice, although it’s not a lightweight operating system; it features very fluid animations and Parallel Processing 2.0. Parallel Processing was first showcased on the OnePlus 13, but this version allows you to open and close apps from anywhere with incredible smoothness. There’s also Predictive Back Gesture, which shows you a little animated preview of what page you’ll go to when you swipe back to exit an app or return to a previous page. It’s a pretty cool little animation, but it doesn’t work with every app, though.
And, of course, with every smartphone, there are new AI features. There’s now a new Plus Key and Mind Space in OxygenOS 16. When you press the Plus Key, you’ll see your phone taking a screenshot. Still, the AI can understand content, so if you’re looking at a poster or an appointment and press the Plus Key, it’ll automatically extract the details of the event and prompt you to add it to your calendar. If you tap the Plus Key when you’re looking at something in a different language, and press the pop-up, you’ll also get a translation of the text or a summary, depending on the text.
The OP15’s Plus Mind is also integrated with Gemini, so you’re able to use the search to find entries quickly. For instance, when I forgot the date for the OnePlus 15 embargo, I searched for “embargo,” and it quickly pulled up all the embargoes I had saved. You can also ask it questions, like I took a screenshot of my homepage, which shows a samurai standing in a field with red leaves. The question I asked was, “Where in the world has red leaves like that picture?” I didn’t specify which picture, but the AI went through all of my captured content, identified which one I was talking about, and told me that the image isn’t of a real place. Still, you can find places around the world with red foliage, such as Japan, North America, or Europe. I even asked what trees it could be, and it suggested Japanese Maples, Red Maples, and more. However, it couldn’t identify the specific tree in the picture or even make a guess.
Other AI features include an AI Recorder that captures audio content and can transcribe meetings, as well as create summaries. There’s an AI Scan, which can help you scan physical paper or documents and turn them into PDFs.
I do have this annoying issue where whenever I turn off my phone, the apps on my homescreen go back to their original
Very Capable
I didn’t expect a lot from the OP15’s camera, but it’s super capable. The handset features a trio of 50-megapixel cameras, including a wide, an ultrawide, and a telephoto lens capable of 3.5x zoom. All three cameras showcase vibrant colours that pop. I was able to capture the colours of changing leaves, the deep greens of a spruce, and the different spray paints used in graffiti art. This experience didn’t change whether I was using the primary, ultrawide or telephoto shooters.
You can also see a good sense of detail in the images. Of course, it’s not perfect, as you can see in these pictures of my dog, some of his hair is muddled, but it’s still a great shot of this good boy. Portrait photos showcase a good sense of depth and can blur the background without messing up the foreground.
Night photos can be better, especially when you switch off the primary camera. However, the wide-angle shooter does capture a decent amount of light, making these pictures acceptable.
A Steal
The OnePlus 15 starts at 12GB of RAM; this model has 256GB of storage and costs $1,299.99, which is incredibly competitively priced. The 16GB of RAM model with 512GB of storage costs only $100 more. Compared to the $1,918.99 Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and the $1,749 iPhone 17 Pro Max, the OP15 is a steal. You won’t get the same camera experience as with the other two options. Still, you’re getting a solid camera, a phone that looks and feels great, has an amazingly smooth and responsive display, is an absolute beast, and has the best battery experience.
No phone is perfect, but if you ask me, I’d recommend the smartphone to anyone looking to purchase a handset at a reasonable price. Seriously, the OP15 is superb, and I’m enjoying spending time with the device. You’re lacking things like a great zoom and MagSafe, but during my time with the OP15, I didn’t miss those things.
When you purchase the OP15 for a limited time, it’ll come with either the OnePlus Watch 3, the OnePlus Buds Pro 3 or the AIRVOOC 50W Magnetic Charger, which brings a MagSafe-like experience to the OP15.
The OP15 goes on sale today.
