OnePlus 15 review: The end of range anxiety

OnePlus delivers its second super-fast phone of 2025.

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[twilightomni]

The chip is good even when OnePlus is heatmaxxing to outbench Apple. The battery is amazing. It’s crazy lightweight.

Sounds like the real downsides are proprietary fast charging (dumb but tolerable) and questionable AI features like every other phone in 2025.

This looks like a real winner absent the crazy heat output. It would be amazing in low power mode.

 

[cpkennit]

The phone is pretty nice, except the downgrade in camera hardware. The main is now a midrange
1/1.56" which is not terrible but not great either.

 

[peterford]

I sometimes think reviews of phones should in some way compare components with when they would have been cutting edge.

So this phone's battery is by the review cutting edge - and all subsequent reviews should compare positively or negatively against it. Similarly, the CPU seems near there. The camera however would have been cutting edge 3(? I'm randomly picking a number for demonstration purposes only) years ago.

I know this misses nuance - the performance of the CPU vs the heat and the over-sharpening of the camera mentioned. But if you were to say to me "this camera would have been really good 3(?) years ago" I'd probably be fine with that - because I was pretty happy with my phone camera from that period.

 

[7xq0p58q5s]

I'm struggling to understand how they can put a 7300mAh battery in this phone and still have it only weigh 211g. Is there no metal and the rest of the phone is made out of cardboard (/s). My 10 Pro XL has only a 5200mAh and weighs 10% more at 232g.

 

[Mechjaz]

OnePlus says this is the first phone with this finish, but it’s actually wrong about that. The 2012 HTC One S also had an MAO finish that was known to chip over time. OnePlus says its take on MAO is more advanced

Doesn't this imply that they knew they weren't the first to finish a phone with MAO? Or is it more advanced compared to something else?

 

[elh]

The thing is that it would be super easy for Apple to sell a phone with larger battery. Call iPhone Pro doubleMax and make it thick. All I want is battery life.

 

[CatNamedHugs]

Seems pretty damn interesting, hardware wise. The huge battery as a buffer for when the processor is going balls out is interesting, but I wonder how useful that'll be in situations where the ambient temperature is warmer than that of a testing environment, like outside.

That said, cool hardware stuff is wasted on phones where "AI" is a main selling point for the platform. Okay, you can allegedly turn it "off" but until there's proof everything you do on the platform isn't being harvested, it's a hard no-go.

 

[Rally Man]

I'm struggling to understand how they can put a 7300mAh battery in this phone and still have it only weigh 211g. Is there no metal and the rest of the phone is made out of cardboard (/s). My 10 Pro XL has only a 5200mAh and weighs 10% more at 232g.

Because one of the benefits of silicon-carbide battery is they are more dense without the weighty or size penalty that a typical lithium-ion battery would be.

Either that or this phone has black magic tech.

 

[Coriolanus]

A few thoughts from somebody who has only used OnePlus phones since OnePlus 5:

• Every review talks about the alert slider as a major loss. Is it that useful for people? The only time I have used that thing is to set it to vibrate when I first set it up. Otherwise, vibration or notifications from my watch is more than sufficient.
• The fast charging is great, but you should think of it as an extra instead of your main charger. I use a regular charger next to my bed for my main charging. I keep a fast charger in the kitchen and at work in case my battery runs into the 20% range. At that point, I charge it for 10 minutes and it's back at 80%.
• One of the side benefits of having had multiple OnePlus phones is that I now have multiple fast chargers (although the one for the OnePlus 5 is nowhere close to the current generation, but it's still faster than most other chargers).
• The camera engine is disappointing, because I have taken some great pictures with it as a hobby. Xpan is also a really great photo mode (albeit lower res than the high resolution mode).
• OxygenOS is fine, but OnePlus users tend to tinker a lot, so I know many use 3rd party launchers so OxygenOS is not a particularly huge factor. I use Niagara.
• I have been playing with MindSpace a lot and it's actually handy. Instead of saving a bunch of screenshots, it saves a screenshot and extract the text out so you can copy and paste the text and make it searchable for later. Harder to do with screenshots.
• Regarding the battery life - for my most recent phone - the OnePlus 12, the battery lasted 2 days for about 6 or 7 months, but recently, it's closer to 1 workday. I am not sure if it's battery degradation or if I just have a lot more crap on it now. Probably a mix of both.

 

[MachinistMark]

Now imagine what the battery could have been if they filled up the rest of the space where the camera was raised up, and then people could also have an actually flat phone that can actually rest fully on a surface (and charge better on a wireless charging pad).

 

[poochyena]

the new OnePlus 15 still delivers on value.
Priced at $899

excuse me?

 

[Coriolanus]

excuse me?

Comparable phones are $1000 or more. The top of the line iPhones are like $1200.

 

[Coriolanus]

Now imagine what the battery could have been if they filled up the rest of the space where the camera was raised up, and then people could also have an actually flat phone that can actually rest fully on a surface (and charge better on a wireless charging pad).

The battery doesn't extend up into the space holding the camera assembly. The camera assembly protrudes because the sensor and lens assembly are just that massive.

 

[pemmet]

Yea, this resonates with me-- I might be one of those who sticks it out with my beautiful blue OnePlus13 one more year.

I've had the 9, the 11, 12, and 13, and the only one I wish i had skipped was 11.

The Short Story of OnePlus11: Mystifying everyone, OnePlus removed their super-speed wireless charging on the 11, only to bring it back on the 12. I had been so pumped about the 50W charging on my 9, that I bought three wireless chargers in total. It was quite a blow when they became useless for the year of the 11.

I bring that up because this OnePlus15 is giving me vibes that echo my time with the 11. It's like a stepping-stone phone for the company to iron out implementation of its newest tech, while still trying to deliver a competitive flagship.

FWIW I honestly think that with the 15 they do, and I'm even going to recommend this phone to others looking for a change from Pixel or Samsung.. but myself? I think maybe I'm good for another year with the 13.

Personal/Subjective Fantasy 'Demands' for the 16:

• Bring back the slider!! I hope a change in the 'AI winds' will blow the AI button away--
• I want 2k if it's possible-- the screen is probably fast enough now, right?
• Keep giving us the best Bluetooth & lossless audio codecs!
• Jury is still out on their 'go-it-alone' camera.... Maybe they don't need Hasslebad?

 

[NicoleC]

I have the 12 and before that the 7. I've been a very happy customer, even though I keep phones longer than they'd like.

The loss of the slider is a big deal to me. I get that it's a love/hate feature, but I find it very useful. With that loss and reduce camera quality (it seems), it really doesn't seem like a OnePlus anymore.

 

[Dman1791]

• Every review talks about the alert slider as a major loss. Is it that useful for people? The only time I have used that thing is to set it to vibrate when I first set it up. Otherwise, vibration or notifications from my watch is more than sufficient.

Well, if you only ever use it on silent, obviously the slider isn't going to do much for you.

I don't have a watch, so I use it when I need to focus on work, watch a movie at the theater, or whatever. It's nice being able to just shove my hand in my pocket and silence it instead of having to pull it out and use the UI.

 

[close]

The chip is good even when OnePlus is heatmaxxing to outbench Apple. The battery is amazing. It’s crazy lightweight.

Sounds like the real downsides are proprietary fast charging (dumb but tolerable) and questionable AI features like every other phone in 2025.

This looks like a real winner absent the crazy heat output. It would be amazing in low power mode.

Questionable AI features that insist on running in their cloud instead of the capable enough local hardware.

 

[poochyena]

Comparable phones are $1000 or more. The top of the line iPhones are like $1200.

The cost of a good value PC and laptop has been the same for the past 10 years, but for some reason the price of a value phone has tripled in just 5 years? Makes no sense.

 

[close]

The battery doesn't extend up into the space holding the camera assembly. The camera assembly protrudes because the sensor and lens assembly are just that massive.

View attachment 122501

I think the idea was to increase the thickness of the phone until it's flat with the camera (no more bump) and then use that extra space for extra battery.

 

[MachinistMark]

I think the idea was to increase the thickness of the phone until it's flat with the camera (no more bump) and then use that extra space for extra battery.

Exactly this, yes, thank you

 

[Coriolanus]

The cost of a good value PC and laptop has been the same for the past 10 years, but for some reason the price of a value phone has tripled in just 5 years? Makes no sense.

Uh, the OnePlus 8 (released in early 2020) was $699 at launch. The OnePlus 9 was $729 at launch. How did it triple?

 

[poochyena]

Uh, the OnePlus 8 (released in early 2020) was $699 at launch. The OnePlus 9 was $729 at launch. How did it triple?

I said a good value phone, not a oneplus phone.
Here is a phone that is actually a good value. Samsung - Galaxy A16 5G 128GB (Unlocked)
OLED 90hz screen, 25w charging, 5000mah battery (more than an iphone), 50 megapixel camera, headphone jack, etc.
All that for not $900 or $700.. but for $170. Under $350 is a good value for a phone, not $900.

 

[mas tacos]

Imagine what a marketing coup they could pull of by removing all the ai slop and advertising it that way.

 

[Artem S. Tashkinov]

A massive downgrade in photography, screen and looks.

Sorry, I'm skipping the OP15 for the first time in four years. I happily upgraded to OP11/12/13.

15% or so faster doesn't make too much difference to me.

 

[jock2nerd]

The chip is good even when OnePlus is heatmaxxing to outbench Apple. The battery is amazing. It’s crazy lightweight.

Sounds like the real downsides are proprietary fast charging (dumb but tolerable) and questionable AI features like every other phone in 2025.

This looks like a real winner absent the crazy heat output. It would be amazing in low power mode.

Do not buy a device with Chinese software.

 

[jock2nerd]

Ryan damning with faint praise

"An ultrasonic fingerprint scanner under the display works just as well as any other flagship phone’s fingerprint unlock."

 

[Fiendish]

You say the battery is great but you don't say how long it lasts relative to other phones. Don't tell me mAh. Tell me hours, please.

 

[killerhurtalot]

The thing is that it would be super easy for Apple to sell a phone with larger battery. Call iPhone Pro doubleMax and make it thick. All I want is battery life.

Why make the phone better when they can sell you expensive accessories to fill that need? (They discontinued the old larger magsafe battery and only sells the "iPhone air" version now.
https://www.apple.com/shop/product/mgpg4am/a/iphone-air-magsafe-battery

 

[chickenboo]

Just about every flagship Android has to look like an iPhone these days, down to copying the dynamic island, the phone shape with protruding camera bump, the dynamic button instead of a slider (if they offered that), the home screen layout, the app drawer groupings...
I miss my LG Velvet more every day after I transitioned to an amazon refurb S24+.

 

[killerhurtalot]

I said a good value phone, not a oneplus phone.
Here is a phone that is actually a good value. Samsung - Galaxy A16 5G 128GB (Unlocked)
OLED 90hz screen, 25w charging, 5000mah battery (more than an iphone), 50 megapixel camera, headphone jack, etc.
All that for not $900 or $700.. but for $170. Under $350 is a good value for a phone, not $900.

I mean... if you mean value for the phone, that it's slower and worse than than a 4 year old flagship phone that you can get for around the same price then sure.

It's got a worse screen (not all screens of the same type are created equal, this one only goes up to 800 nits and got a plastic screen instead of glass), got a worse camera (not all megapixels are created equal, this one can only do 1080p video recording too), got less of everything else (ram, storage and etc, but I'll give it a pass on the storage since it has a micro sd card alot), worse water/dust protection, and etc....

But sure. It's definitely cheaper.

TLDR: it's better to buy a old flagship phone (and replace the battery in it) than to buy a new cheap phone. You'll come out ahead in features and quality.

 

[callumshell1]

Unfortunately, only chargers and cables compatible with Oppo’s SuperVOOC system will reach these speeds.

This is actually a good thing imo, supervooc is easily the best fast charging standard. It offloads the power-conversion logic to the charging brick instead of keeping it inside the phone, so your phone doesn't get as hot. I have an Oppo phone that charges at 100W and I've never noticed it getting hot at all, especially compared to wireless charging which is only providing 1/10th the power.

And the fact the cables are bright red means I never forget which ones are compatible lol

 

[killerhurtalot]

You say the battery is great but you don't say how long it lasts relative to other phones. Don't tell me mAh. Tell me hours, please.

Come on man... this is Arstechnica, they've never gotten into the technical comparisons or a lot of the quantitative stuff on phones...

https://m.gsmarena.com/oneplus_15-review-2898p3.php

But it's ridiculously long. But that literally doesn't matter when you have access to 100-120w charging for a device this small that recharges your phone completely in like 30 minutes from 0-100%.

 

[gmerrick]

It is disappointing that even this manufacturer is getting rid of the micro sd slot.

In Canada manufacturer direct, only the 512gb version is available for $1400CAD.

 

[PerlyKing]

I said a good value phone, not a oneplus phone.
Here is a phone that is actually a good value. Samsung - Galaxy A16 5G 128GB (Unlocked)
OLED 90hz screen, 25w charging, 5000mah battery (more than an iphone), 50 megapixel camera, headphone jack, etc.
All that for not $900 or $700.. but for $170. Under $350 is a good value for a phone, not $900.

Maybe skipping articles about flagship phones would be good for your blood pressure.

 

[Coriolanus]

Nothing wrong with flagship phones, its just weird how every ars article insists that $700+ for a phone is somehow a good value.

There's a difference between a value phone, and a phone that delivers on value.

 

[killerhurtalot]

This is actually a good thing imo, supervooc is easily the best fast charging standard. It offloads the power-conversion logic to the charging brick instead of keeping it inside the phone, so your phone doesn't get as hot. I have an Oppo phone that charges at 100W and I've never noticed it getting hot at all, especially compared to wireless charging which is only providing 1/10th the power.

And the fact the cables are bright red means I never forget which ones are compatible lol

Honestly, the amount of times I've seen people use thin ass USB C cables that's not rated for the wattage for charging high powered things is kind of ridiculous... They need to come out with mandatory labels for usb c cables that shows what kind of power it can actually safely carry... like 45w 3A capable cables, or 100w 5A capable cables...

Yes, thats what makes it a good value. A phone that is high performance AND expensive is not a good value phone. A phone with good specs and is cheap IS a good value. The $170 phone can do nearly everything the $800 phone can do, but only slightly lower quality. Thats what makes it a good value. You aren't sacrificing much, but getting everything from a flagship phone that you actually need. Its like saying a $500 handbag is a good value because a gucci handbag costs $2,000.

Nothing wrong with flagship phones, its just weird how every ars article insists that $700+ for a phone is somehow a good value.

Uh.... Sorry, the phone you listed literally is just a bad user experience if you use anything more than the basic stuff or if you've had it for a while had have more than a few apps running in the background...

With 4 GB of ram (probably at least 500mb-1gb of that is reserved for the OS), if you have more than a few tabs open in the browser, it's going to start purging and reloading them when you switch to it... same thing with apps, it'll close it and relaunch it when you go back to it... and not to mention that it'll slow down massively if you have things like discord, a few chat apps, social media apps, and etc...

You might as well as go back to using a old flip phone with a keypad and basic browser...

 

[Tinolyn]

A few thoughts from somebody who has only used OnePlus phones since OnePlus 5:

• Every review talks about the alert slider as a major loss. Is it that useful for people? The only time I have used that thing is to set it to vibrate when I first set it up. Otherwise, vibration or notifications from my watch is more than sufficient.

That is the one of the reasons I got the OnePlus 13, when it was time to start looking at replacements. I love that slider. I have Tasker to set vibrate mode at certain times at work, but there are times outside that window I need it (working later hours for one reason).

I know its a tiny thing, and I was seriously considering getting the 13T despite that loss of a slider, but it never came stateside.

The camera stuff is a sad downgrade, because I also use the camera for work sometimes, too.

 

[Dassassin]

Nothing wrong with flagship phones, its just weird how every ars article insists that $700+ for a phone is somehow a good value.

Ars tends to review modern handheld computers that people refer to as "phones". The $170 devices you're describing (like the Moto G 2026, I assume) are great devices, and great value if you're just using basic messaging, email, and browsing.

Compare specs if you're curious about the differences.