OnePlus 15 review: Not too long ago, OnePlus was the brand everyone talked about. People genuinely believed OnePlus could compete with the big brands, and the hype was real. But lately, things have changed. According to the latest IDC report, OnePlus has been losing market share in India almost every quarter, and the brand clearly needs to do something different. The OnePlus 15 is that attempt at change. It was the first phone in India to launch with the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, but rivals like the Realme GT 8 Pro and iQOO 15 have since arrived with the same processor. It has three 50-megapixel cameras and a huge 7,300 mAh battery. But OnePlus has also made some big changes. The Hasselblad partnership is gone, replaced by their own DetailMax engine. The popular alert slider has been swapped for a Plus Key.
After around two weeks of daily use and testing, I’m here to break down whether the OnePlus 15 can help the brand get back on track, or if it’s just another phone in a crowded market. Starting at Rs 72,999, it has a lot to prove.
First, let’s talk about the design. The OnePlus 15 comes in three colours, and I got the Ultra Violet variant. It has a smooth matte finish that looks good and feels nice in hand. The colour has a subtle depth to it, not too flashy, but definitely eye-catching. The best part is that it doesn’t pick up fingerprints, so I didn’t have to wipe it down all the time.
The design looks like it follows the OnePlus 13s rather than the OnePlus 13. You get that square-shaped camera module at the back, a flat frame with rounded corners, and an overall clean look. It’s not trying too hard to stand out, and that works well.
Despite packing a much larger battery compared to the OnePlus 13, the phone stays pretty much the same size and weight. The OnePlus 13 weighs between 210-213 grams, depending on which version you get, and the OnePlus 15 is between 211-215 grams. OnePlus has clearly done a good job managing the internals, because fitting this much bigger battery without making the phone heavy is impressive.
One thing I do miss, though, is the alert slider. It’s been replaced by a Plus Key that acts as a shortcut to perform various functions. While the Plus Key is fine, the Alert Slider was one of those small things that made OnePlus phones feel different.
When it comes to toughness, OnePlus has done really well. The phone has IP66, IP68, IP69, and the IP69K. That means the phone can handle everything from rain to high-pressure jets.
Overall, the OnePlus 15 has a good design, feels nice to hold, and can handle rough use.
Let’s talk about the display now. The OnePlus 15 has a 6.78-inch FHD+ LTPO OLED display with 1.5K resolution, Dolby Vision support and 120Hz adaptive refresh rate. Here’s the interesting part, the refresh rate can go up to 165Hz while gaming. I’ll tell you more about this in the performance section.
I tested the display using Calman and the SpectraCal C6 Colourimeter, and it recorded an average Delta E of 1.3, which is really good. The colours look accurate and lively when watching videos. The phone can also show a wide range of colours, with 99.6% gamut coverage in the sRGB colour space, which is excellent. During testing, the display reached 3,120 nits of brightness, which means you can easily see the screen even in bright sunlight.
So, the OnePlus 15 delivers a great display experience. Whether you’re watching YouTube videos or streaming your favourite series, you’ll get smooth, vibrant and immersive visuals every time.
The OnePlus 15 runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, which looks powerful on paper but falls behind to its key rival. In AnTuTu testing, the phone scored 3,529,849, while the Realme GT 8 Pro achieved 3,963,689, even though both devices use the same processor. This shows how much optimisation matters. In Geekbench 6, the OnePlus 15 scored 3,609 in the single-core test and 10,680 in the multi-core test, again falling behind the Realme GT 8 Pro, which scored 3,666 and 11,050.
For gaming, the OnePlus 15 supports a 165Hz refresh rate and can push very high frame rates in select titles. In testing, it peaked to 167 FPS and delivered an average of 143FPS in Call of Duty: Mobile Team Deathmatch. However, this is where the limitations show. The 165FPS mode only works in Call of Duty: Mobile, and only in Team Deathmatch. In BGMI, which is far more popular among Indian gamers, the phone maxed out at around 121FPS, making the lack of 165Hz support a bit disappointing.
While the OnePlus 15 doesn’t fully use its high refresh rate in most games yet, it still delivers solid and stable gaming performance overall.
On the software side, the OnePlus 15 runs on OxygenOS 16, based on Android 16. The update doesn’t change things drastically compared to OxygenOS 15, but it brings a number of small improvements. The interface now leans heavily towards a cleaner, more modern look. You’ll notice more transparency across menus, quick settings, and system panels, along with softer blur effects.
Now, let’s talk about the cameras. This year, OnePlus ended its partnership with Hasselblad and created its own camera system called DetailMax. The phone has three cameras at the back: a 50-megapixel Sony IMX906 main camera, a 50-megapixel ultra-wide camera, and a 50-megapixel telephoto camera with 3.5x optical zoom. On the front, there is a 32-megapixel camera for selfies and video calls.
In bright outdoor light, the OnePlus 15 takes really good photos. The images have a good balance between bright and dark areas, and the colours look natural. Skin tones are accurate, and you get good detail without artificial sharpness. The pictures come out clear and colourful. But when you’re shooting in tricky lighting situations, the camera sometimes struggles. You might lose some detail in shadows or bright spots. Portrait shots are good overall. However, the edge detection isn’t always precise, particularly around hair.
In low-light shots, the camera handles noise reasonably well. The images aren’t always super sharp, but they don’t look bad. You can still get good photos in dim lighting, making the camera dependable for everyday low-light use.
So, the camera system is capable and reliable, even if it doesn’t quite match the very best camera phones available today.
The OnePlus 15 really shines when it comes to battery performance. Its massive 7,300 mAh battery promises long hours of usage and is perfect for anyone who hates charging their phone every day. The bundled 120W charger tops the phone up from 0 to 100% in just about 50 minutes, which is quite fast for a battery this large.
In the PCMark test, it lasted around 28 hours, which is really good. But the real story isn’t just the battery size or charging speed, it’s how long it actually lasts. The phone performed well in specific tests, dropping only 3% after 30 minutes of video streaming and just 4% after an hour of Google Maps navigation. With casual use (like messaging, browsing, checking emails, and streaming a few videos), the phone easily lasted more than a day and a half, and sometimes close to two full days on a single charge.
The OnePlus 15 feels like a brand trying to rediscover its strengths. By moving away from the Hasselblad partnership and introducing its own DetailMax camera system, doubling down on performance and gaming, and adding a massive 7,300mAh battery, OnePlus is clearly focusing on power, efficiency, and endurance. The 165Hz display and Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 further reinforce that direction.
There are still compromises. While the camera system is dependable and delivers good results in both daylight and low-light conditions, it doesn’t quite compete with the absolute best camera-centric flagships. And the removal of the iconic alert slider may disappoint long-time OnePlus fans.
If camera performance is your top priority, the OnePlus 15 may not be the best choice. But if you want good performance, excellent battery life, and a good viewing experience, the OnePlus 15 stands out as a well-rounded and sensible flagship option.
