Thinking back to the beginning of my tech career, and specifically the smartphone world, the various emerging brands from China—like Xiaomi, Huawei, ZUK, OPPO, Vivo, LeEco, or Smartisan for the more nostalgic—were completely ignored by the general public . They only caught the attention of us, the few nerds who enjoyed importing, spending as little as possible on flagship or mid-range devices with absurd specs at ridiculous prices.
In this OnePlus 15 Review, we will explore how it compares to its predecessors and other competitors in the market.
Over time, only Xiaomi managed to “clear itself” from this niche, thanks to the famous Redmi Note which, at 200 euros, offered performance and battery life unthinkable even for the top-of-the-range “Western” devices of the time.
Along with this phenomenon, however, since 2014 we have also witnessed the rise in the West of another brand, which in a very short time has established itself and built a very loyal community : OnePlus .
The red OnePlus 6 was one of the best-selling phones.
OnePlus has always been linked to OPPO , there’s no point in hiding it: the products were often aesthetically very similar, if not identical, but there were some differences in the cameras and processors. Since then, OPPOs have always preferred less energy-hungry and optimized processors , often forgoing brute force .
In the early days, however, OnePlus still enjoyed longer battery life and all its products were incredibly sharp and competitive . Since OPPO’s official arrival in Europe (and no longer just imported), OnePlus phones have been relegated to a lower range and somewhat “limited” in an attempt to make Oppo appear as a flagship brand. Or at least, that’s how I felt. Even the software, unified with OPPO, has alienated a segment of users tied to the brand’s exclusivity.
THE FIRST ONEPLUS WAS AN OPPO WITH A CHANGED CAMERA DESIGN. STOP.
In recent years, OnePlus, which had lost even its core community following the arrival of OPPO, has tried to get back on its feet and return to offering solid products. The OnePlus 13 , last year’s top-of-the-line model, was a more than good product for the price. It felt like it was missing something to compete with the top-of-the-line “Ultra” models , but we also saw how, with the first foldable phone, OnePlus was used to sell the OnePlus Open in Europe.
In short, it seemed that the “limits” imposed from above had disappeared, or that at least someone had realised that the flagship brand to exploit in Europe was precisely OnePlus .
Although that sense of affection has been somewhat lost nowadays, OnePlus was the only smartphone popular among my “non-nerd” friends (I remember an invasion of red OnePlus 6s). Even today, they have a strong, “Western-sounding” brand . A bit like Motorola, it doesn’t feel like a Chinese brand at all , and this has a huge impact on the average user’s perception.
Just like Motorola , which after a thousand changes has recovered even if under Lenovo, offering products totally different from those of the parent company, we think that OnePlus also still has time to shine again.
ONEPLUS 15 COULD HAVE BEEN A NEW STARTING POINT..
This whole introduction, a bit historical, is essential to approach the new OnePlus 15 , the company’s top of the range model which, in its name, boasts a leap of “two generations”. We have in fact gone from the OnePlus 13 to the OnePlus 15 .
The “two-generation leap” is more than justified if, for example, I tell you that we now have an incredible 7500mAh battery , or if we judge the design, finally revolutionized and more in line with our tastes. Or, trivially, if we consider that inside there is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. As we told you during the Snapdragon Summit 2025, it is a chip with so much potential that very few companies (if any) will be able to exploit even 70% of it.
THE ONEPLUS 15 LOOKS VERY ORIGINAL..
..BUT NOW HE HAS TWO RIVALS “AT HOME”..
The real problem with the OnePlus 15 isn’t a single spec, it’s not its aesthetics, nor its price. None of its features, taken alone, are worthy of criticism (except the camera). This new flagship launches for €979 for the 12GB/256GB model, but you can get the 16GB/512GB version on day one for €1,029 (instead of the €1,129 list price).
So what’s the problem? It’s that the OnePlus 15 is squeezed between its almost identical siblings : the OPPO Find X9 Pro and the Realme GT8 Pro.
If last year OnePlus was positioned slightly below OPPO but above Realme, now it finds itself facing fierce internal competition :
Just above in price is the OPPO Find X9 Pro (which costs more, but is a huge step forward in terms of photography and is catching everyone’s attention as “the Android smartphone to beat” ).
In the same price range is the Realme GT8 Pro , which not only has the same Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 , but also better cameras than this OnePlus 15.
..BUT IN REALITY IT IS VERY SIMILAR TO ITS “BROTHERS”
..AND GIVE UP THE CAMERAS
As much as we’ve told you how OnePlushasn’t lost much (except in commercial appeal) despite abandoning its collaboration with Hasselblad , it must also be said that the photographic hardware of this OnePlus 15 is inferior to that of the previous OnePlus 13. And there are no valid excuses here.OnePlus told us that this was a necessary choice to maintain a thinner and more minimal camera block. Yet the Realme GT8 Pro , which has almost the same body, has a smaller and less protruding camera block. And for the record, the Realme does have an identical main camera to the OnePlus, but it sports a periscope telephoto lens with a massive 1/1.56″ sensor, three times larger than the OnePlus , while the OnePlus 15 stops at a tiny 1/2.76″ sensor , a marked downgrade even from the already small 1/1.95″ sensor of the OnePlus 13.
In short, given the specs, and considering that ColorOS, OxygenOS, and Realme UI are now practically identical , the OnePlus 15 seems like the last wheel of the wagon. A shame, because many will ignore it… when in reality, thanks to the launch promos, it remains a more than valid product .
EVEN IF “LIMITED” IT IS PERHAPS THE ONE TO BUY, “FOR EVERYONE”.
Even though its wings have been clipped, I wouldn’t hesitate to believe that this OnePlus 15 will ultimately be the most popular of the three . It’s true that the list price is similar to the Realme and the spec sheet would suggest we prefer the GT8 Pro, but the reality is different: along with the OnePlus 15, we can receive a OnePlus Watch 3, a Pad Lite, or the Buds 3 Pro . In practice, we have €349 of “credit” to spend on free accessories.
If you need these products, or if you simply have the patience to resell them, the “real” price of the OnePlus 15 drops to around 700 euros , making it, probably, the best top of the range in terms of quality/price ratio .
If you are among the first hundred buyers (and yes, it seems like a telesale, but many might be interested), you will also take home a DJI Osmo Mobile 7 , worth another 50-60 euros.
In short, if you have the patience to resell the accessories, it is likely that you will pay 600-650 euros effective for a top of the range with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 , a nearly borderless AMOLED display, a 7500mAh battery with 120W charging and an excellent dissipation system.
AESTHETICS AND DESIGN
The OnePlus 15 looks more like a “OnePlus 13T” than an “OPPO Find X9 Pro” , but most people will be comparing it to OPPO’s flagship, since the 13T never made it to Europe.
At first glance, the body appears identical to that of the OPPO and Realme GT8 Pro : only the details, such as the arrangement of the antennas and the colors, change.
This OnePlus 15, however, has a special “gem” in the sand color : a special process that, according to them, makes the frame more resistant than titanium and the body in general “cooler”, helping to better manage heat. Having not been able to try it, however, we cannot comment on its actual effectiveness .
THE PARTICULAR BODY OF THE SANDBLASTED MODEL
However, we note that the OnePlus 15 has a significantly smaller camera bump than the OPPO, perhaps even half as large. And here’s a paradox: the Realme GT8 Pro , which we saw in China, has a similarly smaller bump, despite having a telephoto sensor three times larger than the one mounted on the OnePlus 15.
Our lilac color is probably the least intriguing, even though it’s very well made. We also tried it with the original gray case (which can be combined with rubberized red inserts), but these three colors don’t really match. The case, moreover, is one of those rigid ones that offers very little protection (but it does have MagSafe built-in ).
The OnePlus 15 is 161mm tall, 76.7mm wide, and 8.2mm thick. In our colorway, it weighs 215 grams , but if you buy the “Sand” version , you’ll weigh 4 grams less on the scale (and be 0.1mm thinner).
We’ve touched it in person, and the “fresh” feel is genuine ; the body treatment seems to work. Above all, the grip has changed, becoming almost “rubberized” and very pleasant.
Compared to its aforementioned “brothers” from Realme and OPPO, however, the OnePlus 15 remains the lightest of the lot .
The bezels around the display are extremely thin , barely more than a millimeter, and are perfectly symmetrical . It’s a real joy to look at. There’s obviously support for HDR10 and UltraHDR, even in third-party apps. There are also the usual optimizations that can convert media content from SDR to HDR and optimize video sharpness in apps like YouTube and similar.
To unlock the OnePlus 15 we can use the ultrasonic fingerprint sensor located under the display, which is very fast, or the facial recognition via the selfie camera which, unlike the rear cameras, has improved quite a bit compared to the OnePlus 13.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: THE LOWERED CAMERAS
It seems clear that the OnePlus 15 has taken a significant step back in terms of cameras. The OnePlus 11, 12, and 13 already weren’t on par with the best camera phones, and now, with the 15 sporting smaller sensors on both the main and telephoto lenses, it’s hard to expect things to improve.
We went from the LYT-808 (with a size of 1/1.4″) to a more generic IMX906 (with a size of 1/1.56″). For the telephoto lens, the leap backwards is even more drastic: from an OV64B (1/1.95″) to a tiny ISOCELL JN5 (1/2.76″). Speaking purely of dimensions, this means that the new telephoto lens is three times smaller . The difference is glaring.
Ok, the company justifies the choice by saying that the new “W”-shaped periscope reduces the thickness, but it is undeniable that, as much as the software and the new ISP of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 can work miracles, we are still faced with a clear step backwards, which cannot be justified .
OnePlus has ended its agreement with Hasselblad, which now remains exclusive to OPPO, and is now focusing entirely on its own branding with the new “DetailMax Engine . ” Name aside, very little has changed from the past and the collaboration with Hasselblad. Perhaps because OnePlus has retained all of Hasselblad’s “know-how” and their graphical setup for the camera app, the experience is very similar , especially in Master (aka PRO) mode.
This new image processing engine works with Qualcomm’s new ISP to bring out the best in a photographic hardware that is now more similar to the mid-range than the high-end. The result is okay, good, as we already discussed in the dedicated article, but not extraordinary . Moving from the Find X9 Pro to this OnePlus 15, you notice a clear step backwards . More than “two generations ahead”, the OnePlus 15 seems “two generations behind” . Compared to the Realme GT8 Pro , however, it really seems like a fair fight , with the Realme only expected to win on the telephoto lens and, for the more expert, with the “GR” mode.
That said, if I think about the OnePlus 15 at its “real” price (around 700 euros) , the photographic experience is excellent .
Unfortunately, since our first contact, an update has not yet been released to fix certain bugs, such as the telephoto lens not working properly with Master mode and RAW files , or the LOG videos which often create many artifacts .
Yes, this OnePlus finally records video in LOG mode , but since it’s the first integration, there’s still some optimization to be done. It’s good, however, that useful features are being added (and not the usual “stage” or “fireworks” modes, in short).
The ultra-wide angle , also 50 megapixels like the other rear cameras, has a 116° field of view and is based on a 1/2.88″ OV50D sensor with autofocus support and f/2.0 focal aperture. Both the main and telephoto lenses are supported by OIS and have focal apertures of f/1.8 and f/2.8 respectively.
The new “DetailMax Engine” shoots 26-megapixel photos by fusing multiple 12MP (pixel-binned) frames into a full-resolution 50MP shot. This process applies to all cameras.
Characteristic Dual Analog Gain (DAG) / Dual Conversion Gain (DCG) Dual Native ISO (Often applied to video cameras)
Operation It reads the charge of a single pixel with two different gain circuits (high and low) almost simultaneously in a single exposure. The sensor has two basic settings (Base ISO) with optimal noise and maximum dynamic range (e.g. ISO 800 and ISO 4000). You choose a setting.
Objective Expand the Dynamic Range (HDR) for a single frame, especially for videos and photos of moving subjects (to avoid ghosting ). Provide two Native settings with maximum quality (low noise) for different lighting conditions (day and night).
Result A single combined RAW file that has clean detail in both the shadows (due to high gain) and highlights (low gain). You get the highest quality when shooting at one of the two native ISOs.
Furthermore, the sensors use DAG (Dual Analog Gain) technology : for each individual pixel, the sensor reads the light using two levels of amplification (gain) simultaneously . The “low” gain preserves details in the highlights (like a neon light), while the “high” gain manages shadows and noise.
