It solely took me a day of testing the brand-new OnePlus 15R to seek out two options that I completely beloved. And no, I’m not speaking a few flashy new mode or addition – the cellphone nails two fundamentals higher than most rivals available on the market proper now.
This funds various to the OnePlus 15 sells for $699.99 (for 256GB storage, or $100 extra for 512GB), so it undercuts its sibling by a hearty $200, however represents a $100 value hike over the OnePlus 13R (regardless of shedding a zoom digital camera). It was launched alongside the OnePlus Pad Go 2, an reasonably priced Android pill, on the tail finish of 2025.
Regardless of costing lower than the 15, the 15R carries over its rigorous resume of IP scores, so it’s extremely well-protected in opposition to not simply knocks and bumps, however jets of water and scalds. This handset will final you ages. And on that notice, its battery is the most important of any OnePlus cellphone, and I’m already excited to check how lengthy I can sport for while not having to energy up. If you need a tool that nails the fundamentals, this could possibly be the most effective OnePlus cellphone for you.
I’m nonetheless engaged on my full OnePlus 15R evaluation, however under you may learn my preliminary impressions on this cellphone, starting with deeper dives into these two areas I’ve already talked about.
OnePlus’ biggest-ever battery
It will not be essentially the most bragged-about spec of any smartphone, however I really like an enormous battery on a cellular, and the OnePlus 15R’s has me making pet eyes. At 7,400mAh, that is the most important energy pack OnePlus has ever put in a cellphone (100mAh greater than the 15), and one of many largest you will get on a regular shopper handset full-stop.
I’m after all going to be testing this rigorously as I write my full evaluation, however I’d think about that this enormous energy pack will facilitate lengthy gaming binges, or a number of days of ordinary use between costs. OnePlus telephones are good with battery effectivity at the most effective of occasions, so I’m excited to see how far I can push this factor.
One downgrade from the OnePlus 15 – there need to be a couple of – is in charging velocity. As an alternative of the blazing 120W of the primary mannequin, it caps out at 80W… or 55W, if you happen to use the in-box charger. That’s nonetheless quicker than a whole lot of the competitors, nevertheless it received’t win races in opposition to the fastest-charging Androids. The precise velocity is one thing else I’ll check in my full evaluation – I simply have to by some means get the handset right down to 0% cost first!
Designed for survival
Being fairly clumsy, I really like a well-protected cellphone, and the OnePlus 15R boasts 4 totally different IP scores: IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K. In need of the military-grade safety a couple of uncommon mobiles have, that makes it one of many hardiest Androids I’ve ever seen; it could survive submersion in 1.5 meters of liquid, jets of 80-degree water, and invasions of mud and sand. I’m not scared about by chance damaging the factor once I drop it for the fifteenth time in a day.
Past its unusual hardiness, the 15R seems like your commonplace mid-range Android, albeit an enormous one: it measures 163.41 x 77.04 x 8.3mm and suggestions the scales to the tune of 214g (effectively, for the black mannequin, however the mint one is 1g lighter).
It’s at the least a refined model of the chocolate-bar-style cellphone, with a refined digital camera bump that doesn’t stick too removed from the handset’s rear, and energy and quantity buttons which are virtually completely flush with the cellphone’s proper edge. The truth is they’re so refined, that I initially completely missed the customizable key on the left edge, because it was so inconspicuous. You’ll be able to map this to a particular operate equivalent to screenshotting, altering DND mode or, in my case, activating the digital camera.
A brand-new chipset
The OnePlus 15R is the primary globally-released cellphone to return with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset, which is a barely pared-down model of the 8 Elite Gen 5 that the primary OnePlus 15 got here with. It additionally has 12GB RAM and both 256GB or 512GB storage, relying on which mannequin you go for.
I’ve executed some benchmarking on the cellphone, and if it’s a downgrade from the top-end Qualcomm chip, it’s not an enormous one: the handset returned blistering-fast processing speeds. What I haven’t executed but is check out the efficiency within the ‘hands-on’ sense, however my Play Retailer obtain queue has been jammed filled with video games to play over Christmas.
A pleasant little perk to that gaming retreat is the handset’s display, which is larger than the OnePlus 15’s. It measures 6.83 inches diagonally, with a 2800 x 1272 decision and the identical 165Hz refresh price because the premium mannequin; these specs, mixed with the AMOLED tech used, make me excited to see how effectively this factor fares.
I additionally need to pay some consideration to the vary of show options OnePlus is providing, with a spread of eye consolation and coloration enhancement modes working behind the scenes to tweak what you’re . Pre-release data offered to press doesn’t point out the return of Aqua Contact, which ensures the show picks up your contact in case your fingers are moist, however I’m going to be testing to see if it’s in play too.
A breath of contemporary air
The OnePlus 16 runs on OxygenOS 16, which is the corporate’s spin on Android 16. Among the headline options of this model of Google’s working system are tweaks to how notifications are introduced, enhanced help for Bluetooth LE and improved in-call safety.
However the true headline right here is OxygenOS, which continues to be one of many extra widespread Android forks with options like Zen Area, a particular however easy-to-use look and a restrained method to AI options.
A function that’s been rising on me is the Shelf, which is an easy-to-summon touchdown web page of widgets so you may write notes, test the climate, handle storage and see a step tracker at a look.
I might’ve preferred to see much less bloatware, as it might’ve saved me a couple of minutes deleting undesirable apps once I first arrange the cellphone, nevertheless it was no-where close to as dangerous as on current OnePlus Nord handsets I’ve examined.
No photographer’s dream
An simple downgrade the OnePlus 15R suffers, each from the 15 and 13R, is within the digital camera division. There’s now not a zoom lens, which impacts the flexibility to take photos over a distance, or nearer snaps with an interesting depth of area.
As an alternative on the again you’re a 50MP foremost digital camera joined by an 8MP ultra-wide; specs counsel this isn’t a cellphone for the newbie photographer. On the entrance is a 32MP digital camera for selfies which is, at the least, extra pixels than on the previous mannequin.
A quick glimpse on the digital camera app options record reveals the usuals like portrait, evening and panorama, and so I’m not anticipating miracles from the OnePlus 15R’s digital camera array. However I’ve been stunned by reasonably priced telephones previously, and I’ll maintain an open thoughts when testing.
The OnePlus 15R is out there for pre-order now at OnePlus.com, beginning at $699.99 for the 12GB + 128GB configuration. The OnePlus 15R launch date is about for January 8 on the OnePlus web site and at BestBuy. It’ll even be that can be purchased at Amazon.
