OnePlus 15 (512GB)

Battery life and charging

Battery endurance is the reason to buy this phone. PCMag measured 26 hours 11 minutes of YouTube streaming over Wi-Fi at maximum brightness, the longest it has logged on an Android phone. WIRED confirmed two-day real-world use with 10.5 hours of screen-on time. Android Police found a 30-minute 1080p YouTube clip over 4G used only 2%, while a 20-minute 3DMark Solar Bay Extreme stress test used 13%, and five hours of mixed use left the battery near 50–55%.

The 80W SUPERVOOC charger is in the box and reaches full in about 31 minutes; a 100W Dual Port GaN adapter is sold separately. Wireless charging is 50W over OnePlus’s AIRVOOC pad, with 10W reverse wireless, but there are no Qi2 magnets and plain Qi is slow. OnePlus says the cell keeps 80% of its capacity after 4 years.

Performance and software

The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 is the first chip of its kind in a US phone. PCMag measured 3,669 single-core and 11,333 multi-core on Geekbench 6, plus 16,657 on PCMark 3.0; its GFXBench Aztec Ruins High Tier result of 60 fps looks software-limited. WIRED ran Genshin Impact at maximum settings at a steady 60 fps, and Android Police ran Asphalt Legends: Unite at maximum settings without stutter, though a 3DMark stress test made the chassis very hot.

Software is Android 16 with OxygenOS 16. The old alert slider is gone, replaced by a Plus Key that can be mapped to ring/vibrate/silent, the camera, the torch or Mind Space. Reviewers found the interface borrows heavily from iOS, and Android Police called the AI Writer suggestions bizarre. Support runs 4 years of OS updates and 6 years of security updates, short of the 7 years Google and Samsung promise.

Cameras

The rear setup is three 50 MP cameras: a main sensor with OIS, an ultrawide, and a 3.5x periscope telephoto. The 32 MP front camera uses an RGBW sensor with autofocus, and the phone records 4K 120 fps in Dolby Vision HDR. Reviewers rate the results as clear but a step behind the Google Pixel and Samsung Galaxy S Ultra, with more grain at night and lifted shadows that reduce contrast. Android Police found the DetailMax Engine still a work in progress, with high contrast and unnatural colors, and noted this is the first OnePlus flagship in years without Hasselblad tuning.

Design and durability

The phone measures 6.35 × 3.02 × 0.32 in (161 × 76 × 8.1 mm) and weighs 7.44 oz (211 g), or 215 g in standard colors. It carries IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the front, and a micro-arc oxidation ceramic-coated frame that OnePlus claims is tougher than aluminum or titanium. Owners of the Sand Storm color find it slippery, the black finish shows scuffs, and the buttons sit high on the edges. The pre-applied screen protector collects fingerprints and PCMag suggests removing it.

Is it worth it?

The 512GB model has an MSRP of $999.99, and the 256GB model $899.99. At those prices the phone earns its keep through endurance and charging speed rather than camera quality. Buyers who want the sharpest low-light photos, mmWave 5G or the longest software support should look at a Pixel or Galaxy S Ultra. If two-day battery life and a fast included charger matter more, the OnePlus 15 makes a strong case.

Which model this is

This page covers the OnePlus 15 with 512GB of storage, sold in the US as a 12GB/256GB model and a 16GB/512GB model. There is no 1TB option and no microSD slot, and the color choices are Infinite Black, Sand Storm and Ultra Violet. The 512GB variant’s ASIN B0FSCVPZ5W.

Sources

Manufacturer:

• OnePlus 15 product page

Independent reviews:

• PCMag: OnePlus 15 review
• WIRED: OnePlus 15 review
• Android Police: OnePlus 15 review

Owner reports:

• No owner threads were found in the sources checked.