📱🥰🔥❤️👉OnePlus 15 Review - Complete Guide with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
🔥 OnePlus 15 Review - The Real Truth!
First Flagship with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in India
🚀 Introduction: The OnePlus Comeback
The OnePlus 15 marks a significant shift in OnePlus's flagship strategy. This is the first flagship phone to launch in India with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, setting the stage for next year's flagship generation. After using this phone for an entire month, we're here to answer the most important question: Is the OnePlus 15 the comeback everyone has been waiting for?
📦 What's in the Box?
OnePlus continues its tradition of offering everything you need right in the box. The big red box contains:
- OnePlus 15 smartphone
- Color-matching protective case
- 120W Super Fast Charger
- Type-A to Type-C cable
- SIM ejector tool
- Paperwork and documentation
🎨 Five Interesting Facts About OnePlus 15
1. Unique Design and Build Quality
The OnePlus 15 is available in three stunning colors in India: Infinite Black, Sandstorm, and Ultraviolet. The Sandstorm variant (featured in this review) is particularly special with its unique texture created through an electrical blasting process that gives it a ceramic-like coating.
This color variant also features fiberglass on the back, making it more durable than the other colors which use Corning Glass 7i. The camera design has evolved from circular to a "squirkle" shape, similar to the OnePlus 13S. Despite housing a massive battery, the phone weighs only 212-215 grams.
2. RIP Alert Slider - Welcome Plus Key
For the first time in OnePlus flagship history, the iconic alert slider is gone. It's been replaced with the "Plus Key" which offers even more functionality. By default, a single press captures screen information, while a double press opens the revolutionary Mindspace app.
Mindspace Magic: This app is far ahead of similar implementations. It automatically analyzes screenshots - for example, a WhatsApp chat with three tasks on different dates can automatically create three Google Calendar events. Planning a trip? Just screenshot popular places and flight details, and ask Gemini to create a personalized itinerary based on Mindspace data.
🖥️ Display
6.7" LTPO
165Hz Refresh Rate
3600-4000 nits peak brightness
HDR10, Dolby Vision
Ultra-thin bezels
🔋 Battery
7,300 mAh
15% Silicon Carbon Anode
120W Fast Charging
50W Wireless Charging
2 Days Battery Life
⚡ Performance
Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
Up to 16GB RAM
Dedicated Wi-Fi Chip
Touch Response Chip
35.2 Lakh Antutu Score
📸 Camera
50MP Triple Camera
Detail Max Engine
26MP High-Res Mode
8K 30fps Video
4K 120fps Dolby Vision
3. Stunning 165Hz Display
The OnePlus 15 features one of the few 6.7-inch displays with a 165Hz refresh rate and LTPO technology. The bezels are virtually non-existent compared to the OnePlus 13, creating an immersive viewing experience.
While it technically has a slightly lower resolution than the OnePlus 13's Quad HD+ 120Hz display, a 165Hz 2K display with accurate colors isn't commercially available. The display automatically adjusts refresh rate - staying at 120Hz for normal use and jumping to 165Hz for supported games like COD and BGMI.
Real-world performance: The peak brightness of 3600-4000 nits makes outdoor usage excellent for navigation and reading. The display supports HDR10, HEVC, Dolby Vision, and the newest codecs. It also includes an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner for instant unlocking with just a slight touch.
4. Incredible Battery Life
The OnePlus 15 packs a massive 7,300 mAh lithium-ion battery with 15% silicon carbon anode - the highest in any smartphone. The battery life is absolutely crazy:
- 2 full days of usage without charging (navigation, camera, social media scrolling, notes)
- 1.5 days at 165Hz refresh rate with 8+ hours screen-on time
- Zero battery anxiety during travel
- 120W fast charging: 0-100% in 35-40 minutes
- 50W Super VOOC wireless charging (with official charger)
- Magnetic wireless charging support (MagSafe accessories compatible)
- Reverse wireless charging for TWS earbuds
The phone also boasts IP66 + IP68 + IP69 + IP69K ratings, making it capable of surviving all kinds of water-related adventures.
5. Oxygen OS 16 - Smooth as Butter
The OnePlus 15 runs the all-new Oxygen OS 16 based on Android 16, and the experience is incredibly smooth. The standout feature is parallel processing - you can tap to open an app and before it opens, tap somewhere else to start another animation simultaneously.
AI Features in Oxygen OS 16:
- Enhanced Global Search: Search for "my flight ticket" and not only get the file but also ask about baggage guidelines with internet-referenced answers
- AI Writer: Select a photo for Instagram, tap AI Writer, and get automatic context-aware caption suggestions
- Gallery AI Tools: Remove reflections, upscale old photos, fix composition, and use AI eraser to remove unwanted people from images
- O Plus Connect: Seamless Android-to-iOS and Mac connectivity - install the app on iPhone and transfer files effortlessly, connect to MacBook for notifications and file transfer
Software Updates: The OnePlus 15 will receive 4 years of Android updates and 6 years of security updates.
🎮 Performance: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
The OnePlus 15 is India's first phone with Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (yes, they skipped from 8 Gen 3 straight to Gen 5). But it's not just the processor that's impressive:
- Top-of-the-line RAM and storage (16GB variant uses new RAM type)
- Dedicated Wi-Fi chip for better connectivity
- Touch response chip for ultra-responsive multi-finger gaming
- AnTuTu score: 35.2 lakh
- Excellent CPU throttling test results (all green graph)
- Superior 3D Mark stability scores
Real-World Performance Tests
Video Editing: In Instagram Reels editing with a 4K video project (with FX and music), the OnePlus 15 exports videos 2x faster than the iPhone 17 Pro consistently across multiple tests.
Gaming Performance:
- Call of Duty: Natively supports 165 FPS at medium graphics, achieving an average of 152 FPS over 30 minutes of gameplay
- BGMI: Runs at 165 FPS with generated frames (not native) using OnePlus Gaming Core
- Delta Force: High settings gameplay achieved 112.1 average FPS
The OnePlus Gaming Core works at the GPU level with extra Snapdragon codes, making frame generation more efficient and battery-friendly than other phones.
📸 Camera: The Big Question
Without Hasselblad branding and with smaller sensors compared to OnePlus 13, many questioned if this was a camera downgrade. After taking over 500 photos during testing, here's the verdict:
Camera Specifications
- 50MP triple camera setup
- Detail Max Engine (in-house AI processing)
- High Resolution mode: Captures 26MP photos (instead of 12MP) in good daylight at 1x and 3.5x zoom when ISO is under 1,000
- Minimal color shift across all lenses
- Impressive edge detection in portrait mode
Camera Performance
Daylight Photography: The Detail Max Engine delivers damn good photos with superior sharpness compared to OnePlus 13. The 26MP high-resolution mode produces incredible detail.
Low Light: Due to smaller sensors, the phone switches to night mode more frequently in low light. Even with shaky hands, the phone uses earlier frames to prevent blur, though some parts can occasionally remain blurry.
Video Recording:
- Maximum: 8K at 30 FPS
- 4K at 120 FPS in Dolby Vision
- Slight noise when shooting against sunlight (fixable in Pro Video mode)
- Excellent overall video quality
💰 Price and Final Verdict
The OnePlus 15 starts at ₹68,999 with bank offers in India. At this price point, considering all features, this is definitely worth the buy.
Additional Benefits:
- Lifetime screen warranty under Project Starlight
- 2-year battery health warranty
The Comeback is Real
OnePlus phones were always known for performance. What they lacked was software refinement and camera processing. With Oxygen OS 16, they've returned to being one of the best in software. The camera, powered by the new Detail Max Engine, is spot-on and exceeds expectations.
Final Thoughts: If OnePlus continues improving their software game like this, they're definitely back in the flagship game. The OnePlus 15 is one of the best performance phones of the year, with excellent battery life, a stunning display, and surprisingly good cameras.
