The true story of how the OnePlus 15 performed as a smartphone despite enduring an impromptu durability test.
What happened here? Well. I was attempting to take a picture of the Aurora Borealis from my balcony window—what better way to test the OnePlus 15's night photography capabilities than at this very moment? I thought the phone was secured tightly in the tripod holster. Alas, it was not, so when the device leaned forward, it went tumbling down to the ground two stories below.
This was not a planned destruction of the OnePlus 15. I'm especially regretful because I didn't think to take the beauty shots beforehand to show you the smooth matte, fingerprintless back of the Infinite Black variant. (A rookie move on my part! Take my press pass away!) At least now we know the OnePlus 15 lives up to its claims of extreme durability.
The OnePlus 15 has other things to like about it. The device's camera system, despite losing the Hasselblad branding, still helped capture the Aurora Borealis, while the battery life is almost comically lengthy. And while AI is integrated into everything Android does these days, OnePlus's software recognizes if you keep dismissing it and doesn't make it a core part of the system as a whole.
If you're an Android fan, you may already be familiar with most of the OnePlus 15's key features. The company has been gradually revealing them over the past few weeks with well-peppered press releases.
The OnePlus 15 features a new camera design on the back, giving it a distinctive look and feel compared to the last few generations, although it more closely matches some of the other phones it's competing with. It is powered by Qualcomm's recently launched Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 mobile CPU, marking its debut in the United States. It's available with 12 or 16GB of RAM and up to 512GB of storage, starting at $900. The battery is a whopping 7,300mAh. It's one of the largest batteries for a smartphone this size. Most devices that carry that much battery are currently tablet-sized. The OnePlus 15 runs OxygenOS 16, based on Android 16, which began rolling out to other OnePlus devices a few weeks ago. It comes in three colors, including Sand Storm, which Jason has in his hands, and Ultra Violent, an online exclusive.
The OnePlus 15 uses a triple 50-MP camera system. The primary camera sensor is a 50-MP Sony IMX906 with optical image stabilization, a f/1.8 aperture, and an 84-degree field of view. The Pixel 10 Pro gets a bit more light with its f/1.68 aperture, a detail you'll notice as soon as you see the Aurora Borealis photos. The ultra-wide camera features a 50-MP resolution with a 116-degree field of view. The telephoto lens is a 50-MP sensor with a maximum optical zoom of 3.5x. The OnePlus 15 is also capable of 7x "lossless" zoom, aided by the phone maker's own algorithms, and up to 120x digital zoom.
I will delve into the capabilities of the OnePlus 15's digital zoom and night photography in-depth on next week's show. Anecdotally, I can say that OnePlus has come a long way as a point-and-shoot in your pocket. Even without the Hasselblad branding, the OnePlus 15 is a capable camera, though it lost some oomph in this new era of its sensor. It captures shots at night, but they're not as bright and detailed as those of the Pixel 10 Pro, and on a few occasions, the aurora appeared muddy. The OnePlus 15's night mode only leaves the shutter up for 10 seconds, which was frustrating while I was trying to take photos of a rare natural occurrence in the sky. While a manual mode is available to keep the shutter open for longer, it's hidden behind a screen and feels like a power user's move rather than something instinctive to use.
Left is the OnePlus 15 and Right is the Pixel 10 Pro. Image: Florence Ion/Android Faithful
The front-facing camera is a 32-MP Sony IMX709 with an f/2.4 aperture. If you're not satisfied with the way you look in your selfies, the OnePlus 15 offers a range of tools to make certain facial elements appear softer and eyes appear wider. There's even a hairline enhancement tool, which speaks volumes about how concerned society is about aging that they've incorporated this feature into the software.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor is fine. This is a brand-new phone that can handle everything I do daily, such as checking in with graphic-heavy tap-tap-tap games like Pokémon Go and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, and typing out a diatribe for every single Discord I'm in.
The OnePlus 15 is especially tuned for gaming. OnePlus boasts its 360 Cryo-Velocity Cooling System, designed to help the phone from overheating while you're playing games or doing other graphically and memory-intensive tasks. The screen also features a dedicated chip for touch response, allowing it to poll at 3200Hz during gaming. I recognize the importance of this for mobile gamers, and I salute those of you who will be impacted the most.
The OnePlus 15's 7,300mAh Silicon NanoStack battery—this is how it manages to stay so svelte while packing in such a large capacity—lasts for a considerable amount of time. I'm hoping to reveal the full rundown number on the video review next week. For now, I can say that the longevity is real. The phone has been off the charger for three days, and we've only hit 68 percent.
I have already explained what happened, so let's discuss how the OnePlus 15 managed to survive after falling two stories from my balcony and landing on the stone floor. The majority of the damage is on the top left corner of the device. I think what happened is that the corner took the impact of the fall, protecting the screen and camera lenses from getting damaged. OnePlus does say in its reviewer's guide that the frame is treated with aerospace-grade Micro-Arc Oxidation (MAO). You can see in the photos that the corner looks chipped rather than shattered, a testament to the ceramic coating. Additionally, the matte back remains fingerprint-free, which OnePlus heartily promises with the Infinite Black version of the OnePlus 15.
User-facing AI is not the primary focus of the OnePlus 15, despite its subtle role in maintaining battery health and enhancing the camera's capabilities. You still have access to Gemini and Circle to Search, just like other Android phones. You also have access to OnePlus's Gemini-integrated Mind Space, which I'm still figuring out how to use. If you absolutely hate it, you can go into the settings and change the OnePlus 15's left-side Plus key to launch the camera or something else instead.
If you live a rough life, at least you know the OnePlus 15 can take a beating. But in all seriousness, I've been thinking over the past few days about how far OnePlus has come as a phone maker. It used to be a literal ragtag team of folks until Oppo essentially took over and invested in it with money, resources, and newfangled battery technology. It's still the "number three" choice in the Android world, but at least it's trying something more daring than what U.S. smartphone makers currently have to offer. It feels like while Samsung, Google, and Apple will continue to compete with one another, OnePlus will continue to make a phone that's just for us: the curious weirdos who want to wield something other than what everyone else has in their pockets.
For those of you who are interested in getting the OnePlus 15 in the United States, you may have to wait a bit as right before publishing we received the following update from Spenser Blank, Head of Marketing & Communications, OnePlus North America:
As is the case with every smartphone manufacturer, the United States’ Federal Communications Commission certifies OnePlus devices before they are sold in the U.S. As a result of the government shutdown, device certifications have been delayed. Subsequently, U.S. sales for the OnePlus 15 will be postponed until they have been secured. The OnePlus 15 has already finished all the required tests from the FCC’s recognized labs and the certification application has been formally submitted. We are hopeful that approvals can be generated quickly and as a result, we can bring the OnePlus 15 to our customers in the U.S. expeditiously.
People who are interested in purchasing the OnePlus 15 in the U.S. should visit OnePlus.com/us, enter their contact information, and they will be notified when the device is on sale. The OnePlus 15 will be available for purchase in Canada starting November 13, as scheduled, at OnePlus.com/ca_en.
Hopefully this delay isn't very long and if you're hoping to get the OnePlus 15, you can get it as soon as it's available!
