OnePlus 15 review: The end of range anxiety

OnePlus got its start courting the enthusiast community by offering blazing-fast phones for a low price. While the prices aren’t quite as low as they once were, the new OnePlus 15 still delivers on value. Priced at $899, this phone sports the latest and most powerful Snapdragon processor, the largest battery in a mainstream smartphone, and a super-fast screen.

The OnePlus 15 still doesn’t deliver the most satisfying software experience, and the camera may actually be a step back for the company, but the things OnePlus gets right are very right. It’s a fast, sleek phone that runs for ages on a charge, and it’s a little cheaper than the competition. But its shortcomings make it hard to recommend this device over the latest from Google or Samsung—or even the flagship phone OnePlus released 10 months ago.

US buyers have time to mull it over, though. Because of the recent government shutdown, Federal Communications Commission approval of the OnePlus 15 has been delayed. The company says it will release the phone as soon as it can, but there’s no exact date yet.

A sleek but conventional design

After a few years of phones with a distinctly “OnePlus” look, the OnePlus 15 changes up the formula by looking more like everything else. The overall shape is closer to that of phones from Samsung, Apple, and Google than the OnePlus 13. That said, the OnePlus 15 is extremely well-designed, and it’s surprisingly lightweight (211g) for how much power it packs. It’s sturdy, offering full IP69K sealing, and it uses the latest Gorilla Glass Victus 2 on the screen. An ultrasonic fingerprint scanner under the display works just as well as any other flagship phone’s fingerprint unlock.

OnePlus managed to cram a 7,300 mAh battery in this phone without increasing the weight compared to last year’s model. Flagship phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra and Pixel 10 Pro XL are at 5,000 mAh or a little more, and they weigh the same or a bit more. Adding almost 50 percent capacity on top of that without making the phone ungainly is an impressive feat of engineering.