OnePlus 15 vs. OnePlus 15R: High-End Refinement or Lower-Priced Power

Persevering with the identical technique OnePlus has adopted the previous few years, the corporate launched two flagship telephones on the finish of 2025, the top-tier $900 OnePlus 15 and the mid-range $700 OnePlus 15R. That is the third yr that OnePlus has used this cellphone technique, which started with the then-$500 OnePlus 12R. On the time, I mentioned OnePlus had killed its personal flagship. 

The $800 OnePlus 12 was the true flagship that yr with the newest Snapdragon chip, tons of RAM and storage, a implausible show and clean software program. But the 12R delivered virtually 90% of the facility and efficiency of the 12, however at a number of hundred {dollars} much less.

A lot the identical is true this time with the 15 sequence. OnePlus made a number of small adjustments to the 15R that do not actually reduce the general expertise of utilizing the cellphone, whereas nonetheless delivering a flagship-level cellphone. It has a quick new processor, a large battery with quick charging, an expansive display screen and the identical software program because the dearer OnePlus cellphone.

As such, it is worthwhile to ask: Do you have to spend extra for the flagship OnePlus 15 or does the OnePlus 15R present all the things you already want for much less cash? 

Let’s discover out. 

Watch this: OnePlus 15R Unboxing: First Take a look at the New Cellphone

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Show

The primary notable distinction between these two telephones is the show. The OnePlus 15 technically has a barely smaller 6.78-inch show than the 6.83-inch show on the 15R. The smaller bezels on the OnePlus 15 make the distinction primarily negligible. I personally desire the marginally smaller footprint of the 15, however the dimension distinction is mainly moot. 

The extra essential distinction is the expertise used within the shows. Each have 1.5K resolutions and as much as 165Hz refresh charges. Regardless that OnePlus touts that quicker refresh price, you may see the cellphone hit solely 144Hz or 165Hz in supported video games. Regardless of that limitation for gaming, each telephones will run at 120Hz in any respect different instances, which continues to be lots quick.

The massive distinction is that the 15 makes use of an LTPO show, which dynamically refreshes from 1 to 165Hz, relying on what you are doing. This implies the cellphone can decrease it when your cellphone’s not lively, doubtlessly saving some energy, after which crank it again up if you’ll discover it. The 15R makes use of an LTPS show, which may solely swap between 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz and 165Hz. Technically, meaning the display screen on the 15R is just not fairly as clean or energy environment friendly, however in actuality, you would be hard-pressed to note.

Efficiency

OnePlus has at all times prided itself on delivering flagship-level efficiency throughout its units, and each the OnePlus 15 and the OnePlus 15R are packed to the gills with energy. 

The OnePlus 15 does technically have a bit extra energy because it has the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, whereas the 15R has the marginally lower-clocked Snapdragon 8 Gen 5. Each processors are new for 2025, even with the 15R going with one which’s barely slower. 

The OnePlus 15 begins with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, however for an additional $100, you will get the even higher-end mannequin with 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage. The OnePlus 15R comes with 12GB of RAM throughout all fashions, and you may select 256GB or 512GB of storage. Whether or not you’ve gotten 12GB or 16GB of RAM in your cellphone, that is nonetheless completely acceptable in 2026 and greater than most individuals will ever want of their telephones. 

Additionally, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, significantly on the OnePlus 15, has been recognized to have some heating and throttling points because it got here out, so it will not carry out as effectively over longer intervals. In my very own testing on the OnePlus 15, it couldn’t even full one of many most-used stress-test benchmarks as a result of it bought too scorching. 

After utilizing each of those telephones for a number of weeks, I can guarantee you that I by no means as soon as might inform a distinction within the efficiency. From gaming, to scrolling, to streaming and all the things in between, each telephones merely flew via all the things I did. 

Having reviewed smartphones for a number of years now, there have been instances once I might very barely discern a small stutter or slowdown, particularly as I switched between them, however that is solely as a result of I have been doing this lengthy sufficient to note these issues.  

Battery and charging

OnePlus continues to be my favourite producer in the case of battery life and charging speeds in its telephones. The OnePlus 15 has a large 7,300-mAh battery, however the OnePlus 15R one-ups that (sorry) with a 7,400-mAh battery. They each reap the benefits of the brand new silicon carbon expertise that each different phone-maker (learn Samsung and Apple) ought to actually begin profiting from. 

What this implies is that each telephones will simply get you greater than a full day of stable utilization. I simply bought to a day and a half a number of instances, and was even capable of push it to 2 days with lighter utilization. It truly is a game-changer to have this a lot battery life in my cellphone.

And even when the telephones do get low, they cost extraordinarily shortly due to OnePlus’ SuperVooc quick charging. The OnePlus 15 will cost at 80 watts (as much as 100 watts with a OnePlus GAN charger) whereas the OnePlus 15R is barely slower at 55 watts. Regardless that they require utilizing the facility adapter made by OnePlus, each of these speeds nonetheless blow most different telephones out of the water. The telephones may even cost shortly with the extra widespread USB-PD energy adapters, however they only will not be as quick because the charger supplied within the field. The OnePlus 15 will even cost at 50 watts wirelessly, supplied you’ve gotten a OnePlus quick wi-fi charger.

Cameras

Sadly, it could not all be excellent news for these two telephones. So as to not cannibalize the OnePlus 15 an excessive amount of and to hit a cheaper price, OnePlus needed to compromise someplace, and the cameras are the place the OnePlus 15R takes the largest hit. 

The OnePlus 15 has actually nice cameras (even when they are not fairly pretty much as good as those on the OnePlus 13, oddly) with 50-megapixel major, ultrawide and telephoto cameras. CNET’s Andrew Lanxon had some good issues to say concerning the cameras within the OnePlus 15 evaluation, and I echo his sentiments. Whereas it is seemingly not the very best smartphone digicam setup immediately, it nonetheless takes actually nice pictures. And honestly, a number of picture desire is subjective anyway. 

The OnePlus 15R is a little bit of a unique story. It drops the telephoto digicam totally and pairs up the principle digicam with an 8-megapixel ultrawide digicam. It does not essentially take dangerous pictures, however the high quality is definitely a lot worse than what you get on the OnePlus 15. In his OnePlus 15R evaluation, CNET’s Mike Sorrentino mentioned he felt the cameras had been extra on par with what he’d count on in a $500 cellphone, not a $700 one. 

Basically, the cameras on each telephones will serve you effectively, however the OnePlus 15R will likely be extra inconsistent and will not provide the degree of readability and sharpness you may get from the OnePlus 15. 

Software program

Each telephones are operating OxygenOS 16, which is constructed on prime of Android 16. OxygenOS 16 brings a few of the greatest design adjustments we have seen from the corporate to this point, they usually definitely took quite a lot of cues from Apple’s Liquid Glass design language in iOS 26. I do not thoughts it an excessive amount of, and it is nonetheless very quick and clean. I nonetheless desire it over most different Android variations. 

Each telephones additionally get 4 years of assured Android software program updates and 6 years of safety updates, which is unfortunately fairly a bit lower than the seven-year dedication Google or Samsung embody on Pixel and Galaxy telephones, however I personally do not thoughts it that a lot. Most individuals, not less than in North America, do not hold their telephones for much longer than that. 

Closing ideas

For me, evaluating these two units in the end comes right down to uncooked energy versus refinement. The 15R is, in some ways, centered on uncooked energy in a lower-cost cellphone. Sure, the 15 technically has a barely higher spec sheet, however the 15R has a bigger display screen, a bigger battery and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is greater than highly effective sufficient for all the things you want from gaming to intensive multitasking. The truth is, the 8 Elite within the OnePlus 15 has suffered from extreme heating and throttling points because it launched. The 8 Gen 5 within the 15R has had no such points and, in my utilization, has carried out simply in addition to the 8 Elite, however with out all of the heating and throttling points. 

The OnePlus 15 is only a bit extra refined than the OnePlus 15R. The display screen is barely smaller, however the smaller bezels make it appear larger. The display screen dynamically refreshes only a bit extra easily than the OnePlus 15R, and the haptics are smoother as effectively. The audio system on the OnePlus 15 are additionally extra refined with a fuller sound than the nonetheless completely acceptable ones on the OnePlus 15R. 

All of this provides as much as a extra premium smartphone expertise on the OnePlus 15. However that comes with a better value as effectively. The OnePlus 15 is at present $899 for the 12GB/256GB model and $999 for the 16GB/512GB model. 

The OnePlus 15R is $699 for 12GB of RAM with 256GB of storage and $799 for 12GB of RAM with 512GB of storage.