The OnePlus 15 is here, and the more I learn about this phone, the more impressed I am.
I’ve personally loved both the OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 13, but the 15 has managed to impress me more than any other phone in this series. I have not tested the phone as thoroughly as my fellow contributor Alex Walker-Todd for his 4.5-star full review, but the little time I have spent tells me how far ahead it is of much of the competition.
It should be a reminder for giants like Apple and Samsung about how far behind they are. I will admit the phone is by no means a budget-friendly option, but for £849/€899.99, it offers more value than any other flagship phone out there. For instance, it packs a 7300 mAh battery, which is nearly 50% bigger than the 5000 mAh capacity of most high-end smartphones, including the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
It is a complete package with a remarkable 165 Hz refresh rate, a three-lens rear camera array, and very fast wired and wireless charging. It is proof that Apple and Samsung have grown too comfortable with phones and are not interested in giving you the best value possible. Forget value, you are not even getting features that should be obvious in 2025, like proper fast charging.
Foundry | Alex Walker-Todd
Please, copy the battery from the OnePlus 15
OnePlus has been steadily raising the bar for battery life, and it shows. I have used both iPhones and Samsung Galaxy phones, and neither brand is great in this department. Even the most expensive iPhone, the 17 Pro Max, is thought to only have a capacity of around 5000mAh, which is far from impressive.
The base iPhones, the older Plus models, and the newer iPhone Air all offer even worse battery life. Samsung has the same problem, apart from the Ultra models, which deliver decent screen-on time while still using a 5000mAh battery.
OnePlus, on the other hand, has consistently pushed battery capacity.
The latest OnePlus 15 reaches a massive 7300mAh thanks to silicon-carbon (Si/C) battery tech, but it’s not as if this technology appeared overnight. OnePlus used the same approach in the OnePlus 13, which had a 6000mAh battery, while Oppo has equipped the Find X9 Pro with a 7500mAh Si/C cell.
Luke Baker
Even before that, when this tech wasn’t available, the OnePlus 12 launched with a 5400mAh battery back in 2023. This shows it is not a technological constraint, but a strategic choice by others to save on costs.
I hope the upcoming Galaxy S26 or iPhone 18 series finally offer larger batteries. It’s a real game-changer, and it removes the anxiety of running out of power halfway through the day. During my testing, I was surprised at how long the OnePlus 15 stayed alive before needing a recharge.
When I tried to push the battery to its limits for a proper drain test, I streamed a full episode of a show, recorded a video, and kept apps running in the background. The phone sat at just 3% when I started, yet it still made it through everything, ending with it still on at 1%. It felt like the phone had a little reserve tucked away for moments when you genuinely need it.
OnePlus has been steadily raising the bar for battery life, and it shows
During regular use, with the 165Hz high refresh rate enabled and a mix of social apps, photos, and light gaming, I consistently got more than a day and a half on a single charge. With battery saving turned on during commutes or idle periods, it is completely realistic to stretch the phone into a second full day before reaching for the charger.
The OnePlus 15 is a fast-charging beast
Apple’s latest flagship still lags behind the competition when it comes to charging speed.
While the iPhone 17 Pro Max has not had its full official numbers widely published, certifications point to around 45W wired charging at best. Wireless charging remains weak, and in real life, the device still takes hours to reach higher battery levels compared to its Android rivals.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s latest flagship, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, is rated for up to 45W wired and 15W wireless charging. For a premium device released in 2025, these numbers are underwhelming.
Luke Baker
By contrast, the OnePlus 15 hits up to 120W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. I have seen the phone charge to almost 60% in 30 minutes and reach a full charge in about 40 minutes. This is especially impressive when you consider the size of the battery.
If Samsung and Apple decide not to include a bigger battery, they should at least offer faster charging, but that does not seem likely to happen any time soon.
OnePlus 15’s other specs are also impressive, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and either 12GB or 16GB of LPDDR5 Plus RAM and 256GB or 512GB of onboard storage, respectively, which yield some impressive benchmarks.
Smartphone giants have work to do
The phones coming out of China continue to push boundaries, while devices from big players like Samsung, Apple and Google are falling behind.
We have already seen what Chinese companies are truly capable of, with the likes of the Xiaomi 17 Pro Max and Honor Magic V5 taking hardware to the next level.
The OnePlus 15 is just another reminder of that. The big players might hold most of the market share in the West, but they need to continue innovating, or risk being left behind.
