OnePlus 15 Canadian Evaluate: It is price it

In January, I had the chance to go hands-on with the OnePlus (OP) 13. I even gave 13 the explanation why I actually preferred the cellphone, which included an ideal battery, a trendy design, and a handy guide a rough and easy expertise. The OP13 is a flagship smartphone, and though it was launched globally in January, it was first launched in China a number of months earlier than my hands-on expertise with the machine. OnePlus at all times releases its cellphone in China first, so it wasn’t stunning that we needed to wait some time for the OnePlus 13. Nevertheless, for the latter half of the 12 months, OnePlus is altering issues.

On October 27, OnePlus launched the OP15 in China. Sometimes, we’d have to attend a number of months, however the firm is bringing the OP15 to Canada and the remainder of North America in November. Because of this, forward of the launch, I put the OnePlus 15 by its paces, and whereas it has a completely completely different design and a few AI experiences that folks will instantly write off, the OP15 is healthier than its already spectacular predecessor in each sense.

The OnePlus 15 is the corporate’s newest and biggest, which may simply get up in opposition to some other smartphone available on the market. Significantly, the machine is a powerhouse and may compete with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Extremely and even the iPhone 17 Professional in numerous points.

Absolute Unit

The OnePlus 15 is an absolute powerhouse and may sort out virtually something you throw at it. The machine’s efficiency is fabulous. I can play video games, write articles, and scroll by Instagram with none lagging or stumbles. Powering this powerhouse is the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 alongside 16GB of RAM, which is why it’s so extremely snappy. That is the primary Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 machine in Canada, and the OnePlus 15 showcases the spectacular capabilities of Qualcomm’s newest and biggest. Utilizing Geekbench 6, we are able to decide that the OP15 has a single-core rating of three,621 and a multi-core rating of 10,757, that are by far the perfect scores I’ve ever seen on a smartphone. It’s insanely spectacular. Nevertheless, on the finish of the day, the OP15 isn’t on the identical stage as a laptop computer; we’re not there but.

The smartphone by no means actually will get heat, which is probably going because of its 360 Cryo-Velocity Cooling System that makes use of a vapour chamber to carry out inside cooling alongside an aerogel display screen cooler, finally protecting the machine chilly to the contact, even after a number of video games of Marvel Snap.

I used to be not solely impressed by its snappy efficiency, however the OP15 additionally boasts superb battery life, surpassing that of its predecessor, the OP13, and even evaluating favourably, if not higher, to the iPhone 17 Professional Max. That is as a result of machine’s 7,300mAh battery, which is considerably bigger than that of some other smartphone within the nation. It’s really an ideal energy supply capable of final practically two full days. On one event, I charged the machine to 100 per cent at about 9pm on Thursday. The handset survived till Saturday, round 6pm, with a bit over seven and a half hours of screen-on time. In the course of the interval, I performed greater than three hours of Marvel Snap, listened to music, scrolled Instagram, flirted on courting apps and watched movies on YouTube. Moreover, the OP15 options 120W wired charging, permitting it to cost tremendous shortly.

Dramatic makeover

The battery and efficiency have been my favorite components of reviewing the OnePlus 15, and whereas I’m not as impressed with the design. Nevertheless, I like that the corporate made such a drastic change to the handset’s look. A lot has modified, from the digicam bump and rear materials to ditching the alert slider and the curved display screen.

The OP15’s design is much flatter than its predecessor, with a flat display screen, rear and sides. It’s beginning to really feel extra like an iPhone on daily basis. The digicam bump is now square-shaped, with rounded corners that match the machine’s corners. I’m reviewing the Sand Storm mannequin, which contains a fibreglass again panel and an MAO-treated body. Because of this the body’s materials has undergone the Micro-Arc Oxidation therapy course of, which is used to create a tough, ceramic-like coating on supplies like aluminum. It’s imagined to make the cellphone really feel nicer, and it’s positively attention-grabbing, however I’m undecided it’s going to be for everybody. After I handed the smartphone to my co-worker Brad, he instantly famous how attention-grabbing it felt, however he talked about that it doesn’t fairly pull off the ceramic impact. I’ll additionally be aware that I’ve dropped the handset a few occasions, and the coating appears to scratch and ding fairly simply, particularly the floor on the digicam bump. They’re tiny and barely noticeable, however the MAO therapy doesn’t appear to enhance sturdiness. The cellphone additionally is available in Extremely Violet and Infinite Black.

On the proper facet of the body, the OP15 options two buttons: a quantity rocker and an influence button. On the left facet, the machine options the semi-new ‘Plus Key,’ designed to set off AI. I used it largely to assist keep in mind issues, however it may be reprogrammed just like the iPhone’s Motion Button in the event you don’t use AI. That stated, I discovered it useful and preferred the fast entry the button gave me,  however we’ll get extra into that later. This isn’t the primary time OnePlus has had the Plus Key; it was first noticed on the OnePlus 13s, however the machine didn’t make it to Canada.

On the entrance, the OnePlus 15 options extremely skinny bezels measuring 1.15mm on all 4 sides, which is slimmer than these of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely and the iPhone 17 Professional. It’s spectacular and actually makes the 6.78-inch 1.5K LTPO panel stand out. Moreover, the OP15 contains a 165Hz refresh charge with a 1272 x 2772-pixel decision show, and movies, video games, and pictures pop.

The cellphone caps at 120Hz refresh charge whenever you’re performing mundane duties like scrolling Instagram, however whenever you’re taking part in video games, the cellphone can bump as much as 165Hz refresh charge. This appeared nice once I was taking part in video games like League of Legends: Wild Rift, which appeared unbelievable. I additionally performed Marvel Snap and streamed video games with Xbox Cloud Gaming. Nevertheless, not each recreation like Marvel Snap is able to using the 165Hz refresh charge, sadly. I additionally like its loopy excessive 3200Hz contact sampling charge that makes gameplay snappy and really responsive.

Breath of Contemporary Air

OxygenOS 16 is kind of good, though it’s not a light-weight working system; it options very fluid animations and Parallel Processing 2.0. Parallel Processing was first showcased on the OnePlus 13, however this model lets you open and shut apps from anyplace with unbelievable smoothness. There’s additionally Predictive Again Gesture, which exhibits you a bit of animated preview of what web page you’ll go to whenever you swipe again to exit an app or return to a earlier web page. It’s a reasonably cool little animation, nevertheless it doesn’t work with each app, although.

And, in fact, with each smartphone, there are new AI options. There’s now a brand new Plus Key and Thoughts Area in OxygenOS 16. Whenever you press the Plus Key, you’ll see your cellphone taking a screenshot. Nonetheless, the AI can perceive content material, so in the event you’re taking a look at a poster or an appointment and press the Plus Key, it’ll mechanically extract the small print of the occasion and immediate you so as to add it to your calendar. If you happen to faucet the Plus Key whenever you’re taking a look at one thing in a unique language, and press the pop-up, you’ll additionally get a translation of the textual content or a abstract, relying on the textual content.

The OP15’s Plus Thoughts can also be built-in with Gemini, so that you’re ready to make use of the search to seek out entries shortly. As an illustration, once I forgot the date for the OnePlus 15 embargo, I looked for “embargo,” and it shortly pulled up all of the embargoes I had saved. It’s also possible to ask it questions on your content material. I took a screenshot of my homepage, which exhibits a samurai standing in a area with pink leaves. The query I requested was, “The place on the planet has pink leaves like that image?” I didn’t specify which image, however the AI went by all of my captured content material, recognized which one I used to be speaking about, and advised me that the picture isn’t of an actual place. Nonetheless, you’ll find locations world wide with pink foliage, resembling Japan, North America, or Europe. I even requested what bushes it might be, and it prompt Japanese Maples, Pink Maples, and extra. Nevertheless, it couldn’t determine the particular tree within the image and even make a guess.

Different AI options embrace an AI Recorder that captures audio content material and may transcribe conferences, in addition to create summaries. There’s an AI Scan, which may also help you scan bodily paper or paperwork and switch them into PDFs.

I do have this annoying subject the place at any time when I flip off my cellphone, the apps on my homescreen return to their unique

Very Succesful

I didn’t count on loads from the OP15’s digicam, nevertheless it’s tremendous succesful. The handset contains a trio of 50-megapixel cameras, together with a large, an ultrawide, and a telephoto lens able to 3.5x zoom. All three cameras showcase vibrant colors that pop. I used to be capable of seize the colors of adjusting leaves, the deep greens of a spruce, and the completely different spray paints utilized in graffiti artwork. This expertise didn’t change whether or not I used to be utilizing the first, ultrawide or telephoto shooters.

It’s also possible to see a very good sense of element within the photos. In fact, it’s not good, as you’ll be able to see in these photos of my canine, a few of his hair is muddled, nevertheless it’s nonetheless an ideal shot of this good boy. Portrait photographs showcase a very good sense of depth and may blur the background with out messing up the foreground.

Night time photographs may be higher, particularly whenever you swap off the first digicam. Nevertheless, the wide-angle shooter does seize an honest quantity of sunshine, making these photos acceptable.

A Steal

The OnePlus 15 begins at 12GB of RAM; this mannequin has 256GB of storage and prices $1,299.99, which is extremely competitively priced. The 16GB of RAM mannequin with 512GB of storage prices solely $100 extra. In comparison with the $1,918.99 Samsung Galaxy S25 Extremely and the $1,749 iPhone 17 Professional Max, the OP15 is a steal. You gained’t get the identical digicam expertise as with the opposite two choices. Nonetheless, you’re getting a strong digicam, a cellphone that appears and feels nice, has an amazingly easy and responsive show, is an absolute beast, and has the perfect battery expertise.

No cellphone is ideal, however in the event you ask me, I’d advocate the smartphone to anybody seeking to buy a handset at an inexpensive value. Significantly, the OP15 is excellent, and I’m having fun with spending time with the machine. You’re missing issues like an ideal zoom and MagSafe, however finally, I didn’t miss these issues.

Whenever you buy the OP15 for a restricted time, it’ll include both the OnePlus Watch 3, the OnePlus Buds Professional 3 or the AIRVOOC 50W Magnetic Charger, which brings a MagSafe-like expertise to the OP15, however you’ll want a case for it to stay to.

The OP15 goes on sale immediately.