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Multitasking on smartphones has always been a tricky feature to get right, even with powerful chips and large amounts of RAM. Despite the tech advances, true multitasking hasn’t really been perfected until now, and it looks like the OnePlus 15 is the one to finally nail it. Most phones, including iPhones, mainly let users switch between apps, but that's more like app switching rather than genuine multitasking. Android phones have offered split-screen modes for a while, but OnePlus 15 elevates this experience with a feature called Open Canvas multitasking, initially introduced on the OnePlus Open and now adapted perfectly for the slab-style OnePlus 15.
The OnePlus 15’s multitasking magic happens through its Smart Sidebar on OxygenOS 16, which works kinda like Samsung’s Edge Panel. This sidebar acts as an overlay tray where you can pin quick-access apps. When you pick an app from here, it opens in a floating window, letting you run two apps side-by-side at the same time. You also get controls to switch the app to full screen, minimize it, or use split view. What’s neat is how the windows resize dynamically depending on which app you’re focusing on. For example, when using Chrome and Instagram together, tapping one app’s window makes it bigger while shrinking the other, keeping both comfortably usable. This dynamic resizing is what really sets OnePlus apart from others.
While foldable phones like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 can handle multiple apps running side-by-side, the OnePlus 15 manages to bring a similar experience to a traditional slab phone without much compromise. It handles games better than some foldables, too. Phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra or Galaxy Z Flip 7 struggle resizing games, often messing up the visuals. OnePlus 15, however, keeps games running full-screen while multitasking, thanks to its smart resizing and the beefy Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset combined with 16GB of RAM. This means games like Ages of Origins can keep running smoothly alongside other apps, without needing to refresh or reload when switching back and forth.
There’s even room for a third app with the Smart Sidebar. Through the minimize function, you can 'stash' a third app away as an icon without closing the others. This means you can quickly access it anytime without interrupting your workflow. It might sound like overkill to have three apps open on a phone, but for power users, this flexibility is a game-changer and shows how seriously OnePlus is taking multitasking.
Compared to this, Apple’s latest iPhones, the iPhone 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max, are still stuck in the old app-switching model. Despite loving the iPhones, it’s clear that toggling back and forth between apps constantly can be frustrating. Apple could borrow multitasking ideas from its iPads, but it might affect performance on iPhones. Samsung has offered solid multitasking with its flagships, but it still lacks OnePlus’ smart dynamic resizing. Google’s Pixel phones have split-screen multitasking, but they too could use an overhaul to catch up with what OnePlus is doing here. Overall, OnePlus 15’s multitasking is a significant step forward, blending performance, flexibility, and user experience in a way that sets a new bar for smartphones.
