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A little over five weeks after unveiling the OnePlus 15, OnePlus has launched the OnePlus 15R, a more budget-friendly variant priced at $700, which is $200 less than the flagship sibling. Much of the appeal of the 15R overlaps with the original 15, delivering a well-rounded smartphone experience. However, buyers must accept some compromises, primarily in the camera department. While the 15R maintains many strengths of its pricier counterpart, it reduces costs by omitting one camera and featuring less impressive remaining lenses.
In terms of design and display, the OnePlus 15R closely resembles the OnePlus 13s and 13T models released earlier this year in India and China. The design has been criticized for its lack of originality, drawing comparisons to older iPhone models. Nevertheless, the 15R’s mint breeze color option stands out as a particularly attractive choice, preferred by reviewers over the OP15’s sand storm shade. The handset has also been upgraded to provide IP69K certification, ensuring robust resistance against moisture and dust, withstanding heated, high-pressure water jets.
The 15R replaces OnePlus’s traditional Alert Slider with a new Plus Key, functioning similarly to the iPhone’s Action button. Users can customize this key to quickly access preferred features like the camera or toggle Do Not Disturb mode. The new model sports a larger 6.83-inch display, slightly taller than the OP15’s screen, and supports a fast 165Hz refresh rate for gaming. Both phones offer comparable brightness levels near 1,800 nits, although the 15R’s panel has a cooler color tone compared to the warmer display of the OP15. Additionally, the 15R incorporates an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor beneath the screen, noted for its speed and accuracy.
Performance-wise, the OnePlus 15R is the first phone in North America to feature Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset (distinct from the Gen 5 Elite in the OP15). While the 15R’s processor is somewhat weaker in CPU and GPU capabilities, reflected in benchmark scores, real-world use shows it performs adequately for most applications and many popular games. The 15R retains strong hardware specs, including 12GB of LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and 256GB of UFS 4.1 storage, matching the base OP15 configuration. Battery capacity is slightly increased to 7,400mAh, compared to 7,300mAh on the OP15, with both phones offering similar endurance of around 38 hours in video playback tests. Fast charging remains a highlight, with the bundled 55W SUPERVOOC charger refilling the battery in under an hour.
Camera capabilities represent the primary area of compromise. The 15R omits the telephoto lens found on the OP15 and uses similar 50MP and 8MP sensors as last year’s model for its remaining cameras. The selfie camera has been upgraded to a sharper 32MP sensor with autofocus. Despite these specifications, the cameras generally underperform, especially in challenging lighting conditions, where images can appear muddy and lack detail. This suggests that OnePlus’s current image processing software, the Detail Max Engine, may be limiting the hardware’s potential.
On the software front, the OnePlus 15R ships with OxygenOS 16, mirroring the OP15 experience. OnePlus promises four years of software updates and six years of security patches, a shorter support span compared to competitors like Google and Samsung, which offer seven years of updates for their latest devices. Despite its large size, the 15R remains reasonably lightweight and manageable for everyday use, making it a compelling option for buyers seeking a high-refresh-rate display, solid battery life, and flagship-level performance at a more accessible price point.
