I have to say, I really had some FOMO seeing our EIC, Brendan Frye, testing the OnePlus 15 just last month. Usually, one of us takes on the flagship, and the other takes on the more modest version, so this year, I have had the opportunity to test the OnePlus 15R. Looking at the device specs side by side, there aren’t many differences between the two, but the 15R has had some minor scalebacks to save money, putting it in a more affordable price range.
To begin, I LOVE the design of the OnePlus 15R. Gone are the days of the gigantic camera bumps, and in are the subtle, classy designs—I first saw this with the realme GT 8 Pro last month. The 15R features a sleek camera design, but it only has two rear cameras, so space is saved there. The device comes in two colours, Charcoal Black and Mint Green. I took on the Mint Green, which I also checked out with our Pixel 10 Pro Fold this year. It isn’t my favourite, but I am sure it’s someone’s. I am always here for that classic black.
I do have two small complaints about the design this year. First, the texture of the OnePlus logo; it feels like something is smeared on the back of the phone, almost greasy. Second, for some reason, this year’s version collects a WILD amount of dust on the display at all times. Whatever protector is on there attracts it. Even right out of the box, it was covered, as you can see above.
“To begin, I LOVE the design of the OnePlus 15R.”
As always, OnePlus is still including a cable and, in this case, a 55W SUPERVOOC charger. Love that they are still including these things. The device supports up to 80W charging, however. In practice, you aren’t charging up to 100% in 15 minutes with the OnePlus 15R. I was able to get about 1% per minute with the standard charger. I rarely need to power charge my device.
A lot of that is thanks to the 7400 mAh battery in the OnePlus 15R—even bigger than the OnePlus 15 flagship. Even during heavy-use days, like The Game Awards last week, I did not need to charge my device. I did keep topped up, just because seeing my phone below 70% gives me anxiety, but OnePlus batteries are unmatched, and I regularly go to bed with over 30% power left on days I scrolled endlessly.
A regular day of use includes time talking on the phone, answering emails, tons of texting, and likely hours of doomscrolling at night. Heavier days add photos and videos to the mix, as well as publishing content on social media. I also did a battery test while playing Fortnite—and conveniently knocked out some gaming testing while I was at it. Playing for over an hour of the game on low settings with my brightness up, using a Bluetooth controller, I had only lost around 10% of my battery. By those numbers, I should be able to game for about 10 hours on the OnePlus 15R, even longer on less intense games.
I was very impressed with the performance overall while gaming on the 15R. Fortnite stayed between 40 and 60 FPS (where it was capped by choice for performance). Not only did the battery keep up, but the 360-degree Cryo Velocity Cooling System did as well. Though the device was warm, it never got hot or of any concern. My OnePlus 13 had recently started overheating, so this was something I watched closely with the 15R, and I am happy to report that all is well. The device also features IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, so I hope it can handle a little heat while gaming!
Please note: Screenshots of Fortnite turned out much grainier than the actual gameplay…by a lot.
With that much media consumption and gaming, I was thankful that the OnePlus 15R display kept things looking great. The 15R features a 6.83″ LTPS AMOLED, 2800×1272, display with 450 ppi, and 1800 nits HBM (High Brightness mode). The phone boasts a max refresh rate of 165Hz, where most devices stop at 120Hz, with a few this year hitting 144Hz. It is an adaptive refresh rate that you can turn on and off as needed. My only concern was with the curved corners, as part of the UI in Fortnite was cut off. Nothing major, but had they been squared, everything would have fit without compromise.
The OnePlus 15R is sporting the shiny new Snapdragon 8 Gen 5—not the Elite found in the 15. The 15R only offers 12GB of RAM and either 256 or 512GB of storage, compared to up to 16GB of RAM on the OnePlus 15. That being said, regular use and gaming are actually still pretty good. I would barely notice a difference when dropping down to 12GB from 16GB. It feels like we are at the stage of top-end being future-proofing or overkill, and here, the mid-tier is still pretty damn good.
AI features within the photo app remain mostly the same from my past OnePlus reviews. To date, the AI Eraser and AI Reflection Eraser remain my favourite to date on any device. Of course, AI is still AI, and changes are not always flawless, but they are still pretty impressive. Performance was still as fast as ever, even though this is their mid-range phone, and I was happy to see it and play around with the different options.
“Even during heavy-use days, like The Game Awards last week, I did not need to charge my device.”
The other area where OnePlus is saving costs is with the camera in the OnePlus 15R, and this is where it is starting to lose me. The main camera on the 15R is actually the same as the OnePlus 15, a 50MP Sony IMX906. For regular photos, I was happy with what I got. Colours were true-to-life, and most scenes looked great. Photos of my pets—as always—showed detail in their fur, but even the slightest movement blurred. I also noticed this when trying to snap a quick image on the go.
The device struggles with low light often and also has trouble staying true to life with darker skin tones. At the Mynno Holiday Party, I tried to snap a quick photo of friends winning a prize, but the backlight behind them and the low light in the room created a perfect storm, and the photo was unusable. I haven’t had these issues before, at least not as often, so it is something I had to note with the OnePlus 15R.
The 15R has an 8MP ultrawide lens and no telephoto lens—the OnePlus 13R featured a 50MP telephoto lens. To me, the lack of a telephoto lens is a major letdown. I spent my week at The Game Awards, and looking back on photos I took from a distance, the zoom is really disappointing. Pictures I took of celebrities like Rahul Kohli, Neil Newbon/Maggie Robertson and Jeffrey Wright/Elijah Wright have faces that are so distorted I couldn’t use them for anything work-related, that is for sure—and I wasn’t even THAT far away.
Even just for personal use, they look like photos my mom took when she couldn’t see the screen. If you ever take scenic shots or go to concerts, hell, even people taking pictures of their kids at the park, you will notice a lack of clarity here. I think this is by far the biggest pill people will have to swallow when choosing the OnePlus 15R, and to me, it isn’t worth it.
The front camera is a respectable 32MP now, up from last year’s 16MP, which is appreciated. Selfies are pretty detailed—enough that my end-of-the-night selfies with friends or the great Matthew Mercer were a little too detailed for my liking. I find the colours don’t pop quite as much, but in daylight, the blue of my eyes was well-captured. Low-light images were still pretty impressive, too, just not as vibrant.
For video capture, the OnePlus 15R takes 4K and 1080p (normal and EIS/OIS) video at 120 fps, 60 fps, and 30 fps, and 720p video at 30 fps. It can also tackle slo-mo at 4K at 120 fps, 1080p at 120 or 240 fps and 720p at 240 or 480 fps. 4K and 1080p time-lapse is also available at 30fps.
All of that brings us to the price. The OnePlus 15R will come in at $699 USD for the 256GB model and $799 for the 512GB model. It is tricky when you look at the OnePlus 15 and 15R specs side by side, because they look so very, very similar, with a pretty decent price difference and small performance difference. It is only when you dive into the very few differences that you understand why they can make that price slash.
This device is $100 more than the 13R, and quite a big upgrade, but only a step below the 15. The OnePlus 15 is currently $999 for the 512GB model. It is up to you to weigh what you gain and lose for those $200. For me, an extra 4GB of RAM, a telephoto lens, and a—very slightly—larger battery is worth it, but honestly, this is a near-flagship device otherwise, and if you don’t need those things, you’ll do well with the OnePlus 15R.
