Technological progress is irreversible – or is it? The OnePlus 15 has found itself in the midst of a controversy because several of its components are seen as downgrades compared to the OnePlus 13. Just compare the reception in the OnePlus 13 poll from last year – the hype was tangible.
The screen? 1272p+ instead of 1440p+. The camera? Smaller sensors in the main (1/1.56” vs. 1/1.43”) and the telephoto module (1/2.76” vs. 1/1.95”). The price? Basically the same.
And that is the central point of the argument – the OnePlus 15 costs about as much as a Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra right now. Sure, it has the newer chipset (but the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 clearly ate up a lot of the budget) and a massive 7,300mAh battery (2,300mAh bigger than the Galaxy!). However, OnePlus is expected to offer better value than Samsung.
There are two groups that are currently unhappy with the OnePlus 15. One group wants a capable flagship and the OnePlus 13 was quite capable in their eyes – the 15 with its downgraded cameras, however, feels lacking. The other group wants a value-for-money flagship and thinks that the downgrades on the 15 should have come with a corresponding price cut.
OnePlus 15
The former group is looking at picking up a OnePlus 13 or paying extra for an Oppo, vivo, Xiaomi or other flagship. The latter group will shop around for deals from iQOO, Poco and others. The newly-arrived Realme GT 8 Pro puts a spoke in the wheel of the OnePlus 15.
The GT 8 Pro brings solid camera upgrades over the GT 7 Pro with a 200MP periscope and a 50MP ultra-wide (up from 8MP on the old model). These are the kind of upgrades that the OnePlus 15 needed.
There is still hope, of course – OnePlus is no stranger to deals and discounts and we’ll keep an eye on the 15.
OnePlus 15 5G
| 12/256GB | 16/512GB | |
|---|---|---|
| EU | €950 | €1,100 |
| UK | £850 | £980 |
| US | $900 | $1,000 |
| CA | C$1,300 | C$1,400 |
| IN | ₹73,000 | ₹80,000 |
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