I assessed the OnePlus 15, and I find it hard to part with it.

      It has been around a month since I started using the OnePlus 15, and the experience has been quite remarkable. This device has sparked a lot of debate, particularly regarding its camera enhancements. However, there is far more to this phone than just its first impressions.

      In many aspects, this phone outshines established competitors, making them seem outdated in terms of significant technological advancements. It offers several practical features that are more relevant for daily use than mere bragging rights. The following is a comprehensive account of my experience with the OnePlus 15, detailing how it surpassed my expectations and where it fell short.

      Stylish yet sturdy

      OnePlus has taken a different approach with the design and hardware of its latest flagship device. Instead of opting for an entirely new design language, the company chose to emulate the basic look of one of its budget models released earlier this year.

      This may seem like a lazy choice, but it allowed OnePlus to concentrate on an important factor — durability. This phone is the first mainstream smartphone to feature an IP69K rating for dust and water resistance. In simple terms, it can withstand immersion in liquid and can handle powerful water jets at temperatures reaching up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit.

      Additionally, OnePlus applied Micro-Arc Oxidation technology to the Sand Storm variant, giving the metallic frame a ceramic-grade coating. The outcome is a stunning surface texture that not only provides excellent grip but is also stronger than titanium. It’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing colors and feels I've encountered in a phone recently.

      On the front, the display is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass Victus 2. I appreciate the uniformly thin bezels on this phone, and the switch to a flat design instead of curved edges is a positive change. However, there is a minor setback.

      The display resolution has been reduced to 1.5K (2772 x 1272 pixels) compared to its predecessor, yet the slight decrease in pixel density is hardly noticeable when compared to 2K panels. With a pixel density of 450 PPI, I never found the screen lacking in sharpness.

      In terms of quality, the display is impressive, producing vibrant colors and good viewing angles. The standout feature is the 165Hz refresh rate, which, along with enhanced animations and UI fluidity, makes interactions incredibly smooth. The phone can also reach 165fps in a few games.

      It's difficult for casual users to visually distinguish between 120fps and 165fps gameplay, but for gamers who take battle royale and shooter experiences seriously, the additional visual fidelity and fluidity can significantly impact their experience.

      My only complaint about the display is that it could be slightly brighter. While the 1800 nits peak brightness isn’t bad, competitors are outperforming it. I didn’t face significant legibility issues, even in daylight, but glare and reflections are hard to avoid, especially if you favor dark mode and gothic themes.

      The solutions to this dilemma are raising the brightness or adding an anti-glare layer, similar to what’s found on the Galaxy S25 Ultra or the iPhone 17 Pro. OnePlus seems to recognize this drawback, as evidenced by their offering of an anti-reflective tempered glass screen protector for the OnePlus 15.

      A high-speed powerhouse with impressive battery life

      The OnePlus 15 is equipped with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, alongside up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, creating a powerful performance combination. The phone does not disappoint. OnePlus has also refined the performance architecture and integrated some custom chips.

      Rather than focusing solely on achieving peak performance in synthetic benchmarks, the OnePlus 15 emphasizes sustained performance and stability. This approach works well, whether you are gaming or capturing high-resolution photos. However, it doesn’t compromise on performance.

      You can engage the phone’s overdrive mode by selecting the peak performance preset and even customize GPU settings like anisotropic filtering and anti-aliasing. For everyday use, this phone is as fast as it gets.

      Battery life is another area where the OnePlus 15 excels, accomplishing something close to true two-day battery life.

      The massive 7,300mAh battery provides this endurance and charges at an impressive rate. During my extended remote work trip, where I used it mainly as my navigation device on a 5G network, I found it capable of handling nearly an hour of Google Maps.

      Daily activities included approximately four hours of wireless music streaming, 30-40 camera captures, an hour of gaming (including Call of Duty: Mobile and Candy Crush), and about an hour of scrolling through social media and texting on WhatsApp, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.

      Given this usage, I frequently returned home with about 40-45% battery remaining. Furthermore, the always-on display feature was active during this time. On days when navigation used the screen heavily, the low-power mode proved useful.

      Overall, this