| Key Category | Specification |
| Processor | Snapdragon 8 Gen5 |
| RAM + Storage | Up to 12GB LPDDR5X Ultra + Up to 512GB UFS 4.1 |
| Display | 6.83-inch, 1.5K 120Hz LTPO AMOLED Panel |
| Cameras | 50MP Main + 8MP UW, 32MP Selfie |
| Battery + Charging | 7400mAh, 80W Wired |
| IP Rating | IP66, IP68, IP69, IP69K |
| Update Policy | 4+6 years |
After the hugely popular launch of the OnePlus 15, OnePlus has now shifted focus to the R series with the OnePlus 15R. Traditionally, the R model has always been the safe pick in the lineup. It is usually the phone most people gravitate towards because it offers almost everything a flagship does, just without the flagship price tag.
This year, though, that familiar story feels different to me. The OnePlus 15R does not feel like a sensible compromise anymore. Instead, it feels like a phone that is actively trying to carve out its own space. That shift also mirrors what I see as a broader change in OnePlus’ strategy. The brand seems far less interested in chasing camera bragging rights and much more focused on performance and gaming.
I mean, how often do you see a phone priced around ₹45,000 confidently talking about 165Hz gaming?
I have been using the OnePlus 15R for close to two weeks now, and one thing is clear to me. OnePlus wants this phone to be taken seriously. The younger sibling is finally stepping out of the shadows and building an identity of its own.
The OnePlus 15R felt solid the moment I picked it up. There is a clear sense of weight and sturdiness that you do not always get at this price. The flat glass sandwich design looks clean and simple, and more importantly, it feels premium in the hand. Nothing about the phone feels flimsy or cheaply put together.
My Mint Breeze unit weighs around 219 grams and is about 8.3mm thick, but that weight is handled really well. It feels dense, but not uncomfortable. There is a nice balance to the phone that makes it feel expensive, almost brick-like in a good way. It is not light, but it never feels awkward or top-heavy either. I could use it for long stretches without the weight becoming annoying.
The Silk Glass finish adds a lot to the overall feel. It is smooth to the touch and has a subtle shine that looks especially good on the Mint Breeze colour. The lighter shade also does a great job of hiding fingerprints, which meant the phone stayed looking clean even after hours of use. The aluminium alloy frame around the edges feels cool and sturdy, and every time I picked the phone up, it reminded me that this is a well-built device.
Where the OnePlus 15R genuinely surprised me was durability. OnePlus has packed in IP66, IP68, IP69, and even IP69K ratings here. That kind of protection is usually seen on rugged phones, not sleek ones like this. On top of that, you get Corning Gorilla Glass 7i on the front, which only adds to the confidence.
All of this together made me feel like I do not have to baby the 15R. It feels like a phone that can handle daily drops, splashes, and rough use without stressing me out, while still looking and feeling premium.
Living with the OnePlus 15R, it did not take long for the display to show me what this phone is really about. The 6.8-inch 1.5K AMOLED panel looks excellent in day-to-day use. Even with a screen this large, I never once felt like sharpness was an issue. Text looks crisp, UI elements stay clean, and videos have that dense, high-quality look you expect from a good AMOLED display.
Colours are punchy without going overboard, which I appreciated. Nothing looks unnaturally saturated. HDR10+ support also makes a clear difference when I am streaming content on Netflix or watching YouTube videos. Highlights pop more, darker scenes hold detail better, and overall, it just feels like a screen meant for long viewing sessions.
The headline feature here, at least for me, is the 165Hz refresh rate. Now, to be clear, you do not get 165Hz everywhere. Regular usage like scrolling and app switching is capped at 120Hz. But once you jump into supported games, the difference is obvious straight away.
Animations feel noticeably smoother, touch response feels faster, and the display really leans into the 15R’s gaming-first identity. Brightness is another strong point. With peak brightness going up to around 1800 nits (HBM), I had no issues using the phone outdoors, and HDR content looks bright and impactful.
That said, this is an LTPS panel and not LTPO. Personally, I would have liked to see LTPO here, especially since the 15R is being pitched as a serious flagship alternative. Adaptive refresh rates would have made the experience feel more complete and efficient.
One area where the 15R genuinely impressed me is the ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensor. It is placed exactly where my thumb naturally rests and works incredibly fast. Even with slightly wet or dirty fingers, it unlocked reliably, and it feels more secure than the usual optical sensors.
The stereo speakers get very loud and are clear enough for videos and casual gaming. However, they lack depth and can sound a bit tinny at higher volumes. They are good, but not standout.
Performance is where OnePlus has decided to go all in this year. This feels like the R series doing what it has always done best, but with a much sharper focus. The phone is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, which sits just below the absolute top-tier chip. In real-world use though, it already feels properly flagship-grade to me.
Day-to-day performance is effortless. Apps open instantly, multitasking feels smooth, and I never ran into random stutters or slowdowns. Everything feels fast and consistent, whether I am jumping between apps, scrolling through social media, or using the camera. It is the kind of smoothness that fades into the background because nothing ever feels like it is holding you back.
Things get even more impressive once I started pushing the phone harder. The combination of LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and UFS 4.1 storage really shows its strength during heavier tasks. You might not notice a big difference during casual use, but under load, the 15R stays just as responsive and calm. Exporting large video files, downloading big games with huge assets, and transferring long 4K clips all felt quick and hassle-free.
In benchmarks, the numbers line up with that experience. My unit scored around 2.92 million on AnTuTu, which is exactly where a phone in this class should be. On Geekbench, I saw a single-core score of 2862 and a multi-core score of 9531, showing strong CPU performance for both short bursts and sustained workloads. In the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme stress test, the phone held around 72 percent stability, which translated into reliable performance during longer gaming sessions.
OnePlus has also added some smart supporting hardware this time. There is a dedicated Touch Response Chip, and it genuinely makes a difference. Touch inputs feel quicker and more precise, especially while gaming. The new G2 Wi-Fi chip also helps with network stability, and during my testing, online games and high-quality streams felt consistently stable.
Gaming is clearly a priority on the 15R. With support for up to 165Hz in select titles and a large vapour chamber paired with aerogel insulation and graphite layers, the phone manages heat well even during long sessions. It feels fast, stable, and built to keep up.
The OnePlus 15R runs OxygenOS 16 based on Android 16, and from the moment I started using it, the software felt like a strong point. OxygenOS continues to be one of my favourite Android skins, mainly because it keeps things clean without feeling boring. Animations are smooth, transitions feel fluid, and the overall UI never feels cluttered or overwhelming.
What I really appreciate is how OnePlus handles customisation. There is a lot you can tweak here, from icons and animations to layouts and system behaviour, but it never feels like too much.
You can personalise the phone to your liking while the core experience stays simple and easy to understand. Day to day, everything feels fast, consistent, and predictable, which honestly matters more than flashy features.
AI is clearly a bigger focus this year, but thankfully it does not feel shoved in your face. The standout for me is Plus Mind. It is one of those rare AI features that actually fits into regular use instead of feeling like a demo feature added for marketing slides. I found myself using it naturally, which is usually a good sign that something has been done right. It feels helpful without being intrusive, and that balance is not easy to get right.
Long-term support is another big win for the OnePlus 15R. OnePlus is promising four Android version updates along with six years of security patches. That is reassuring, especially if you plan to hold on to your phone for a few years. Starting out on OxygenOS 16 also gives it a longer update runway, which adds to the overall value.
Taken as a whole, the software experience on the OnePlus 15R feels mature, polished, and well thought out. It is fast, clean, and backed by solid update support, which makes it easy to live with every single day.
The camera setup on the OnePlus 15R is where I could most clearly see OnePlus changing its priorities. This phone is using the new DetailMax Engine, which is the brand’s updated image pipeline. I have already seen this system perform really well on the OnePlus 15, so on paper, it is not a weak foundation at all. But once I started using the 15R cameras regularly, it became clear to me that something important from the older R-series formula is missing.
Starting with the main camera, daylight performance is mostly dependable. Photos generally look clean, with decent detail and colours that stay fairly natural. That said, I did notice a tendency to underexpose shots, especially in scenes with tricky lighting where highlights and shadows are fighting for attention. It is not a dealbreaker by any means, but it does mean I often had to tap and adjust exposure to get the shot I wanted.
Low-light performance, surprisingly, is one of the stronger parts of this setup. The main sensor holds up well once the lights go down. Images look controlled, noise is kept in check, and the processing does not go overboard. It is not class-leading, but it is reliable enough that I felt comfortable pulling the phone out at night.
The limitations become obvious as soon as you move beyond the main camera. The ultrawide is easily the weakest link here. The 8MP sensor delivers acceptable colours in good lighting, but detail is soft and low-light performance drops off quickly. It is fine for the occasional wide shot, but it is not something I found myself trusting or using often.
Zoom performance is another area where compromises show. At 2X, the phone simply crops into the main sensor, and detail falls apart faster than I would like. Tighter framing feels unreliable, especially when compared to older R-series phones.
This is where the biggest downgrade becomes clear. The OnePlus 15R switches to a dual-camera setup and drops the dedicated 50MP telephoto lens that the OnePlus 13R had. That missing lens is felt immediately. Portraits and zoomed shots lack the flexibility and consistency that I was used to from previous R-series devices. Portrait mode itself is hit or miss. When it works, the background blur looks nice, but edge detection can be inconsistent.
Selfies are a bright spot. The 32MP front camera handles skin tones and textures well, and portrait selfies, in particular, look pleasing. Video performance is more mixed. Shooting 4K at 120fps sounds great on paper, but colours and stabilisation feel like they need more tuning.
Overall, the cameras on the OnePlus 15R are competent and functional, but they are not exciting. They get the job done, but they are clearly not the reason to buy this phone.
Battery life is easily one of the OnePlus 15R’s biggest strengths, and honestly, one of its cleanest wins. With a massive 7400mAh battery, it just keeps going. In fact, this is the biggest battery OnePlus has ever put into one of its phones.
During my testing, I comfortably got two full days of use without any stress, and this was with genuinely heavy usage. That included running benchmarks, shooting plenty of camera samples, watching videos, gaming, and handling everyday tasks. Even with all of that, the battery drain stayed steady and predictable, with no sudden drops or surprises.
Efficiency plays a big role here. The newer chipset clearly helps, because despite the large display and high refresh rate, the phone never felt power-hungry. Based on my experience, I am confident that with lighter usage, getting close to three days on a single charge is very realistic.
Charging speeds are solid too. The 15R supports 80W fast charging and, despite the huge battery, it goes from empty to full in under an hour and fifteen minutes. That feels like a fair trade-off for this level of endurance.
After using the OnePlus 15R for nearly two weeks, one thing stood out very quickly. This phone is no longer playing the role of the safe, default R-series option. It feels confident about what it wants to be, and that confidence shows in everyday use.
OnePlus has clearly prioritised performance, gaming, durability, and battery life this time, and those choices pay off. The display works brilliantly for both streaming and high-refresh-rate gaming, performance remains smooth and dependable under load, and the battery life is genuinely exceptional. It is the kind of phone you stop worrying about once you start using it.
Where the 15R stumbles is the camera setup. The absence of a dedicated telephoto lens is noticeable, and while the cameras are consistent and usable, they lack flexibility and excitement. If photography is your main focus, this would not be my personal recommendation.
However, if you want a tough phone with excellent endurance and reliable performance that encourages heavy use, the OnePlus 15R delivers exactly that.