One thing OnePlus doesn’t like to fester is an incomplete phone line-up. With the newest flagship, the impressive OnePlus 15 arriving in India in November, the “R” series phone couldn’t have been far behind. The OnePlus 15R arrives with that same perspective, of just the right eliminations, to draw attention with a price tag for the more value conscious buyer. Someone who wants a flagship-esque experience, but doesn’t want to spend (or budgets don’t allow) typical flagship phone prices. The ₹44,999 onwards pricing puts the OnePlus 15R in direct competition with with the Google Pixel 9a, as too the OPPO Reno 14. Being the first phone to be powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, should lend it a definite advantage.
There are a lot of firsts for the OnePlus 15R to build its case with. The first phone powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, before others arrive in early 2026. Also, at 7,400mAh, the largest battery capacity ever in a OnePlus phone, including the 7,300mAh in the OnePlus 15 flagship (the silicon carbide composition makes the difference). And with IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K ratings, the highest dust and water resistance capabilities in a OnePlus phone. Suddenly, that price seems to hold better value and longevity, doesn’t it? Our recommendation would be the 512GB storage variant, albeit the 256GB storage spec also has 12GB memory.
The fact that Qualcomm has agreed to give the OnePlus 15R the privilege of exclusivity with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, is itself a testament to the phone’s importance for both, OnePlus as well as Qualcomm. Generationally, this chip is up to 36% faster in terms of CPU performance and 11% faster as far as graphics are concerned. Alongside, a claimed 46% improvement in on-device AI performance, and you’re looking at the potential that’d last more than a couple of years without feeling dated. Or feeling the weight of rapidly evolving apps as well as smartphone use cases. OnePlus has replaced Android Completely Fair Scheduler architecture with its own CPU Scheduler, optimised for games in particular, and uses the chip’s architecture to deliver a dedicated processing queue for high end gaming experiences.
One of the reasons why the OnePlus 15R holds performance so well is continued evolution of a cooling architecture that OnePlus has developed year after year. Now, it also includes a Screen Cooler, which uses an aerogel (this apparently is the lightest solid to be found on earth) as thermal protection for the display from the phone’s heat generation. Just because the OnePlus 15R manages to remain cool on the outside doesn’t mean it also runs absolutely cool on the inside — it’s the Cryo Velocity 3D Vapor Chamber as OnePlus calls it, which includes a multitude of materials including a hand-tearable steel to help with heat dissipation.
The entire chain is strong. Memory is the fastest LPDDR5X Ultra while storage is the UFS 4.1 standard, for the quickest read and write speeds in this price band. All of this means performance is very impressive, and then some. For all intents and purposes, this is a flagship phone, though the rest of the positioning pegs it a notch below the actual flagship, the OnePlus 15. Similar capacities as the OnePlus 15, albeit hardware differences, but the usage returns seem quite similar, close to 6.5 hours of on-screen time on a single charge. This has 80-watt fast charging, which though less than the 120-watt for its more expensive sibling, still placed the OnePlus 15R among the fastest charging phones available at this time.
If there is one aspect the OnePlus 15R has stepped back a bit, is with the camera setup — it’s now a 50-megapixel wide sensor that’s the Sony IMX906 sensor with an 8-megapixel ultra-wide sensor and a telephoto given a complete miss this time. Some of you may feel that, depending on photography preferences, is a drawback.
At a time when its higher price flagship sibling also no longer has the Hasselblad credentials to boast of, the OnePlus 15R does put forward a case by arguing that hardware aside, the image processing algorithms including the computational photography pipeline are the same as those in the OnePlus 15. Results are mostly impressive, with detailing that’s on point, just the right colours if the ambient light is tight and you can zoom in quite a bit without noise becoming apparent. However, there is a case where certain scenarios don’t return accurate colours, in terms of vividness — shooting a green against a walnut background, for instance, leads the green in foreground to look too light.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — OxygenOS, for the longest time, remained my preferred custom design language on Android. It still is, make no mistake, but is a bit of a learning curve introduced off late. Theinterface feels snappy and everything (well, almost) is where it should be, but visually it is different. Dual App Control and Split View are proper utilities, but you’ll have to get used to them too.
OnePlus’ AI suite is complete, and most of it adds value — AI Scan, AI Recorder and editing tools in Photos including portrait glow. Plus Mind, which is being positioned as a personal assistant, is something I’m yet to get used to. Somehow, the idea of a jumbled up digital notepad (notes, web links, screen captures, voice notes etc.) doesn’t come across as too appealing. Yet, with Google Gemini as the underliner, it could certainly be useful for many.
The one (no pun intended) thing the OnePlus 15R continues to do what it has historically done best, is quietly dismantling any notions that flagship phone experience must always be met with a extravagant monetary outlay from your wallet. Yes, there are calculated omissions, such as wireless charging, and most notably in the camera hardware, while OxygenOS now asks for a little more patience if you want to get the AI just right. But stack up the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 exclusivity with elaborate thermal engineering, an enormous battery, extensive durability ratings and undeniable overall polish, and this picture becomes clear. The OnePlus 15R isn’t just about the spec sheet, but more longevity at play that’ll let it age gracefully over a period much longer than the typical 2 year mark for smartphone upgrades (unless you get bored, of course, but not for the want of performance).
In OnePlus’ current hierarchy, the OnePlus 15 is the statement piece, while the OnePlus 15R is a bit more restrained and specifically-tailored daily driver. Getting it right mattered, and getting it right seems to be OnePlus’ strongest trait.