Okay, so it's been out now a week, hopefully you caught the launch event to see what this phone offers.
When I got the phone, it didn't seem like it would be a big 'break' from the OnePlus 13, so I focused myself on some of the physical differences. I wasn't sent a case this year, so the physicality of it was definitely noticed. The matte finishing on the back felt ... like it might be more easily scuffed.
The change of the camera bump from the telltale circle to a square.
Something I noticed quickly was that when I would put it on the first gen AirVOOC charger that the new bump just kinda gets in the way of the device, catching on the top lip and so it's resting on that and not the bottom ridge.
Then there's a new button! Hmm... let's check this phone out.
Specs-wise, for $1300 phone you get a LOT.
- 6.78" 2772x1272 at 1-120Hz and 165Hz in gaming
- Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5
- 16GB RAM
- 512GB storage
- 50MP main camera, 50MP Ultra Wide, 50MP 3.5x zoom
- 32MP selfie
- IP69 [yeah, that means hot tubs!]
- 7300mAh battery
And let's not forget that this phone comes with a SuperVOOC charger in the box. How many phones out there offer a charger, let alone one that can charge the phone up to 100% in about an hour.
Plus, there are always plenty of deals going on with the phone, and you could look for more here.
Fans of OnePlus are going to immediately point out the display is a bit of a ... I hate saying downgrade, just not quite as high as last year. Honestly, I didn't notice. And OnePlus said they pulled back a bit because they wanted to ensure that the device could handle a very fast refresh rate when it needed, so the lower resolution (still a good one) allowed it to not compromise that fluidity.
PS - don't forget to go in and check those settings - is it set to High or standard by default.
Okay, now they talked a lot (like most people) about AI on this phone, and they've replaced the 'switch' that OnePlus always had for a "Plus Key".
The idea here is that by tapping the button (now sure, you could remap it to something else) it acts like how you do when long pressing the homescreen for the Pixel circle to search.
Hitting it brings up their "Mind Space", which is akin to the Pixel Screenshots app.
It has all the bits you've taken from the Plus Key and gives you context about what's in it. Does it mention a date, maybe it'll make you a calendar event. Does it show a website, it'll take you there, etc..
You can even do more with it, I'm still 'playing' with it, to find the right scenario for use case. I'm just too used to Circle to Search, so I tend to use it just like that, but I think I'm missing out some.
And, similar to last year's there are some other AI assists it has to help you with writing content, fixing grammar, searching, etc...
Now, that's some of the new. Nifty and neat. It still has the old hits too; my favourite is the 'shelf'. A quick way to get at your apps so they can float in front of you. I love how on some notifications, where you go to reply it'll bring up the app as a floating app. It really does have 'multi-tasking' at the forefront here, and I love it. More and more am I working just from my mobile device and less from even my laptop.
One thing I liked is the organization of the apps, how it can 'folderize' and then of those folders you can make bigger or smaller...
This year they allow you to not only choose from big [square], small (round icon), but also a tall, and then within those folders you can make the layout of what is in them different.
Then there's the performance, it's still FLYING through any app you throw at it. It's become somewhat of a gaming device for me and it's not disappointing. It even has passthrough charging - meaning if you're playing a heavy/intensive game and you plug it in, it'll charge up the device slowly but actually run the device on that power. Super handy to not kill your device's battery.
And that battery?!?! 7300mAh is just amazing. It hasn't failed to last a full day, but that's not too impressive as I'm not using it as my full daily driver, but for it to be on my desk and if I didn't get back to it until after the weekend it's like it didn't lose any charge. Stellar.
I just wish there had been the Qi2 magnets built in like the Pixel 10 lineup, however they had mentioned that for their own AirVOOC they couldn't. Which seems a fair trade, because it does charge up fast even wirelessly.
Now, there had been some concern over the camera - no more Hasseblad collaboration; but they did create a specialized DetailMax Engine to help create better photos.
How did it fare?
Not bad. I had some great photos with the device, and some not so. Not that they were terrible, but just different... less enough that it's noticeable -- where I've become expectant because of the Pixel cameras in all situations, sometimes the OnePlus 15 let me down; usually where light was really a tough thing.
The zoom worked okay, but it was definitely 'zoomed'
I took it out to do some night photography, and for those it did well, I just wish it had a better astronomy mode.
But still took some great shots, gives you some real room to play with.
Camera was about the only thing I could make any comment on that if I had to be picky about it I could be. Everything else stood up to my testing and passed with flying colours.
Now, to just find the right case with magnets.
Source: https://www.oneplus.com/ca_en/oneplus-15
Check out deals for the device here: https://capitaloneshopping.com/s/c1-canada.oneplus.com/coupon
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