OnePlus 15R review: a no-nonsense performance-first smartphone

• By Ashish Kumar
Published On: 17 December 2025 | 20:30 IST Last Updated On: 18 December 2025 | 15:52 IST

Almost every flagship has a sub-flagship model that offers a similar experience without the premium price tag. For the OnePlus 15 (review), it is the 15R which follows the same philosophy as previous ‘R’ models. The handset focuses on the core pillars of its flagship sibling, performance, battery life, and display, while trimming back on select premium elements to keep the price in check.

For many users, the OnePlus 15R could be a better option than the vanilla model. Continue reading this review to know why.

Verdict

If you’re after a no-nonsense, performance-focused smartphone and can live without extras like wireless charging, a telephoto lens, or class-leading camera hardware, the OnePlus 15R makes a compelling case. The handset undercuts the OnePlus 15 by roughly Rs 15,000 while delivering comparable performance, battery endurance, and display quality.

Near-flagship performance, with class-leading thermals

The OnePlus 15R’s standout feature is performance. It is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 SoC, built on a 3nm process and featuring the third-generation Oryon CPU also found in the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5. However, clock speeds and the Adreno 840 GPU are slightly dialled back. The chipset also uses the Snapdragon X80 5G modem, which offers slightly lower peak speeds than the X85 modem on the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5: 10Gbps download and 3.5Gbps upload, compared with 12.5Gbps and 3.7Gbps, respectively.

AnTuTu score

OnePlus 15

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

3,615,565

OnePlus 15R

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5

2,957,229

OPPO Reno14 Pro

MediaTek Dimensity 8450

1,617,077

AnTuTu assesses a smartphone's CPU, GPU, memory, and overall user experience (higher is better)

In practice, these cutbacks have little impact on real-world performance. The OnePlus 15R feels just as fast and responsive as the standard OnePlus 15 for most everyday tasks, a fact reflected in both our usage and synthetic benchmarks. In AnTuTu, the 15R trails its premium sibling by roughly 7,00,000 points, while in Geekbench, it posts a multi-core score of 9,363 compared to the OnePlus 15’s 10,575. That translates to roughly a 10 percent gap, which in real-world use means the OnePlus 15R opens and switches between multiple apps just as quickly.

It’s only in the graphically demanding tasks where one may see a difference. The OnePlus 15 posts a significantly higher GPU score on AnTuTu than its younger sibling. Moreover, in our lab testing, the OnePlus 15R averaged 39.7 fps after 30 minutes of BGMI gameplay, while the OnePlus 15 averaged 79.1 fps, despite running at higher graphics settings.

Geekbench single-core score

OnePlus 15

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

3,579

OnePlus 15R

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5

2,851

OPPO Reno14 Pro

MediaTek Dimensity 8450

1,614

Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)

Geekbench multi-core score

OnePlus 15

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5

10,575

OnePlus 15R

Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5

9,363

OPPO Reno14 Pro

MediaTek Dimensity 8450

6,380

Geekbench assesses the efficiency of the CPU's single and multiple cores (higher is better)

This shouldn’t make a difference, unless you are an avid gamer. For casual or moderately heavy users, the OnePlus 15R usage should suffice even for demanding activities. The handset offers excellent thermals, thanks to its 360-degree cryo velocity cooling system, which comprises a 3D vapour chamber (5,704 mm2), an aerogel cooling layer under the display, and a graphite layer covering the lower half of the back panel. All this ensures that the smartphone doesn’t get uncomfortably hot and throttle under heavy, extensive usage.

The OnePlus 15R recorded an average temperature increase of just 3.8 degrees Celsius after 30 minutes of playing BGMI, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Real Racing 3. These are the best thermal figures we’ve observed so far among smartphones tested in this segment, outperforming its closest rival, OPPO Reno14 Pro, by almost 2 degrees Celsius.

However, the phone isn’t particularly thermally efficient when gaming at the maximum 165fps. In our testing with the only supported title at present, Call of Duty: Mobile, gameplay remained smooth, but temperatures rose by roughly 9 degrees Celsius after 30 minutes, which is acceptable for short sessions but less ideal for longer playtimes. While the internal monitoring system consistently reported 165fps, a third-party FPS tracking app showed an average closer to 150fps, with minor fluctuations in between, which is fine.

Moreover, much like the OnePlus 15, 15R drops the graphics quality down to Medium or Low to support the high frame rate. This should be fine for fast-paced games such as shooters and MOBAs, where smooth visuals and fast reactions matter more than the graphics.

Burnout Score

OnePlus 15R

53.5%

OPPO Reno14 Pro

40.1%

OnePlus 15

33.2%

Burnout assesses CPU throttling and sustained performance under heavy load (higher is better)

The handset also appears well optimised to sustain heavy workloads over extended periods. We didn’t encounter any stutter or choppiness during day-to-day use. The Burnout CPU Throttle test further backs it up with the smartphone maintaining 53.5 percent of its peak performance, which is an impressive result.

The OnePlus 15R comes in two RAM and storage configurations: 12GB + 256GB and 12GB + 512GB. These come with the same ultra-fast LPDDR5X Ultra RAM and UFS 4.1 storage types as the OnePlus 15.

Flagship-grade display, minus LTPO

The OnePlus 15R features a large 6.83-inch LTPS AMOLED display. This is a step down from the OnePlus 13R’s LTPO panel, which relies on hardware-level control to continuously vary the refresh rate, dropping as low as 1Hz depending on on-screen content, making it more power-efficient and fluid in a wider range of scenarios.

LTPS, by comparison, uses software-based switching between fixed refresh-rate presets. While it can’t match LTPO’s efficiency or granularity, the LTPS panel on the OnePlus 15R still delivers excellent visual quality, with sharp visuals and a consistently smooth high-refresh-rate experience in everyday use.

This is the only major difference between the OnePlus 15 and 15R’s display. Everything else, including support for a 165Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, a 3,200Hz touch sampling rate, 1.5K resolution, and comparable brightness levels, remains unchanged. For a deeper dive into the panel’s behaviour, you can refer to the full display analysis in the OnePlus 15 review. In short, the OnePlus 15R delivers a peach of a display, with razor-thin bezels and excellent colour calibration that remains sharp and legible even outdoors under direct sunlight. I found the quality on par with its rival, OPPO Reno14 Pro.

Notably, the headline 165Hz refresh rate is reserved largely for gaming, and even then, only in select titles. Unlike the OnePlus 15, the company hasn’t yet enabled 165Hz support for BGMI on the 15R. Call of Duty: Mobile was the only game that hit the panel’s ceiling, running at a full 165 fps (though only briefly), among the titles I tested.

Big battery, reliable backup

The OnePlus 15R houses a 7,400mAh battery and supports 80W SuperVOOC wired fast charging. While charging speeds remain unchanged and on par with its competitor OPPO Reno14 Pro, the battery capacity has increased by 20 percent compared to its predecessor, the OnePlus 13R. Does it pay off? Absolutely.

Nearly double the endurance of the OPPO smartphone and around four additional hours over the OnePlus 13R in the PCMark battery test. In fact, the OnePlus 15R clocks an impressive 18 hours and 13 minutes, outperforming even the more expensive OnePlus 15, which offers a more power-efficient display.

PCMark Battery score (in hours)

OnePlus 15R

7400 mAh

18.2

OnePlus 15

7300 mAh

17.1

OPPO Reno14 Pro

6200 mAh

9.5

PCMark battery test measures phone battery life from 100% to 20% (higher is better)

Battery life is equally strong in real-world scenarios. In our internal testing, the handset consumed an average of just 5 percent charge after 30 minutes of YouTube streaming and a combined 90 minutes of gaming across BGMI, Call of Duty: Mobile, and Real Racing 3. With heavy usage, you can expect roughly five hours of screen-on time, which may not be impressive but is still reliable for most users.

Since the device lacks eSIM support, I couldn’t use it as my primary device. However, I did all I could to test the backup by running CPU and GPU tasks simultaneously, relying on its Google Maps for navigation, streaming my favourite movies and TV shows for hours, capturing moments, and constantly scanning its Bluetooth and Wi-Fi for nearby devices and networks. After all that, the device was left with roughly 25 percent battery still left in the tank.

If you are an average user, the battery life can be stretched further into the next day, at least through the first half, if not the entire day. I’ve found the standby time to be decent, but then again, the smartphone didn’t have a SIM during the testing, which can also drain battery in the background.

When it comes to charging, the OnePlus 15R, with its bundled 80W charger, takes around 49 minutes to clock 100 percent from 20 percent juice. Despite carrying a significantly bigger battery, the 15R takes about the same time as the 13R to charge from 20-100 percent. This makes it understandable for the OnePlus 15R to maintain the same charging speeds, which are still faster than most other smartphones in the segment and beyond.

A conservative design, but a premium feel

OnePlus has repeated the same recipe as the OnePlus 15 for the 15R; however, it doesn’t look as premium as a flagship should. I guess it has to do with the camera module. You see, we have become accustomed to seeing large camera modules with an array of sensors on the flagships. The OnePlus 15R, by contrast, opts for a slimmer, more understated camera island, largely due to the omission of a telephoto lens.

While this keeps the rear design clean, it also makes the phone look closer to a mid-range offering than a sub-Rs 50,000 device. The effect is further amplified by the camera module’s resemblance to older Nord models, particularly the OnePlus Nord 2, which subtly undercuts the 15R’s otherwise premium positioning.

While not as swanky as the OPPO Reno14 Pro, the OnePlus 15R feels more premium than the Nord-series handset. Its aluminium-made flat edges paired with a glass back lend the phone a solid, upscale in-hand feel, while the balanced weight distribution ensures a secure, comfortable grip despite the relatively large form factor. Speaking of which, the OnePlus 15R is marginally taller and heavier than its elder sibling.

The handset measures 163.4 × 77 × 8.1/8.3mm and weighs between 213 and 219 grams, depending on the colour variant. This increase in size and weight can be attributed to the larger 6.83-inch display and the beefier 7,400mAh battery, compared to the OnePlus 15’s 6.78-inch panel and 7,300mAh cell.

Despite the weight gain, the OnePlus 15R remains easy to handle in everyday use and feels impressively light for a device with a 7,000mAh-plus battery. The handset also scores highly on durability, with IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K ratings for water and dust resistance. This means the phone is well equipped to withstand daily wear and tear, including exposure to high-pressure and high-temperature water jets, as well as submersion in up to 1.5 metres of water for 30 minutes.

The phone comes in Charcoal Black, Mint Breeze, and Electric Violet colour options. The Mint Breeze that we received for review appears very subtle and fresh. There is a bundled case that comes with a matching tone for added protection.

Strong daylight cameras

Cameras are one of the least exciting aspects of the OnePlus 15R. It starts well with a 50MP Sony IMX906 OIS primary sensor, which is the same as its elder sibling, in the dual rear camera setup. However, its 8MP secondary rear camera remains underwhelming, and there is no telephoto lens, unlike the OnePlus 13R. The 32MP front camera is identical to the OnePlus 15, and the OnePlus 15R also gets the new in-house DetailMax engine, which is claimed to capture clean, natural, and real images.

We compared the OnePlus 15R camera results with the OPPO Reno14 Pro, which is one of the best camera smartphones in the segment. This is how the OnePlus smartphone fared in various scenarios:

Daylight

The OnePlus 15R delivers punchy, saturated colours that remain close to reality, along with a respectable dynamic range and well-balanced exposure, even in shadow-heavy areas. However, it falls short in detail retention, which is noticeable in both the foreground and background. Unlike the OPPO Reno14 Pro, the OnePlus 15R struggles to rein in smudging, clearly visible in elements such as shrubs, flower pots in the foreground, and the texture of distant buildings.

Ultrawide

Switching from the primary to the ultrawide camera, the OnePlus 15R shows a very subtle colour shift that may distort the scene. The tones appear slightly muted, and there is a noticeable drop in details, which could be due to the small 8MP sensor size. The OPPO Reno14 Pro, in contrast, is equipped with a superior 50MP ultrawide lens, which offers slightly sharper details, both at the centre and corners of the image, with minimum distortion.

While the lens applies a more pronounced colour shift than the phone’s primary camera, it ultimately works in its favour, making the scene appear closer to real life.

Portrait

For portraits, the OPPO Reno14 Pro uses a dedicated telephoto lens. However, since the OnePlus 15R lacks one, we relied on the primary camera at 2x zoom on both phones for a fair comparison. In this scenario, the OnePlus device pulls ahead with a more natural-looking bokeh effect, while the OPPO Reno14 Pro excels in detail retention and more accurate skin tones.

The OnePlus 15R’s portrait shot appears slightly overexposed, leading to somewhat washed-out colours and textures. This isn’t an issue on the Reno14 Pro, which preserves finer details across the subject’s skin, mole, scarf, and T-shirt. Edge detection remains inconsistent on both smartphones.

Selfie

The 32MP selfie camera on the OnePlus 15R manages to outperform the OPPO Reno14 Pro’s 50MP front camera. The OnePlus handset delivers better clarity and a wider dynamic range, while the OPPO phone, despite producing slightly more accurate skin tones, tends to smooth facial details and underexpose background elements such as trees.

Low light (night mode)

When the sun goes down, the OnePlus 15R struggles with both exposure and details, even with the night mode enabled. The handset fails to adequately control light sources, with pole lights bleeding across the frame, resulting in hazy, unrealistic images. In contrast, the OPPO Reno14 Pro delivers more accurate results, with minimal light flare, better-controlled exposure, and superior detail retention.

Overall, the camera performance is largely neck and neck, with the OnePlus 15R even pulling ahead in a few areas. It may not be the best shooter in its segment, but it proves to be a reliable companion for point-and-shoot photography. OnePlus’ DetailMax engine works particularly well in daylight, producing images with good exposure and sufficient detail. Additionally, the primary camera handles portraits convincingly enough that the absence of a telephoto lens is rarely felt.

Low-light photography is where the smartphone needs to pull up its socks, with results appearing underwhelming for its price tag. If this isn’t a priority for you, the cameras are still easy to appreciate, offering solid selfies and support for video recording at up to 4K resolution at 120fps.

Long-term software support with polished customisation

The OnePlus 15R runs Android 16-based OxygenOS 16 out of the box. The company has promised four years of major OS upgrades and six years of security updates for the smartphone, which is the same as the flagship OnePlus 15. Again, Google and Samsung might be better alternatives if you want longer software support. However, if you’re looking beyond those two brands, the OnePlus 15R stands out as the best option in its segment, comfortably surpassing the more common 3+4-year update policy that comes with the OPPO Reno14 Pro.

You can find a detailed analysis of the software in our OnePlus 15 review, and if you’d like to learn more about all the features of OxygenOS 16, do give our hands-on article a read. In my experience, the software has been smooth and largely bug-free, easily ranking among the best custom Android skins available today.

OnePlus has borrowed a few cues from iOS 26, such as glass-like visual effects in certain areas and dynamic wallpapers. This will make users switching from an older-generation iPhone feel right at home on the OnePlus 15R. Beyond that, the software offers a wide range of customisation options, such as resizable app icons and widgets, greater layout flexibility, and deeper lock screen personalisation. The latter includes support for custom text, motion images, widgets, a full-screen always-on display, as well as depth and glass effects.

Final verdict

The OnePlus 15R is priced in India at Rs 47,999 for the base 256GB storage variant, whereas the 512GB variant retails at Rs 52,999. That’s a hike of up to Rs 5,000 over the OnePlus 13R, which, on paper, may look better equipped thanks to its telephoto camera and LTPO display.

That said, OnePlus justifies the price hike with meaningful upgrades where it counts. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset delivers a clear leap in performance, handling everything you throw at it without fuss or excessive heat, barring extended gaming sessions at the full 165fps. The massive 7,400mAh battery further strengthens the package, ensuring the phone sails through a full day of heavy use and comfortably outlasts most rivals in its price bracket.

Rounding it off is a crisp, vibrant display that looks excellent both indoors and outdoors, making it well-suited for all kinds of content consumption, while OxygenOS 16 ties it all together with a smooth, well-optimised experience and long-term software support that few competitors can match.

However, cameras – although dependable in daylight – may fall short in low light with similarly-priced ones OPPO Reno14 Pro, offering better shots, and the absence of a telephoto lens limits versatility. The LTPS panel also lacks the efficiency edge of LTPO, though this rarely detracts from day-to-day use. If these aspects matter to you, the OnePlus 13R remains a viable alternative (provided it is still available for sale), or you could stretch your budget to Rs 72,999 for the OnePlus 15, which gets you all that, along with wireless charging and other premium extras.

At its core, the OnePlus 15R is a performance-first smartphone for those who want a value flagship.

Editor’s rating: 8.5/10

Reasons to buy

• The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset delivers near-flagship performance that feels consistently fast and responsive in everyday use.
• The large 6.83-inch AMOLED display offers excellent colour accuracy, sharpness, and smoothness with its 165Hz refresh rate.
• The massive 7,400mAh battery provides outstanding backup, comfortably lasting through heavy usage and even stretching into the next day for average users.
• OxygenOS 16 offers a smooth, feature-rich experience backed by long-term software support, matching the flagship OnePlus 15.

Reasons not to buy

• Low-light photography remains a weak point, with images often suffering from poor detail, flare, and inconsistent exposure.
• The absence of a telephoto lens limits zoom versatility.