Continuing the winning streak - OnePlus 15

Quick Overview

The OnePlus 15 continues the company's return to flagship form, delivering superior performance, especially in sustained workloads like gaming, with a score of 3053 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light benchmark, significantly outperforming the OnePlus 13 and S21 Edge, while also boasting impressive battery life at 29.18 hours in video playback tests and featuring a dedicated, highly customizable 'Plus Key' side button.

Key Points: The OnePlus 15 scored 3053 in the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light benchmark, outperforming the OnePlus 13 (2561) and S21 Edge (2567). The phone achieved 29.18 hours in battery discharge testing (1080p video playback at 200 nits), a nearly 50% increase over the OnePlus 13 (20.02 hours). It features the latest high-end Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and LPDDR5X RAM, with options for 12GB or 16GB. The device includes an industry-first middle frame with Micro-Arc Oxidation, making it 3.4x tougher than aluminum and 1.3x tougher than titanium. The display is a 6.78-inch panel with 1272x2772 resolution, 450 PPI, and an adaptive 1-120Hz refresh rate that hits 165Hz when gaming. A new 'Plus Key' side button offers customizable shortcuts, including an 'Under Water Mode' and integration with an AI assistant called 'Mind Space'. The phone includes a 100W SUPERVOOC charging brick (USB-A output) and a 7,300mAh dual-cell battery.

Context: This video provides an in-depth review and initial impressions of the unreleased OnePlus 15 smartphone, which the presenter claims marks a return to form for the brand after previous budget-oriented releases. The review focuses heavily on the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor performance, sustained thermal management during intensive testing, battery endurance, display specifications, and unique software/hardware features like the dedicated 'Plus Key' and the 'Mind Space' AI assistant.

Detailed Analysis

The OnePlus 15 is presented as a return to flagship quality, featuring the new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, which provides substantial gains over the previous generation; in the 3DMark Steel Nomad Light benchmark, the 15 scored 3053, beating the OnePlus 13 and S21 Edge by about 20-22%. The GPU performance is sustained well, showing better thermal management than the S21 Edge during the stress test. Battery life is a major highlight, lasting 29.18 hours in video playback tests, a 50% improvement over the OnePlus 13's 20.02 hours, achieved with the large 7,300mAh dual-cell battery charged via the included 100W SUPERVOOC brick. The display is a 6.78-inch panel with a 1272x2772 resolution (450 PPI) and an adaptive refresh rate spanning 1-120Hz, peaking at 165Hz for gaming. Unique physical features include the durable Micro-Arc Oxidation frame, touted as 3.4x tougher than aluminum, and the new customizable 'Plus Key' side button, which can be mapped to various functions like sound/vibration modes, camera, flashlight, or launching the 'Mind Space' AI feature. The camera system is noted to feature three 50MP sensors (Main, 3.5x Telephoto, Ultrawide) and a 32MP RGBW front sensor.