OnePlus 15R Review: A Stylish Alternative to Mainstream Androids

The OnePlus 15R shares its sense of style with the OnePlus 15, meaning it has a blocky feel with flat sides and a squarish camera bump, rather than its predecessor’s smooth contours and circular camera. In one way, it’s modern and in line with the Apple iPhone 17 and Samsung Galaxy S25, but this also means it no longer stands out as much from the pack. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) It measures 6.43 by 3.03 by 0.33 inches (HWD) and weighs 7.55 ounces for the Charcoal Black model or 7.58 ounces for the Mint Breeze model. The 15R succeeds the 13R (there is no 14R), which is smaller and lighter at 6.37 by 2.98 by 0.32 inches and 7.27 ounces. Meanwhile, the Google Pixel 9a is even more diminutive, at 6.09 by 2.89 by 0.35 inches and 6.56 ounces. In hand, the 15R feels sturdy, smooth, and sleek. Its aluminum frame meets the front Corning Gorilla Glass 7i and rear glass nearly seamlessly. A pre-applied screen protector detracts from the otherwise cohesive feel, since its edges are easy to catch with your fingers. 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Not only can it withstand dust and water submersion, but it can also withstand being blasted with heated water jets up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit. The 13R has a lower IP65 rating, while the Pixel 9a has an IP68 rating. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) The volume rocker and power button are on the right, while the Plus Key (an assignable hardware button) is on the left. The SIM tray, USB-C port, and speaker slits are arranged from left to right at the bottom. For biometrics, the 15R has an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor under the display; it performed flawlessly in testing. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) I received a Mint Breeze model, which is a subtle shade of green that approaches white. I’m a sucker for fun colors, and I’m a fan of OnePlus’s color choices. The 15R has an enormous 6.83-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2,800 by 1,272 pixels and a maximum brightness of 1,800 nits. Its refresh rate ranges from 60Hz to 120Hz for most activities, but rises to 165Hz for gaming. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) For comparison, the 13R has a 6.78-inch OLED screen with a resolution of 2,780 by 1,264 pixels, an average brightness of 1,600 nits, and a refresh rate up to 120Hz. The Pixel 9a has a 6.3-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2,424 by 1,080 pixels, a refresh rate of 60Hz to 120Hz, and up to 1,800 nits of brightness for HDR content. Images look wonderfully crisp and vibrant on the 15R’s display. Animations are silky smooth, which makes the 15R feel snappy at every interaction. Indoors or out, the screen is easy to see. The 15R runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor, which is distinct from Qualcomm’s top chip, the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 (found in the OnePlus 15). The 15R comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage by default, but you can bump that to 512GB for $799.99. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) To objectively compare devices, I use a series of benchmarks to measure the 15R against the OnePlus 13R (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3) and Google Pixel 9a (Tensor G4). ( Credit: Geekbench/PCMark/GFXBench/PCMag) On Geekbench 6, which measures pure CPU power, the 15R scored 2,867 on the single-core test and 9,440 on the multi-core test. This handily outpaces the 13R’s scores of 2,195 and 6,483, as well as the Pixel 9a’s scores of 1,704 and 4,425. On the PCMark Work 3.0 test, which measures how a phone performs general mobile tasks, the 15R scored 13,643. This is well past the 9a’s 12,857 (we do not have first-hand data for the 13R). To gauge graphics performance, we use the GFXBench Aztec Ruins test. The 15R produced 60 frames per second (fps), while the 13R reached 64fps, and the 9a hit 68fps. To test real-world gaming performance, I played the resource-intensive Genshin Impact. At the highest graphics settings and at 60fps, the game ran smoothly with crisp visuals, fluid animations, and no slowdowns. The back of the 15R got warm while gaming, but not uncomfortably so. For connectivity, the phone supports 5G (sub-6GHz, including C-Band, but not mmWave), Bluetooth 6.0, NFC, and Wi-Fi 7. The 15R can hold two physical SIM cards and an eSIM. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) Connected to T-Mobile’s 5G network in New York City, the OnePlus reached a maximum download speed of 416Mbps and a maximum upload speed of 52.5Mbps. The Pixel 9a, tested on the same network and in the same location, reached 437Mbps down and 44.9Mbps up. To test Wi-Fi, I connected both phones to a Wi-Fi 6 network. Near the router, the 15R reached 522Mbps down and 22.3Mbps up, while the 9a hit 408Mbps down and 22.6Mbps up. Both devices remained strong at the limit of my Wi-Fi network's range, where the 15R hit 394Mbps down and 21.3Mbps up, and the Pixel 9a reached 399Mbps down and 22.5Mbps up. The 15R features two rear cameras: a 50MP main camera with an f/1.8 aperture and optical image stabilization (OIS), and an 8MP ultra-wide camera with an f/2.2 aperture. The 15R doesn't have the telephoto camera of the OnePlus 15 or 13R. (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) By default, the main camera captures 12.5MP images with pixel binning, but it can also capture full 50MP images if you wish. Whether you take photos at 12.5MP or 50MP, the images have sharp details but slightly oversaturated colors. Upon close inspection, the pixel-binned images are just a little brighter than the full-resolution ones (as they should be). Main camera, 12.5MP (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) Main camera, 50MP (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) The ultra-wide camera also oversaturates colors, and its images are darker than those from the main camera. The ultra-wide is probably the weakest of the three cameras. Ultra-wide camera (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) The 32MP f/2.0 front-facing camera takes detailed images with the same oversaturated look as the main camera, which makes sense given that the processing engine and tuning are the same. Left to right: Selfie, Portrait (Credit: Iyaz Akhtar) The 15R’s rear camera captures video at up to 4K120 for gorgeously smooth video thanks to the high frame rate. The OIS does an excellent job at removing shake, though stabilization is better at lower resolutions and lower frame rates than higher ones. The front-facing camera captures footage up to 4K30. It pushes saturation a bit while preserving detail. The Pixel 9a has better cameras, thanks to Google's strong processing algorithms, which also make it a more capable platform for editing photos after the fact.