OnePlus 15R, a 'remarkable' mid-range powerhouse with a 165Hz display
Celebrating 12 years, OnePlus debuts the 15R: a "remarkable" mid-range flagship featuring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a 165Hz display, and pro-grade AI productivity.
While celebrating the 12th anniversary of its brand, OnePlus announced its latest mid-range flagship smartphone model, the OnePlus 15R, on Wednesday in Bangalore, India.
The device will be available in the U.S., with the announcement coming just a few weeks after the U.S. launch of the OnePlus 15 flagship, which rounds out the company’s high-end releases for the year. However, the OnePlus 15R brings to the market a comparable flavor with notable specifications at a fraction of the cost. Both devices come with Qualcomm Snapdragon processing chips, an updated design with peak durability, and impressive camera systems. OnePlus has also dipped its toe into the AI arena with this device, adding features to assist users in various productivity tasks.
The brand noted that the OnePlus 15 is one of the first flagships to offer the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip. The device has already, since its launch, seen a 50% growth in sales over the prior generation. These are hopeful steps for the OnePlus 15R to follow.
Having polled its community for words starting with the letter R that describe OnePlus, the most common descriptor to arise was “remarkable,” according to the brand. It claims this is what the R in OnePlus 15R stands for: the superior performance of the device’s chipset, battery, and display. The model is the first to feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, a collaboration between OnePlus and the component maker. The chip provides a 40% CPU performance increase and 11% graphics performance boost compared to the prior mid-range model, in addition to including a 360-degree Cryo Velocity Cooling System for improved gaming.
The OnePlus 15R boasts a 6.8-inch AMOLED display, introducing a 165Hz refresh rate to the brand, 1800 nits peak brightness, and featuring an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor. Paired with its processor, the brand showcased comparisons of multitasking performance compared to other top-of-the-line smartphones, noting that the OnePlus 15R did not lag in opening applications while having an app open in the foreground.
The handset features a beefy 7,400mAh battery, the largest power source featured on a OnePlus device to date. It can maintain 80% of its capacity up to four years of use, and supports a 55W SUPERVOOC charger.
The OnePlus 15R dual camera system includes a 50-megapixel main lens, the same Sony IMX905 lens featured on the OnePlus 15, and an 8-megapixel ultrawide lens. Additionally, it includes a 32-megapixel front-facing lens. The brand included a host of software enhancements, including its proprietary DetailMax Engine, Ultra Clear Mode for ideal day photos, Clear Burst for capturing action shots, and Clear Night Engine for night imagery.
The camera also now supports 4K video at 120fps, and support for sharing motion photos on Instagram. The device is accompanied with several AI powered camera features, including AI Recompose, AI Eraser, AI perfect Shot, AI Detail Boost, AI Unblur, AI Reflection Eraser, and AI Portrait Glow.
Other AI features on the OnePlus 15R include the Plus Mind, a fan favorite, which uses AI to organize the content of your phone. Users can press the Plus key on the side of the OnePlus 15R handset or swipe up with three fingers to activate the feature, and it will capture the content and send it to the Mind space tagged with an AI generated summary. The updated features now allow users to send long screenshots to MindSpace as well as voice memos of up to one minute and 30 second long. Users can also connect MindSpace to Google Gemini for actionable purposes, such as researching outing plans or designing creatively with Nano Banana Pro.With this, OnePlus 15R users get three Months of Google AI Pro free.
Overall, software-wise, the device runs Android 16 with an OxygenOS 16 overlay. The device will receive four years of OS updates and six years of security updates.
The OnePlus 15R will be available in Charcoal Black and Mint Breeze in the US. Other international color options include Electric Violet, which is an exclusive to India. The smartphone will sell in configurations including 12 of RAM and 256GB of internal storage and 12 of RAM and 512GB internal storage. With a starting price of $699, the OnePlus 15R will be available for pre-order on December 17.
Those ordering early can take advantage of pre-order gifts, including OnePlus Buds Pro 3 headphones, OnePlus Watch 3 43mm, OnePlus 50W Magnetic Charger, or OnePlus Phone Case. Those putting in pre-order also have the option to get a $100 instant credit when trading in a phone, no matter the condition.
The OnePlus 15R will become widely available in the U.S. on January 8.