The best value flagship phone of 2025 is getting a sequel – but without an iconic partnership

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ZDNET’s key takeaways

• OnePlus 15 will function a brand new design language.
• It’ll have a Plus Key shortcut button for Thoughts Area.
• The upcoming OnePlus telephone might be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

OnePlus confirmed off its subsequent flagship telephone, the OnePlus 15, in all its glory over the weekend. It additionally confirmed a worldwide launch for its subsequent product. 

Earlier, there have been doubts relating to the OnePlus 15’s international availability as a result of the corporate did not launch its OnePlus 13T / OnePlus 13S exterior of China and India. And it had an uncommon response to the tariffs with its Watch 3 price hike. Nonetheless, it has lastly been confirmed that the subsequent OnePlus flagship will come to the US as a follow-up to my favourite value-for-money Android flagship, the OnePlus 13.

Additionally: The best Android phones to buy in 2025

OnePlus 15 will get a brand new design

The Chinese language firm took to Weibo to disclose the OnePlus 15 in all its glory. It appeared in multiple photos on Chinese language social media in a “sand storm” coloration variant. This appears to be like like a departure from the signature OnePlus design because it trades the round digicam module of the OnePlus 13 in favor of a brand new design — borrowed straight from the OnePlus 13T. And this digicam module design is not the one aspect that it is borrowing from the Asia-exclusive telephone. 

OnePlus can also be including the customizable Plus Key shortcut button on its upcoming flagship. It resides in the identical place because the Motion Button in your iPhone and means that you can simply save data to a devoted “Thoughts Area.” Just like the iPhone’s Motion Button, it may be custom-made to fit your preferences.

Additionally: Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra vs. OnePlus 13: I compared the best Android phones, and it was very close

The sand storm variant appears to be like nice in photographs. It appears to have a barely textured again. OnePlus has confirmed that it sports activities a fiberglass again and homes a ceramic-coated steel body. It’s claimed to be harder than both aluminum or titanium. 

The OnePlus 15 might be powered by Qualcomm’s newest Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which guarantees glorious video efficiency, effectivity positive factors, and improved on-device customized AI options. It’ll function a 165Hz refresh fee show. Nonetheless, there isn’t a phrase on the display measurement but.

Like final 12 months’s launch timeline, the OnePlus 15 is alleged to debut in China subsequent month and are available to the US later. For reference, the OnePlus 13 was launched within the US in January 2025, after being launched in China late final 12 months.

No Hasselblad cameras for OnePlus 15

Whereas the OnePlus 15 appears to be like like a powerful contender for one more value-for-money flagship, its cameras will lack the Hasselblad coloration science. OnePlus confirmed earlier that its tie-up with the Swedish digicam producer is over. 

Because of this, the OnePlus 15 is more likely to miss out on my favourite and underrated digicam function, the XPAN mode. When saying the in-house digicam engine, OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau took to Chinese language social media and posted, “The message was constant: our customers need pictures which might be clear and actual. Most do not care about technical jargon, however they know the very first thing they do is pinch to zoom in on their photographs. That is the place the digicam actually will get judged.” 

Additionally: Changing these 10 settings on my OnePlus phone gave it a big performance boost

The OnePlus 15 will come geared up with OnePlus DetailMax Engine, which is claimed to be “designed from the bottom as much as ship the clearest and most actual photographs on a smartphone.” It’s touted to harness the “full potential of computational imaging to current scenes as they really are, with out over-beautification or distortion,” in accordance with Lau.

OnePlus is not recognized for its cameras, and the Hasselblad coloration science was at all times inconsistent on its flagships. It stays to be seen if it’s going to be capable of ship a extra dependable digicam efficiency than its predecessor, however the in-house DetailMax Engine has huge sneakers to fill.