OnePlus is back with a new Android phone that | Tech News

Smartphone season is effectively and really underway, with new units launched in current weeks from Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo. Now it’s the flip of Android favorite OnePlus to debut its newest {hardware} within the kind of the OnePlus 15, the firm’s new flagship phone that guarantees a step up in efficiency and velocity in comparison with the final technology.

That’s as a result of the OnePlus 15, which is launching within the UK on November 13, is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, the newest top-of-the-line processor from Qualcomm. Although you possibly can anticipate this chip to function in lots of different future flagships from the likes of Samsung, OnePlus will probably be one of first to release a phone within the UK with the new tech.

That means the OnePlus 15 might pack a highly effective punch above something at present on offer from rival telephones such because the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which makes use of the older Snapdragon 8 Elite. Qualcomm has mentioned the 8 Elite Gen 5 affords “the fastest mobile CPU in the world” and delivers “massive upgrades and experiences that users want today.”

Though year-to-year updates are pretty incremental, for those who’re coming from a phone a few years previous, the Gen 5 ought to really feel like a large improve in phrases of processing energy and graphics efficiency.

The OnePlus 15 is the sequel to the OnePlus 13, and can hit cabinets much less than a 12 months after that phone’s January 2025 launch. OnePlus is skipping the ‘14’ branding, because the company by no means consists of the quantity 4 in its phone naming schemes given the digit’s dangerous luck connotations in Chinese tradition.

You’ll get a a lot up to date design for those who go for the OnePlus 15. Gone are the curved edge shows and round digicam modules seen since 2023’s OnePlus 11, changed by a phone that takes more than a few design cues from the iPhone. It has flat sides with curved corners and a flat screen, with a squircle digicam bump on the back – it additionally bears a close resemblance to the Oppo Find X9 Pro, which is no shock given Oppo and OnePlus are owned by the identical firm.

OnePlus’s OxygenOS 16 software program based mostly on Android 16 is additionally similar to Oppo’s ColorOS 16, and OnePlus says it “introduces AI-driven experiences for smoother interaction, intelligent language tools, a deeper integration with Google’s personal AI assistant Gemini, and enhanced imaging support.”

The phone additionally marks the top of OnePlus’s yearslong partnership with digicam model Hassellblad, so the phone as an alternative is powered by OnePlus’s own DetailMax Engine, which is its identify for the software program processing used with the cameras.

OnePlus is holding full particulars of the phone back for the launch, however the phone has already been unveiled in China with an monumental 7,300mAh battery – it stays to be seen if the worldwide model coming to the UK can have as large a cell.

The Chinese model additionally has a 165Hz refresh price show, beating the fluidity of the common 120Hz seen on most telephones such because the iPhone 17 and Galaxy S25.

Other perks of the introduced phone included triple 50MP digicam lenses, IP69 mud and water resistance and blazingly fast 120W wired charging, although we don’t know if there will probably be a charger within the box.

The OnePlus 15 will probably be accessible in both Infinite Black, Sand Storm and Ultra Violet colourways, with specs, pricing and availability to be introduced on November 13. You can pay a £99 deposit on OnePlus’s web site to order your proper to order the phone on launch day.