OnePlus 15 - US - Hit or Miss

[dk001]

Now that they have been approved, I went ahead and got the 15, 512/16, in black (came with a free black watch). I want to see how good, or bad, this really is and whether it can be my daily driver. Just to level set, I am currently using a ZFold7 and Edge (work and main).

Initial Impression
Nice packaging! Both the watch and phone. Nice seeing an actual charging block included.
Phone - clean, flawless, and after using the Edge, it has some heft to it. Like the texture and it feels good to the fingers. not “slippery” like the iPhone or Galaxy.
Watch - looks impressive. The band is a good bit skinnier than my S8 or Ultra.

Setup - this is going to take a while as I am setting everything up from scratch. No backups or copies - doing it like new. I did charge it to 100% before I started this. Want to see what is left after I am done.

Bloat - came with very little. I removed Facebook and Instagram. Don’t use them. Other than that, had the OnePlus apps and Google stufff.

More coming as I go through this - I am in no hurry and kind of busy with year end stuff.

If anyone has any questions, let me know.

 

[HouseLannister]

1. If you use Niagra or another 3rd party launcher, is there still a lag when going back to the homescreen?
2. Can you pair an Apple Watch to it? I saw OnePlus announce this was coming, but didn't know if it was live yet.

 

[dk001]

1. If you use Niagra or another 3rd party launcher, is there still a lag when going back to the homescreen?
2. Can you pair an Apple Watch to it? I saw OnePlus announce this was coming, but didn't know if it was live yet.

When I get to the launcher point I’ll let you know. I’ll be trying Nova (still works) and Niagara. Added to my list.

I no longer have an Apple Watch - except for my iPad, I have dropped the Apple world.

 

[Harthag]

Also received mine yesterday (U.S.). Notifications are a complete mess for me. Needed to reset all settings after setting up and then did a factory reset this morning. Seems to have fixed everything but Gmail. I'm not getting any notifications from Gmail unless I open the app. I've set all notification settings appropriately and configured always on display as I always do. Anyone else having Gmail app issues?

*Edit- went into developer settings and disabled "suspend execution for cached apps" and then rebooted. Cleared Gmail cache and data. Prompt then popped up to allow notifications from Gmail and that seems to have done the trick. Went back into developer settings and set that "suspend execution" option back to default, rebooted, Gmail still works as it should.

 

[dk001]

Quick update …
Doing a from scratch setup (painful - lots of accounts) starting at 100% battery.
Almost done. At the present I am at 57% battery with 9hrs 20min SOT and 1hr 30min screen off but active.

Did find one aspect that is a pita - Battery will show you the last 24hrs or the 7 day average. You have to manually add the days up if you are running more than 24hrs on a single charge to get actual SOT.

So far this thing is fast. Has been 100% cool to the touch.

Much more to come. 🎄

 

[MarkX]

1. If you use Niagra or another 3rd party launcher, is there still a lag when going back to the homescreen?
2. Can you pair an Apple Watch to it? I saw OnePlus announce this was coming, but didn't know if it was live yet.

1, yes.
2, couldn't tell you.

 

[Harthag]

1. Can you pair an Apple Watch to it? I saw OnePlus announce this was coming, but didn't know if it was live yet.

Not yet as far as I'm aware. The Oconnect app for iPhone doesn't install onto the watch. On the OnePlus phone the Ohealth app has an option to pair Apple watch but it can't because it's not possible to get the QR code on the watch itself to pair.

 

[dk001]

This is getting crazy. Done with my setup and have all my apps installed. Settings are as per out of the box.
Battery is at 35% coming from 100% when I first turned the device on, and I have 15hrs 36min SOT. 😳

Setup, basic games, YouTube, Kindle, X, Camera, Photos, etc….

Preview - initial photos compared to my S25 Edge and ZFold 7, the 15 takes warmer photos and with more detail. More on this coming soon.

 

[dk001]

This is getting crazy. Done with my setup and have all my apps installed. Settings are as per out of the box.
Battery is at 35% coming from 100% when I first turned the device on, and I have 15hrs 36min SOT. 😳

Setup, basic games, YouTube, Kindle, X, Camera, Photos, etc….

Preview - initial photos compared to my S25 Edge and ZFold 7, the 15 takes warmer photos and with more detail. More on this coming soon.

Update: Finally had to charge - at 5%. 19hrs 56min SOT.
Damn.

 

[MarkX]

Update: Finally had to charge - at 5%. 19hrs 56min SOT.
Damn.

Crazy battery life indeed. It's so good I can confidently leave my phone on the night stand at circa 50% and know I will have enough for the next day.

Worst case scenario I have a 120W charger on standby to give a quick top up if needed(unlikely)!

 

[dk001]

Crazy battery life indeed. It's so good I can confidently leave my phone on the night stand at circa 50% and know I will have enough for the next day.

Worst case scenario I have a 120W charger on standby to give a quick top up if needed(unlikely)!

Dropped mine on the plugin charger - UGreen 100W - took 1hr 21min to get it back to 100%.

 

[TheLocNar]

I'm not even charging overnight.

 

[Davieis]

Keen to hear further thoughts.

I've been eyeing the OnePlus as I'm sick of Apple's garbage software quality in 2025.

Looks like it might be a winner. I particularly like the side-by-side app mode and dock/app drawer features. Things that you usually expect Apple to be at the forefront of in terms of user interface interaction and accessibility appear to be implemented very intuitively in OnePlus/Android 16. Never thought I'd ever see this occur but here we are.

 

[dk001]

Some new stuff….

First a quick bit of background to level set….
Had an iPhone 15 ProMax and iPad Pro 11. Swapped my iPhone for a ZFold 7 (work) and use an S25 Edge as my main.
I am so tired of the the bugs in iOS (yes, I dev beta test). I do find bugs in Android (OneUI 8) but are far easier to replace the function and fix than in iOS. No, I am not a fan of the Glass design. Enough said on that…

btw - if you do like the iOS layout/design, much of OxygenOS 15 is based on the iOS layout.

Went on a day trip, linked the OP15 to my Ford Edge (Sync 4). No issues at all. Maps, directions, queries, calls, music; it all worked. Returned home after several hours with the phone sitting at 74%. Believe it when they say multi day use. Nice!

I also linked the OP15 to my Chevy Colorado. No issues there either. Works great on both vehicles.

Photos …. I am comparing the ZFold7 to this OP15. Overall the color is warmer and a bit brighter on the OP15 across all lenses. Just doing normal pics, no setting tweaks at this point. Basic and UW photos on the OP are sharper and to my eye a better picture overall. Where it gets a bit murky is for telephoto. At first glance, the TP for the OP is better, however as you zoom in, the OP photo drops clarity much faster. I would still call OP the winner here. When I put the OP on a tripod, things get better. Wondering if the OP is more sensitive to movement than the ZF7.

Videos will be next on my list.

One other thing, speed. The OP15 is seriously faster the the ZF7. Not even close for the apps I use.

 

[Akinom]

Joined the club today, switching over from a Fold 7. Just like with my Fold 2, I've found myself not using the main screen enough to justify owning one, and the battery life of the 15 just kept calling to me. I like that the UI seems to have a lot of iOS inspiration, which should help scratch the itch I sometimes feel for an iPhone. Looking forward to getting it on Friday!

 

[MarkX]

Joined the club today, switching over from a Fold 7. Just like with my Fold 2, I've found myself not using the main screen enough to justify owning one, and the battery life of the 15 just kept calling to me. I like that the UI seems to have a lot of iOS inspiration, which should help scratch the itch I sometimes feel for an iPhone. Looking forward to getting it on Friday!

The battery life will be like no other phone you've had!

I could wax lyrical about the Op 15 and it's phenomenal battery life. I ended up charging today after 2 days and 20 hours and still had 26% left.

In that nearly 3 days I don't know the total but it was well over 10 hours SOT.

This phone has spoiled me! I can't see me moving to any other phone unless it has similar battery life. Everything else about the OP15 is top notch, it's fast, smooth and whilst it may not have thee best camera, it's more than good enough, for me any way.

The only negative I have found is that you can't use 3rd party launchers without there being a delay when swiping to go home with gestures. I know with a little bit of work there is a fix you can do to sort it but thankfully I like the OP launcher just fine so it's not major imo.

 

[Harthag]

The battery life will be like no other phone you've had!

I could wax lyrical about the Op 15 and it's phenomenal battery life. I ended up charging today after 2 days and 20 hours and still had 26% left.

In that nearly 3 days I don't know the total but it was well over 10 hours SOT.

This phone has spoiled me! I can't see me moving to any other phone unless it has similar battery life. Everything else about the OP15 is top notch, it's fast, smooth and whilst it may not have thee best camera, it's more than good enough, for me any way.

The only negative I have found is that you can't use 3rd party launchers without there being a delay when swiping to go home with gestures. I know with a little bit of work there is a fix you can do to sort it but thankfully I like the OP launcher just fine so it's not major imo.

I'm currently at 1 day 1 hour since last on the charger and sitting at 60% battery left. Absolutely insane battery life. I got the paid version of KillApps Pro, it's a nifty little app for $2.50. You can see how many processes always run in the background and kill them with press of a button. Annoyingly Firefox always decides to always run in the background despite manually force stopping the app, killing it in the KillApps app, restricting battery and background use in my phone settings. Just out of principle I should stop using Firefox, but unfortunately it is the best browsing app for me on Android given all of the extensions that I like to use.

 

[Akinom]

Looks like it will be getting here tomorrow instead. Even better! Is everyone using the 16gb variant?

 

[Harthag]

Looks like it will be getting here tomorrow instead. Even better! Is everyone using the 16gb variant?

I have 12/256 peasant version 😂. Enjoy your phone once it arrives!

 

[MarkX]

I'm currently at 1 day 1 hour since last on the charger and sitting at 60% battery left. Absolutely insane battery life. I got the paid version of KillApps Pro, it's a nifty little app for $2.50. You can see how many processes always run in the background and kill them with press of a button. Annoyingly Firefox always decides to always run in the background despite manually force stopping the app, killing it in the KillApps app, restricting battery and background use in my phone settings. Just out of principle I should stop using Firefox, but unfortunately it is the best browsing app for me on Android given all of the extensions that I like to use.

I'm not a fan of those cleaner apps, in a lot of cases they don't actually save any battery at all. It can actually use more cpu and ram to restart them in the background.

Android is smart enough these days so I leave them well alone and currently have no issues with battery.

 

[Akinom]

It is here! Unfortunately, I'm at work, so I have to pretend my mind is focused on said work for a few more hours. I really like the sandstorm color, in my opinion it is much better looking than the pictures of it suggest (and I was already a big fan of it).

 

[dk001]

Now for a little concern ….

I am watching various Bowl games on my TV signed in with YouTube and/or YouTube TV.
To give my TV access, I scan the QR code with my OP15 - works great - but I am unable to complete the follow up two-stage confirmation (yes it’s me & number). Failed both times.

This works just fine on my S25Edge. Wonder if it is the OxyOS.

TV is a TCL Google TV.

 

[dk001]

Quick update on video.
Video has been very good even with lens switching. Color, sound (using device mic), movement, and light changes all handled well. The only area I see where it could use some help is in image stability. If I am walking on a flat surface - no issue. If I am walking on an uneven surface (trail), the S25 Edge and ZFold 7 handle the movement better.

Looks like the OP15 can due with a software update or two for video capture.

Still, I would rate this as very good.

 

[dk001]

Cold, foggy, wet, raining, watching the Rose Parade (also cold wet and rainy) and having a good cup of coffee.

Happy New Year to All!!!

 

[Akinom]

So far I'm pretty happy. It feels funny to complain about battery life on this thing, but I do seem to be getting less than some others. I'm at roughly 9 hours SOT with 39% left. Horrible, I know. 😂 I set it up mostly from scratch, but did copy over some app data from the Fold 7, which is probably what did it. I may backup/reset it over the weekend and see if that gives me the numbers others seem to be getting.

I'm a big fan of the UI. It is just similar enough to iOS that I feel like I'm getting the best of both worlds. The gimmick where the 1 on the clock widget turns red when it is 10/11/12/1 am/pm is a nice touch and I like it. Adds a little flavor to the phone. So far my only complaint is the sound quality from the speakers. It sounds pretty nasty compared to other phones I've had in recent years. The free buds I got from ordering the phone are very nice though, and more than make up for it.