OnePlus 15R With a 165Hz display, 7,400mAh battery, and Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, the OnePlus 15R is a dream phone for spec-heads. While all of those things are great, missing features, confusing software choices, and another price increase make the 15R a complicated recommendation.
For the past couple of years, OnePlus’s “R” series has offered some of the best mid-range Android phones money can buy. The 2024 OnePlus 12R stood out as the best $500 smartphone of last year, while the OnePlus 13R delivered an improved experience across the board, justifying its higher $600 price tag.
The new OnePlus 15R tries to keep that streak going, playing to OnePlus’s strengths of performance and battery life while costing less than its flagship sibling, the OnePlus 15. But with a fan-favorite feature gone, OnePlus’ software heading in the wrong direction, and areas like camera quality and wireless charging being left on the back burner, it makes this year’s OnePlus R phone a much less attractive option — especially with another price increase that pushes it all the way up to $700.
I wanted to love the OnePlus 15R, but after spending a couple of weeks with it, I can’t.
The OnePlus 15R is well-made and durable — with one missing feature
Joe Maring / Android Authority
The OnePlus 15R makes a really good first impression as soon as you take it out of the box. The aluminum frame feels great, the frosted glass back completely hides fingerprints, and all the buttons have a really nice click. But therein lies a design change that eliminates a long-time staple of OnePlus phones: the alert slider.
Instead of the iconic alert slider, the OnePlus 15R features the new “Plus Key,” the same slider replacement that debuted on the OnePlus 15. By default, the Plus Key is assigned to OnePlus’s Mind Space AI feature, which lets you store screenshots and voice recordings for later reference in one place. You can reassign the Plus Key to another function, though the options are extremely limited, including: Switch between Ring, Vibrate, and Silent modes.
Turn Do Not Disturb on/off.
Open the Camera.
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