GSMArena Team,
27 January 2026.
1. Introduction, specs, unboxing2. Design, build quality, handling3. Our lab tests – display, battery life, charging speed, speakers4. Software, performance5. Camera, photo and video quality6. The competition, our verdict, pros and consOnePlus 15R specificationUser opinions and reviewsReview comments (14)
Design, build quality, handling
One thing is certain – as far as design is concerned – the OnePlus 15R is far closer to the top-notch OnePlus 15 than to the Nord 5.
The OnePlus 15R has an all-flat design, the mainstream choice nowadays. There is a Gorilla Glass 7i front panel and an all-matte rear glass. The frame and the camera housing are made of aluminum, with a matte finish.
The ingress protection has been tremendously improved – the phone is now IP66, IP68, IP69 and IP69K rated for dust, water and pressurized water jets resistance (up from IP65 for 13R, Nord 5).
The 15R is available in Charcoal Black and Mint Breeze globally, while India also gets the exclusive Electric Violet as Ace Edition (a repack of the Chinese OnePlus Ace 6T). The Black version is as classic as possible, while Mint Green (ours) has barely noticeable shimmer, and that’s what makes it cool.
Both the Black and Green versions are all matte on the sides and the backs, fingerprint and smudge repellent. The 15R does not provide the most efficient grip, that’s for sure, but it is not a slippery nightmare either. Most people will still opt for using a case to get a more secure grip. And OnePlus offers some cool first-party cases, which is nice.
Now, let’s look at the OnePlus 15R from all sides.
The front is home to the 6.83-inch AMOLED screen. It has impressively thin bezels and a small punch hole for the 32MP AF selfie camera.
Naturally, the earpiece above the screen doubles as an earpiece and a second speaker.
The OnePlus 15R packs an ultrasonic fingerprint scanner below the screen. It can be used even with wet hands, and its performance is great.
The back panel is silky smooth and clean, except for the glossy and mirror-like 1+ logo.
The camera housing is about 3mm thick and made of metal. It encompasses the 50MP primary camera, the 8MP ultrawide one, and the color spectrum sensor between those two, invisible to the naked eye. The LED flash is the final feature of interest here.
We like the vertical camera housing on Nord 5 better, though the 15R looks more like the 15 overall, and that resemblance was probably what OnePlus was going for.
The sides of the OnePlus 15R are smooth and smudge resistant.
The top has two mics and a secondary sound outlet for the top stereo speaker.
The bottom has the other stereo speaker, the USB-C port, the primary microphone, and the dual-SIM tray.
The right side has the classic bunch of buttons – volume and power/lock.
Finally, the Plus key is on the left side – a similar button to Apple’s Action key. It can be configured to take a screenshot, Record voice memo, Translate text, turn on/off flashlight, take a photo or video, turn on/off DND mode, turn on/off sound and vibrations, or Plus to Mind Space to save a screenshot with audio.
The OnePlus 15R measures 163.4 x 77 x 8.1 and weighs 213 grams – about the same as the Nord 5 and 2mm taller than the OnePlus 15.
The OnePlus 15R offers an excellent build with premium protection and a silky smooth and fingerprint-resistant body. The grip is alright, not too secure, but not too slippery either.
The handling experience is as good as it can be with a 6.83-inch device – it is a big phone, but it’s balanced well.