{"id":269489,"date":"2025-11-18T10:28:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T10:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/269489\/"},"modified":"2025-11-18T10:28:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T10:28:14","slug":"oneplus-15-beats-the-iphone-in-one-major-way-and-apple-needs-to-catch-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/269489\/","title":{"rendered":"OnePlus 15 beats the iPhone in one major way \u2014 and Apple needs to catch up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Multitasking is still one of those things that\u2019s never easy to do, even on the best phones<\/a> out there running the fastest processors and with more RAM than ever before. What\u2019s crazier is that it took until now for it to be perfected, by none other than the OnePlus 15<\/a>.<\/p>\n

All phones, including iPhones, let you switch between apps with ease \u2014 but this is technically app switching rather than real multi-tasking. While some of the best Android phones<\/a> have better implementation with their split-screen modes, the OnePlus 15 takes it to another level that actually makes the most sense on a smartphone.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s because it copies a feature first introduced with the OnePlus Open<\/a>, called Open Canvas<\/a> multitasking, but adapts it for the slab form factor of the OnePlus 15. Here\u2019s why it\u2019s the best implementation I\u2019ve experienced to date.<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

The OnePlus 15’s intuitive way of multitasking is achieved through the Smart Sidebar feature of OxygenOS 16, which functions very similar to Samsung\u2019s Edge Panel. It\u2019s an accessible tray that expands to show all of the quick access apps that I\u2019ve chosen, which I like referring to as a glorified apps panel that overlays over everything \u2014 allowing me to run two apps simultaneously.<\/p>\n

If I select an app from there, it opens it up in a separate floating window. The three dots at the top of this window lets me change the view to full screen, minimize, or split view. With the latter, it dynamically resizes the window of the app I\u2019m using to see more of it. You can see it in action above when I have Chrome<\/a> running, but then proceed to use the Smart Sidebar to open Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

But the beauty of this implementation is how the windows dynamically resize depending on which app I\u2019m using. While keeping both apps running at the same time, you can see how it reframes the interface so that each app can run in essentially their full size. When I tap on the window for Chrome, it switches the frame to let me see more of it \u2014 and vice versa when I do the same for Instagram.<\/p>\n

This is exactly what made Open Canvas so unique when I first tried it with the OnePlus Open. For a slate phone, however, the OnePlus 15 perfects the art of multitasking.<\/p>\n

Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.<\/p>\n

Games can be resized and remain playable<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/p>\n

(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Of course, multitasking is handled much easier with some of the best foldable phones<\/a>. Models like the Galaxy Z Fold 7 let you run upwards to four apps simultaneously, but it\u2019s a much different story with flip-style phones like the Motorola Razr Ultra (2025)<\/a> and Galaxy Z Flip 7<\/a>. They have problems resizing many of the games I play, but the OnePlus 15 doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s because it\u2019s able to keep the same full-screen experience playing those games thanks to its dynamic resizing. For example, I\u2019m able to run Ages of Origins alongside another app \u2014 without any resizing issues. That\u2019s important because oftentimes these games end up looking funky when they\u2019re rescaled, but the OnePlus 15 keeps the full-screen experience.<\/p>\n

Another nagging problem I have multitasking with games is that they sometimes have to refresh when I switch to another app for a brief moment. Not only does my OnePlus 15 have 16GB of RAM to keep my games active in memory, but the performance of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 keeps the performance smooth even when I\u2019m going back and forth.<\/p>\n

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Floating apps squeeze in one more app<\/p>\n

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(Image credit: Future)<\/p>\n

Finally, the Smart Sidebar feature of the OnePlus 15 lets me run a third app. I know that might be overkill on a phone, but there are times when I need to access an app without closing the stuff I\u2019m already using. With the minimize function of the Smart Sidebar, I can \u2018minimize\u2019 a third app and set it aside.<\/p>\n

You can see above how I can minimize TikTok, which is then shown as an icon that I can access at any time. Small details like this show how OnePlus takes multitasking much more seriously than other phone makers.<\/p>\n

Clearly it\u2019s a cut above what Apple\u2019s doing with its latest phones, the iPhone 17 Pro<\/a> and 17 Pro Max<\/a>, which are still using the old apps switching paradigm. For as much as I love them, it\u2019s still a pain having to switch between apps all the time. Apple could just adapt the multitasking model it already has in place with the best iPads, but it could compromise its performance.<\/p>\n

In contrast, Samsung\u2019s been offering one of the best multitasking experiences with its flagship models, but it lacks the dynamic resizing of OnePlus\u2019 way of doing it. Google<\/a>\u2019s long offered split-style multitasking, but just like Samsung, its Pixel phones could benefit from an overhaul to match OnePlus.<\/p>\n

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Today’s best OnePlus 15 deals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Multitasking is still one of those things that\u2019s never easy to do, even on the best phones out…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[2306,86,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-269489","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mobile","8":"tag-mobile","9":"tag-technology","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}