The OnePlus 15’s chipset should make it even more powerful than the Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra

News
By published

A top-tier chipset and a high refresh rate

OnePlus 13 loOnePlus 13ck screen with Never Settle wallpaper
The OnePlus 13 (Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
  • OnePlus has revealed more details of the OnePlus 15, including that it uses a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset
  • That's the successor to the flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite used in the Galaxy S25 series
  • The OnePlus 15 also has a 165Hz refresh rate but lacks Hasselblad branding

We’re expecting the OnePlus 15 to be fully unveiled soon, but the company has already revealed many elements of it, as during Qualcomm’s latest event (via The Verge), it announced that this phone will use a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset.

This chipset is the new top-end model from Qualcomm, and it’s the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Elite found in the Samsung Galaxy S25 series and many of 2025’s other best Android phones. So by using this, the OnePlus 15 should have these devices beat in terms of power.

We’ve detailed the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 in another article, but according to Qualcomm this chipset should be even more powerful than the A19 Pro powering the iPhone 17 Pro Max, and it could be particularly great for gaming and extended battery life.

Refresh rate and camera details

A photo of the OnePlus 15

The OnePlus 15 (Image credit: OnePlus / Qualcomm)

But OnePlus has also revealed some other details about its upcoming phone, including that it has a 165Hz refresh rate, which is much higher than the 120Hz of the OnePlus 13 and most other flagship phones.

The redesigned camera block on the back of the phone was also shown off, and it’s a design we don’t love, so that’s one less promising element of the handset.

And one element that we’re not sure what to make of yet is the lack of Hasselblad branding, with OnePlus saying it’s using an in-house DetailMax Engine instead, which apparently uses “advanced algorithms and powerful processors.” So how much impact this will have and whether it will be an upgrade or a downgrade remains to be seen.

We should hopefully find out soon though, as more information about the OnePlus 15 will be revealed “in the coming weeks.” Oh, and if you’re wondering what happened to the OnePlus 14, the number 4 is considered bad luck in China, which is presumably why they’re skipping straight to the 15.

You might also like

See more News about Phones
James Rogerson

James is a freelance phones, tablets and wearables writer and sub-editor at TechRadar. He has a love for everything ‘smart’, from watches to lights, and can often be found arguing with AI assistants or drowning in the latest apps. James also contributes to 3G.co.uk, 4G.co.uk and 5G.co.uk and has written for T3, Digital Camera World, Clarity Media and others, with work on the web, in print and on TV.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.