Smartphone season is well and truly underway, with new devices launched in recent weeks from Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi and Oppo. Now it’s the turn of Android favourite OnePlus to debut its latest hardware in the form of the OnePlus 15, the firm’s new flagship phone that promises a step up in performance and speed compared to the last generation.

That’s because the OnePlus 15, which is launching in the UK on November 13, is powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset, the latest top-of-the-line processor from Qualcomm. Although you can expect this chip to feature in many other future flagships from the likes of Samsung, OnePlus will be one of first to release a phone in the UK with the new tech.

That means the OnePlus 15 could pack a powerful punch above anything currently on offer from rival phones such as the Galaxy S25 Ultra, which uses the older Snapdragon 8 Elite. Qualcomm has said the 8 Elite Gen 5 offers “the fastest mobile CPU in the world” and delivers “massive upgrades and experiences that users want today.”

Though year-to-year updates are fairly incremental, if you’re coming from a phone a few years old, the Gen 5 should feel like a big upgrade in terms of processing power and graphics performance.

The OnePlus 15 is the sequel to the OnePlus 13, and will hit shelves less than a year after that phone’s January 2025 launch. OnePlus is skipping the ‘14’ branding, as the company never includes the number 4 in its phone naming schemes given the digit’s bad luck connotations in Chinese culture.

You’ll get a much updated design if you opt for the OnePlus 15. Gone are the curved edge displays and circular camera modules seen since 2023’s OnePlus 11, replaced by a phone that takes more than a few design cues from the iPhone. It has flat sides with curved corners and a flat screen, with a squircle camera bump on the back – it also bears a close resemblance to the Oppo Find X9 Pro, which is no surprise given Oppo and OnePlus are owned by the same firm.

OnePlus’s OxygenOS 16 software based on Android 16 is also very similar to Oppo’s ColorOS 16, and OnePlus says it “introduces AI-driven experiences for smoother interaction, intelligent language tools, a deeper integration with Google’s personal AI assistant Gemini, and enhanced imaging support.”

The phone also marks the end of OnePlus’s yearslong partnership with camera brand Hassellblad, so the phone instead is powered by OnePlus’s own DetailMax Engine, which is its name for the software processing used with the cameras.

OnePlus is holding full details of the phone back for the launch, but the phone has already been unveiled in China with an enormous 7,300mAh battery – it remains to be seen if the global version coming to the UK will have as big a cell.

The Chinese version also has a 165Hz refresh rate display, beating the fluidity of the common 120Hz seen on most phones such as the iPhone 17 and Galaxy S25.

Other perks of the announced phone included triple 50MP camera lenses, IP69 dust and water resistance and blazingly fast 120W wired charging, though we don’t know if there will be a charger in the box.

The OnePlus 15 will be available in either Infinite Black, Sand Storm and Ultra Violet colourways, with specifications, pricing and availability to be announced on November 13. You can pay a £99 deposit on OnePlus’s website to reserve your right to order the phone on launch day.