OnePlus is ready to sell its new flagship smartphone in the US weeks after it made the device official. Having now finally gotten Federal Communications Commission clearance, the OnePlus 15 is available for preorder. Itβs currently only live on the OnePlus storefront, but the device will eventually come to Amazon and Best Buy as well.
The OnePlus 15 launched in China earlier this year, and it was supposed to go on sale in the US a month ago. However, the longest US government shutdown on record got in the way. Most of the FCCβs functions were suspended during the weekslong funding lapse, which prevented the agency from certifying new wireless products. Without that approval, OnePlus could not begin selling the phone. Thus, it had no firm release date when the phone was officially unveiled for the US in early November.
Interested parties can head to the OnePlus website to place an order. The base model starts at $900 with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. This version is only available in black. If you want the Ultraviolet or Sand Storm (with the distinctive micro-arc oxidation finish), youβll have to upgrade to the $1,000 version, which has 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
With a lightweight design, AMOLED display, and full health tracking suite, it could become an appealing alternative to pricier Apple and Samsung options.
The OnePlus 15 isn't a perfect phone, but it pushes the envelope in ways that mainstream plays often skip. Apple must pay attention to its strengths if it seeks to supercharge the iPhone 18 lineup.
The OnePlus 15 is neither brash, nor bold. It's more like a subtle refinement that manages to deliver high on practicality, with some signature performance-centric oomph.
The wait is finally nearing an end for those of us in the US who have been waiting on the OnePlus 15. After being caught in the aftermath of the recent US government shutdown, the device has received regulatory clearance to enter the American market.
OnePlus got its start courting the enthusiast community by offering blazing-fast phones for a low price. While the prices arenβt quite as low as they once were, the new OnePlus 15 still delivers on value. Priced at $899, this phone sports the latest and most powerful Snapdragon processor, the largest battery in a mainstream smartphone, and a super-fast screen.
The OnePlus 15 still doesnβt deliver the most satisfying software experience, and the camera may actually be a step back for the company, but the things OnePlus gets right are very right. Itβs a fast, sleek phone that runs for ages on a charge, and itβs a little cheaper than the competition. But its shortcomings make it hard to recommend this device over the latest from Google or Samsungβor even the flagship phone OnePlus released 10 months ago.
US buyers have time to mull it over, though. Because of the recent government shutdown, Federal Communications Commission approval of the OnePlus 15 has been delayed. The company says it will release the phone as soon as it can, but thereβs no exact date yet.
OnePlus has been making Android phones for almost a decade, but it has yet to dip its toe in the tablet market. Thatβs about to change, though. The company, a subsidiary of Chinese mega-firm Oppo, has posted a teaser on its website showing a very green tablet with a prominent rear-facing camera.
OnePlus has an event scheduled for Feb. 7 where we expect to hear all about the new OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Buds Pro 2, but the βOnePlus Padβ might make an appearance as well, reports TechRadar. The tablet has an aluminum frame with narrow bezels around the display, and if you look closely at the teaser, thereβs a small front-facing camera at the top above the screen. Aside from that, we donβt know anything specific about the hardware β not even the size.
The βsmooth without equalβ tagline in the promo image suggests it will have a high-refresh display, but that could also just be a clunky translation referring to something like the internal specifications. OnePlus is known for always jumping on the latest Qualcomm chips. We expect the OnePlus 11 (see below) will be one of the first phones to ship with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip. A tablet with the same hardware could be very interesting, as weβre not expecting Samsung to refresh its high-end tablet lineup until later in 2023.
For years, weβve seen Android OEMs getting out of the tablet market one by one as Google continued to ignore large form factors. Currently, only Samsung and Amazon have significant tablet offerings, with Samsung offering extremely expensive but powerful tablets while Amazon focuses on the low-end. The tablet market desperately needs something in between, and the OnePlus Pad might be it.
This is the right time for an OEM like OnePlus to take a risk on tablets, too. Google has finally started paying attention to large-format Android again. With Android 12L last year, Google added important multitasking and UI features for tablets and foldables, and Android 13 enhanced that support. That means OnePlus can build a tablet without creating its own tablet-optimized interface from scratch. Android still has a way to go before it catches up with iPadOS, but things are much better than they were just a year ago.