OnePlus 15 leaks reveal exciting upgrades that could challenge Galaxy S26 Ultra
OnePlus is rumored to give its next flagship phone a number of big upgrades, including a new imaging engine
📱 The OnePlus 15 sounds like a big upgrade, according to leaks
📸 The device is rumored to have a new imaging engine for enhanced photography
🔋 It could also come with a big OLED screen and a 7,000mAh battery
👀 It could be one of the biggest threats to Samsung’s Galaxy S26 Ultra next year
📅 OnePlus is rumored to release the OnePlus 15 in Asian markets this fall
OnePlus could have one of the most compelling smartphones of 2026 on its hands. New leaks are revealing what we can expect from the company’s next flagship, the OnePlus 15, and it sounds like it could have some impressive specs, including a huge battery and the first image processing engine OnePlus has ever created. It could give the Galaxy S26 Ultra a run for its money, which is rumored to be a lighter spec bump compared to this year’s Galaxy S25 Ultra.
The biggest addition to the OnePlus 15 will be OnePlus’ image engine. The company has been working on it for four years, according to a report from Smartprix, and it could finally bring its camera quality up to par with the likes of Samsung, Google, and Apple, especially at night. The image engine is an important tool in each smartphone as it controls how images and videos are processed after you take them, and up until now, OnePlus has had to use alternative engines with additional processing from Hasselblad.
This could mean that the OnePlus 15 will be the first flagship from the company without Hasselblad branding in a long time. It’s unclear if the companies will continue their partnership with future devices, but as far as the OnePlus 15 is concerned, it seems like it could be going away.
To coincide with the new image engine, the OnePlus 15 is expected to have a redesigned camera layout in rectangular housing in the top left corner, opposed to a huge circle like on the OnePlus 13. The triple camera system will use 50MP sensors for the main lens, the telephoto, and the ultra-wide. I’ll be very curious to see how they each perform when this phone comes out.
In addition, the OnePlus 15 is said to come with a big 6.78-inch flat OLED display with a 165Hz refresh rate, which could make it look even smoother than the current crop of silky-smooth 120Hz displays on the smartphone market. A Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 is rumored to power the device, along with up to 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
The battery could clock in at a massive 7,000mAh with 100W SuperVOOC charging, which sounds straight-up insane. Colors are expected to include Black, Purple, Titanium, and a special “SuperBlack” finish that’s said to absorb all reflecting light (I imagine OnePlus is using vanta black paint for this).
🆚 OnePlus 15 could be more compelling than the Galaxy S26 Ultra
With these upgrades, the OnePlus 15 could give Samsung a bigger challenge than ever before. The South Korean company’s Galaxy S26 Ultra, which is expected to drop sometime in early 2026, is rumored to have the same overall feature set as the S25 Ultra, with a new chip and slightly larger battery in the mix. It doesn’t seem like Samsung will be offering as many upgrades as OnePlus, which could make the OnePlus 15 a more exciting device for the North American market. We’ll have to wait and see how these rumors play out to know for sure.
OnePlus is rumored to drop the OnePlus 15 sometime before the end of the year in certain Asian and European markets. We don’t expect it to come to North America until early 2026.
Max Buondonno is an editor at The Shortcut. He’s been reporting on the latest consumer technology since 2015, with his work featured on CNN Underscored, ZDNET, How-To Geek, XDA, TheStreet, and more. Follow him on X @LegendaryScoop and Instagram @LegendaryScoop.