OnePlus has provided further information on its upcoming flagship smartphone at the Qualcomm Snapdragon Summit in China, confirming the device will be called the OnePlus 15. It will run on Qualcomm’s new Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset and feature a 165 Hz refresh–rate display.
Why the name jump and hardware highlights
Observers may wonder why the company has skipped “OnePlus 14.” OnePlus appears to be avoiding the number “4” — often considered unlucky in Chinese culture — so the successor to the OnePlus 13 is now the OnePlus 15. The firm showed a black version of the device on stage at the event, noting that it bears more resemblance to the OnePlus 13T (marketed as 13S in India) than to the 13. It sports a rounded square camera island, and OnePlus is likely to replace its traditional alert slider with a customisable shortcut button.
Apart from the name and design changes, the confirmed hardware includes Qualcomm’s freshly launched Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and a 165 Hz display — both major upgrades over previous models.
A break from Hasselblad and the introduction of DetailMax
Perhaps the most striking change is OnePlus’s decision to end its five-year partnership with camera specialist Hasselblad. The collaboration had provided co-developed imaging algorithms and branding for prior flagship models. In the future, OnePlus will rely on its own image processing technology, termed the “DetailMax Engine.” CEO Pete Lau recently confirmed that while OnePlus will no longer use Hasselblad’s camera processing, its parent company, Oppo, will continue this partnership.
The OnePlus 15 is expected to be the first flagship device to implement the new DetailMax Engine, which aims to deliver high clarity and more realistic images without Hasselblad’s influence.
OnePlus says it will reveal further specifications and details in the coming weeks as its new flagship approaches launch.
