I spent the last ten days using the OnePlus 15 as my main camera, and it started with a missed subway shot.
I was lining up a quick frame of a train pulling into the station, low light, lots of motion, the kind of scene that exposes bad image processing instantly. I’ve done that test with everything from a Pixel 8 Pro to a Galaxy S24 Ultra. This time, the OnePlus 15 actually nailed it on the third try.
That pretty much sums up this camera: often impressive, sometimes frustrating, and way more serious than OnePlus’ older “good enough” shooters.
OnePlus 15 camera hardware: finally flagship-level
Let’s start with the hardware, because OnePlus clearly came to play this year. The main sensor is a 1/1.3-inch 50MP unit with a fast f/1.6 lens and optical image stabilization. Beside it, you get a 48MP ultra-wide and a 64MP 3x telephoto, also stabilized.
On paper, this is the most balanced camera setup OnePlus has shipped. The previous generation leaned too heavily on the main sensor and handed you mushy details from the auxiliary lenses. Here, the ultra-wide and telephoto are finally usable in more than daylight.
Processing runs on the Snapdragon 8 Gen 4, paired with OnePlus’ proprietary image pipeline and the ongoing Hasselblad tuning partnership. The phone I tested was the 12GB RAM / 256GB storage variant, which should be the sweet spot for most buyers.
However, specs only get you so far. The real question is whether the OnePlus 15 can hang with Pixel and Galaxy in real-world shooting, not just in staged marketing samples.
Real-world photo quality: OnePlus 15 vs Pixel and Galaxy
In daylight, the OnePlus 15 is honestly excellent. Dynamic range is wide, highlights rarely blow out, and shadows hold onto detail without turning everything into HDR soup. Colors still lean a bit warm and punchy, but the cartoonish saturation of older OnePlus cameras is mostly gone.
Against the Pixel 8 Pro, the OnePlus 15 produces slightly brighter, more contrasty shots. The Pixel stays more neutral and often preserves subtle skin tones better. Meanwhile, the Galaxy S24 Ultra still pushes blues and greens harder, especially in sky and foliage.
On the flip side, OnePlus’ sharpening is more restrained this year. You don’t see as many halo artifacts around tree branches or building edges when you zoom in. That said, when you crop to 100%, the Pixel still delivers cleaner micro-detail, especially in texture-heavy scenes like bricks or grass.
Low light is where the story gets more complicated. When there’s some ambient light, the OnePlus 15 does very well. Night mode kicks in quickly, noise is controlled, and colors stay surprisingly accurate. However, in really dark scenes, the phone can over-smooth detail and smear textures, particularly on the ultra-wide.
In my side-by-side tests, the Pixel 8 Pro still wins in the most challenging night shots, pulling more realistic texture from brick walls and faces. The S24 Ultra sometimes produces brighter images than both, but its noise reduction can get aggressive. The OnePlus 15 sits comfortably in that mix, which is already a huge jump from older OnePlus phones.
Telephoto, portrait, and ultra-wide: finally not an afterthought
Building on the stronger main camera, OnePlus finally takes the secondary lenses seriously. The 3x telephoto is sharp in daylight and good enough in indoor lighting, though it starts to struggle faster than the S24 Ultra’s 5x periscope in dim environments.
Detail at 3x is solid, and 6x hybrid zoom is usable for social media, though not something I’d print. In comparison, the Pixel 8 Pro’s 5x telephoto gives you more reach and better detail at longer distances, but 3x framing on the OnePlus 15 is more natural for portraits and everyday shots.
Speaking of portraits, this is where the Hasselblad collaboration actually feels real. Subject separation is noticeably better than last year, with fewer weird cutouts around ears and hair. Skin tones are still slightly beautified by default, but you don’t get the plastic look that plagued older OxygenOS builds.
The ultra-wide is the sleeper win here. Distortion is well-controlled, colors match the main camera much more closely, and detail holds up even toward the edges. However, in low light the ultra-wide falls behind the Pixel and Galaxy, introducing more noise and losing fine texture.
Overall, the telephoto and ultra-wide finally feel like part of the same camera system, not cheaper sensors bolted on for marketing slides.
Speed, reliability, and video: where the cracks show
Camera quality is one thing; reliability is another. During my week and a half with the phone, shutter lag was generally low, and focusing was fast in good light. However, in low light and backlit scenes, the OnePlus 15 sometimes hesitated, refocusing right as I hit the shutter.
That behavior cost me a few otherwise great candid shots. Meanwhile, the Pixel 8 Pro consistently grabbed the shot I wanted on the first tap in the same conditions. The difference is small, but it matters if you shoot kids, pets, or anything that moves.
Video is where the OnePlus 15 still feels a step behind the iPhone 15 Pro Max and S24 Ultra. 4K 60fps stabilization is decent, and detail is respectable, but exposure can shift mid-clip a bit too often. Panning introduces some visible micro-judder that Apple and Samsung have mostly smoothed out.
Audio recording is fine outdoors but picks up wind more aggressively than it should. Indoors, voices are clear, though background noise reduction can occasionally pump in and out. For casual video, it’s good; for serious content creators, it’s behind the top competition.
That said, the new HDR processing in video is a clear upgrade from the OnePlus 12 series. Highlights are better controlled, and high-contrast scenes no longer blow out as dramatically.
Software processing and Hasselblad tuning: more mature, still opinionated
Let’s talk about the software side, because that’s where OnePlus has historically tripped over itself. OxygenOS 15’s camera app is fast to launch, layout is clean, and jumping between lenses is smooth. Pro mode is still one of the more complete options on Android, letting you tweak ISO, shutter, focus, and white balance.
However, OnePlus’ image processing philosophy remains more “Instagram-ready” than “reference-accurate.” Even with Hasselblad color science, images are tuned to look punchy on the phone’s 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED panel, not necessarily true to life.
Notably, skin tones are improved but still inconsistent. Indoors under warm lighting, faces can shift a bit too orange compared to both Pixel and iPhone. Outdoors, it usually does better, delivering natural and flattering tones without over-smoothing.
White balance can also swing slightly from shot to shot in mixed lighting, especially with the ultra-wide. It’s not dramatic, but once you notice it, you can’t unsee it. This is the kind of thing software updates could fix, assuming OnePlus actually prioritizes it.
The Hasselblad-branded filters and modes are fun, but they’re not why you buy this phone. The real value of the partnership is in the more controlled color and contrast tuning across lenses. That part finally feels mature, even if it still leans stylized.
Price, positioning, and whether the OnePlus 15 camera lives up to the hype
Here’s where things get interesting from an industry angle. The OnePlus 15 starts around $899 in many markets, undercutting some direct rivals like the $999 Pixel 8 Pro and many Galaxy S24 Ultra configurations. For that price, you’re getting a camera system that finally sits in the same conversation as those phones.
However, this is not the absolute best camera phone you can buy. Pixel still takes the lead in low light and computational magic, especially with zoom and tricky HDR scenes. Samsung still wins on extreme zoom reach and video versatility. Apple still delivers the most consistent video and autofocusing.
What OnePlus has done is close the gap enough that camera quality is no longer a deal-breaker. If you like OxygenOS, fast charging, and OnePlus hardware design, you no not have to apologize for your photos anymore.
From an industry perspective, that matters. It pressures Samsung and Google to keep pushing, and it gives Android buyers another serious option outside the usual suspects. It also shows that sensor size and lens counts aren’t enough; tuning and reliability remain the real battleground.
To sum up, the OnePlus 15 camera finally matches most of its hype, but it doesn’t rewrite the rules. If you live inside Google Photos editing tools and obsess over low-light performance, the Pixel 8 Pro still makes more sense. If you want long zoom and top-tier video, look to Samsung or Apple.
But if you’ve been a OnePlus fan waiting for a camera that doesn’t feel like a compromise, the OnePlus 15 is the first model where I can say the photos hold up in real life. Ultimately, the OnePlus 15 camera doesn’t just look good in marketing slides; it’s now good enough to stand toe-to-toe with the big names, even if it doesn’t always beat them.