What’s happened? A fresh OnePlus 15 rumor suggests the firm’s next flagship smartphone could arrive with a dramatically different design to its predecessor.
- According to reliable tipster Digital Chat Station, OnePlus could ditch the sizable circular camera block which has dominated its recent handsets, including the OnePlus 13, OnePlus 13R, OnePlus 12 and OnePlus 11.
- The translated post says “the Deco design of the new SM8850 phone is not a big circle. The engineering unit I have touched so far has a small square matrix in the upper left corner.”
- We’re also told the OnePlus 15 could have a 50MP main camera as part of a triple sensor setup on the rear, 100W charging and Qualcomm’s rumored next-gen flagship chipset, the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2.
This is important because: OnePlus has used the same general design for its last three flagship handsets, so a redesign is certainly due. With Apple tipped to change up the rear camera design on the iPhone 17 series, OnePlus might be looking to keep things fresh for its next handset.
- To date, a square camera block has dominated Apple’s iPhone design language since it was introduced on the iPhone 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max in 2019.
- We may have already been given a preview of this layout on the OnePlus 13s and OnePlus 13T, both of which sport iPhone-like square rear camera blocks.
Why should I care? A major redesign after three years of minimal visual changes is an exciting prospect for OnePlus fans and for those looking for an alternative flagship handset.
- Redesigns tend to also bring other significant upgrades, which could make the OnePlus 15 a particularly interesting device.
- The OnePlus 13 was very well received at the start of this year, as we declared it “brilliant” in our 4.5 star review – so hopes are high for the next flagship from the firm.
Okay, what’s next? This is very much a rumor for now, and should be taken with a pinch of salt. As OnePlus 15 leaks are few and far between at the moment, we don’t have a particularly clear picture of what this flagship phone might offer.
- Going by previous OnePlus launches, we’d expect a global launch for the OnePlus 15 to happen in early January – but it might be launched in its native China before the end of this year.
- While you wait for more OnePlus 15 details to appear, there’s plenty of phone activity happening in the coming weeks, with the Google Pixel 10 series launching on August 20, followed by the iPhone 17 launch we expect to happen in mid-September, possibly on September 9.
