OnePlus recently pushed back against rumors that the company was being torn apart. Now, a new leak has surfaced about their next compact flagship phone, the OnePlus 15T, and the cameras it might pack.
A Chinese tech insider known as Digital Chat Station posted on Weibo about a small phone running on the Snapdragon 8E5 chip that’s apparently finished and ready to go. People think this phone is the OnePlus 15T.
The interesting part is that the leak suggests OnePlus might go with just two cameras on the back instead of the usual three or four you see on most flagship phones these days. Both cameras would be 50 megapixels: one main camera for everyday shots and one telephoto lens for zooming in on distant subjects.
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This dual-camera approach could be OnePlus trying something different with their compact model. Whether they actually release it this way remains to be seen, but the rumor gives us a peek at what OnePlus might have in store for its smaller flagship device.
Compact Flagship Phone with better battery and camera
The OnePlus 13T (called the OnePlus 13S in India) features a 50MP Sony IMX890 main camera with an f/1.8 aperture and a 1/1.56-inch sensor. The second camera is also 50MP, with an f/2.0 aperture and a 1/2.76-inch sensor, and it offers 2x optical zoom.
I spent some time testing the phone’s camera, and it performs pretty well overall. When you take photos in good daylight, the pictures come out sharp with nice color balance and contrast.
The low-light photos are okay, but you can tell the phone is working hard to brighten them up, which sometimes makes them look a bit artificial.
The zoom lens is where things get a little frustrating. It doesn’t have optical image stabilization, so taking portrait shots can be tough. You need steady hands to avoid blurry images, especially when your subject is moving.
The front camera is different depending on where you buy the phone. The OnePlus 13T has a 16MP selfie camera, while the OnePlus 13S bumps that up to 32MP. Both take good selfies for everyday use.
Based on what we’re hearing about the OnePlus 15T, it looks like the company plans to keep the same camera setup from the current model. They might make small changes to things like aperture size or sensor dimensions, or possibly add an ultrawide camera, but the core setup will probably stay the same.
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The same source also says this phone will have the largest battery ever in a small phone. That lines up with earlier rumors claiming the 6.3-inch device will pack a battery between 7,000 and 7,500 mAh.
This makes sense when you look at OnePlus’s recent phones. The OnePlus 15 has a 7,300 mAh battery, and the OnePlus 15R comes with 7,400 mAh, so the company clearly knows how to fit large batteries into its devices.
Here’s the catch for American buyers: OnePlus has a history of keeping these smaller flagship phones out of the U.S. market. Last year’s OnePlus 13T and OnePlus 13S never made it to America, staying in Asian and European markets instead.
Things got more complicated recently when a tipster from India said OnePlus might cancel the OnePlus 15S altogether. That’s the name they use in India for what’s called the OnePlus 15T in other countries.
I’m not getting my hopes up about seeing this phone in the U.S., but I’ll still be watching when OnePlus launches it in China.
You never know when companies might change their strategy and surprise everyone with a wider release. It’s happened before, even if it’s rare.
