Hear me out: OPPO doesn’t want OnePlus to succeed

Take a closer look, though, and it’s clear that we’re looking at a sidegrade or even a downgrade in some places. This wouldn’t be the first time OnePlus followed a fantastic flagship phone with a disappointing device. In fact, there seems to be a rough pattern emerging in recent years, and I’ve come to an absurd conclusion. OPPO doesn’t really want OnePlus to truly succeed — at least not at the expense of OPPO’s own flagship phones.

The OnePlus 13 is a fantastic phone, but it’s clear that the OnePlus 15 is a step back in a few ways. The most notable downgrade is the rear camera system, as the main, telephoto, and ultrawide sensors are replaced with smaller sensors. The main and periscope lenses also see narrower apertures. It’s not all bad, as the 3.5x periscope camera offers slightly longer reach than the OnePlus 13’s 3x shooter. However, you’re still getting weaker camera specs in general, and that’s disappointing in light of the OnePlus 13’s excellent camera experience.

This isn’t the only polarizing move, as the OnePlus 15 has a 1.5K 165Hz OLED screen compared to the OnePlus 13’s 120Hz QHD+ display. OnePlus claimed that this screen is actually more expensive than the OnePlus 13 display and that a 165Hz QHD+ screen isn’t technically possible. But it’s still a resolution downgrade after years of QHD+ displays. The company has also swapped out the alert slider for a shortcut button. I was never a fan of the alert slider and prefer a remappable shortcut button, but this will certainly draw the ire of some long-time OnePlus fans.

It’s not the first time OnePlus flagships have taken a step back, though. The OnePlus 11 was a confusing release following the OnePlus 10 Pro, as it lacked the Pro model’s (admittedly carrier-exclusive) IP68 rating and wireless charging, while offering disappointing cameras. The OnePlus 12 was a much-improved phone, but still lacked proper water resistance and a top-tier camera experience. Even the OnePlus 10 Pro was a somewhat middling release compared to the OnePlus 9 Pro, owing to a downgraded ultrawide camera, lack of mmWave in the US (admittedly not a big deal in 2025), and carrier-exclusive IP rating.

And who could forget the OnePlus 10T? This was perhaps the nadir of OnePlus flagship releases, as it lacked an alert slider and wireless charging. Furthermore, it offered a meager IP54 rating (and only in the US) and subpar cameras.

Go back even further, and the OnePlus 8 series isn’t as fondly remembered as the OnePlus 7 range and OnePlus 7 Pro in particular. That’s largely due to OnePlus increasing prices after years of aggressively priced flagships, along with the OnePlus 8 Pro’s gimmicky color filter camera.

Back in 2023, I first wondered whether OPPO was intentionally trying to ruin OnePlus. I eventually came to the conclusion that OPPO was making several calculated gambles to ensure OnePlus gained mainstream adoption.

Now? I have a new, somewhat crazy theory about OnePlus’s inconsistent flagship releases. I don’t think OPPO wants OnePlus flagship phones to outshine its most expensive Find X phones. After all, why buy the £1,049 OPPO Find X8 Pro when you can get the £899 OnePlus 13 that does 95% of the job? So, whenever OnePlus delivers a genuinely excellent all-rounder flagship that threatens the Find X Pro phones, OPPO tries to ensure this doesn’t happen again. At least not for a few generations as OnePlus picks itself back up again. That’s the only way I can explain why brilliant phones like the OnePlus 7T series, OnePlus 9 Pro, and OnePlus 13 are interspersed with the OnePlus 10T, OnePlus 11, and OnePlus 15.

The Hasselblad deal seems to be somewhat compelling evidence. OnePlus scored this deal first, with OPPO following one year later. Now, OnePlus lacks Hasselblad branding, while the OPPO Find X9 series retains this partnership, to the detriment of the OnePlus 15’s image quality, as noted in our review. I thought OnePlus’s deal may have simply elapsed first, as it signed the deal first, and that OPPO’s agreement could expire in a year’s time. However, OPPO and Hasselblad actually signed an extension earlier this year. So it certainly feels like OPPO is stealing a key OnePlus selling point.

Another piece of evidence is that OnePlus flagships haven’t been available via major carriers for a while now. It’s possible that this is because OnePlus and OPPO want to fly under the radar amid ongoing US/China political tensions. Or maybe OnePlus and OPPO simply refuse to spend resources on US carrier testing and other related activities because they don’t think the sales justify the expenditure. This failure to achieve significant carrier support means OnePlus flagships have little hope of carving out a decent slice of the pie in the US, even though OPPO is more focused on global market. It makes you wonder about the brand’s long-term viability in a market where carrier sales are king.

This theory isn’t based on any concrete facts, but if one thing is clear, it’s that OnePlus is following up its first truly excellent all-round flagship in years with a downgraded release in some ways. Having this happen once would be a shame, but it’s not unheard of. However, it seems like OnePlus has a cycle of good-to-great flagships followed by disappointing follow-ups. Maybe it’s a deliberate attempt by OPPO to keep OnePlus in check. Maybe OnePlus doesn’t know how to build two great phones in a row, much like Nintendo and its rough cycle of successful and not-so-successful home consoles.

It’s also entirely possible (and perhaps more likely) that we see this pattern of great and disappointing phones because OnePlus is caught in an awkward middle ground. The company’s recent high-end phones aren’t Ultra devices with price tags to match, nor are they aggressively priced releases to undercut Samsung and Apple’s $800 phones. So the company might have to follow an awkward balancing act as it tries to outperform base flagships while avoiding Ultra prices. The OnePlus 15 could be a by-product of this approach, as OnePlus makes compromises in some places to avoid price hikes. But I’m not sure this theory holds water when the OnePlus 15 is actually cheaper in China than the OnePlus 13.

In any event, it’s disappointing to see OnePlus release a strong contender for 2025’s phone of the year, only to release the OnePlus 15. OnePlus has long struggled to deliver a world-class camera experience, so why sacrifice the cameras just when you’ve finally shown you can deliver a fantastic camera phone?