Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 proves too hot for the OnePlus 15

We’ve had a few Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5-powered smartphones in-house recently, and the results have been somewhat mixed. The gaming-oriented REDMAGIC 11 Pro excelled in our toughest benchmarking tests, largely due to its fan-assisted, liquid cooling setup. Meanwhile, the realme GT8 Pro runs extremely hot and has to throttle back its performance to make it through — but it manages to hang on.

In the lab today, we have the OnePlus 15 — our first mainstream flagship to feature Qualcomm’s latest processor. Unfortunately, it’s the worst performer yet.

Starting with the good news, the phone performs well in CPU benchmarks without any issues. GeekBench 6 runs as well as our other Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 handsets, although their multi-core scores are significantly behind Qualcomm’s reference handset, which we saw during the announcement. Even so, those Oryon CPU cores far surpass the capabilities of Google’s Tensor G5 and keep it marginally ahead of the new Arm C1-Ultra cores inside the OPPO Find X9 Pro as well.

While the phone may not be able to handle prolonged periods of demanding 3D workloads, single 3DMark benchmark tests can run to completion. However, the results are also quite disappointing. Based on our tests, the two other 8 Elite Gen 5 phones we’ve tested outperform the OnePlus 15 by roughly 9% to 17%, even when heat isn’t a significant factor. The Arm G1-Ultra GPU configuration inside the Dimensity 9500 also leads by 15% to 18% Wild Life Extreme and Solar Bay, respectively. That definitely raises some eyebrows.

When we inquired about the phone’s inability to complete these popular stress tests, a OnePlus spokesperson provided the following statement.

In everyday use—whether multitasking or heavy-duty gaming—the units run within normal thermal limits; we’ve received no reports of excessive heat.

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 delivers our highest peak performance yet, so in prolonged, all-out workloads it reaches the thermal ceiling sooner. We are already refining the thermal curve so that our peak performance remains uncompromised while surface temperatures stay comfortable.

Does that argument hold much water? Well, it’s certainly true that 3DMark’s stress tests are often more demanding than typical daily use cases and even many popular Android games. Just because the phone overheats during a stress test doesn’t mean it won’t take you through a solid session of Genshin Impact or COD Mobile with robust frame rates.

However, that’s not the whole picture. Tests like 3DMark’s Wild Life and Wild Life Extreme are somewhat old compared to some of the latest graphics-intensive benchmarks and games, and yet the OnePlus 15 still struggles with them. In real use cases, classic game emulation can significantly stress CPU and GPU components as much or more than these tests, necessitating sustained performance to run smoothly for extended periods. If the OnePlus 15 struggles with these stress tests, it probably won’t handle more demanding emulators for longer play sessions.

Nevertheless, I have two other major concerns here. First, what’s the point of a powerhouse processor that your customers can’t use to its full potential? Thermal management is essential, but what we’re seeing here is a virtually complete shutdown of the phone if temperatures become too high. Either the phone isn’t throttling clocks or it’s not throttling aggressively enough to keep the handset cool in worst-case scenarios. That’s not necessarily OnePlus’s fault; Qualcomm certainly shares the blame if its newest Adreno GPU can’t run at peak potential for very long within the constraints of a mobile form factor.

More damning, though, is that other brands aren’t overheating. Yes, the realme GT8 Pro throttles excessively, and the REDMAGIC 11 Pro has a mammoth cooling setup, but consumers are quite right to ask why the OnePlus 15 can’t match the capabilities of its competitors. Perhaps more concerning is that the OPPO Find X9 Pro — the 15’s sister handset — completes these very same tests without issue, courtesy of its MediaTek Dimensity 9500 processor, while delivering similar peak performance potential.

Unfortunately, this result isn’t hugely surprising. Some smartphones struggled to remain cool with last year’s Snapdragon 8 Elite, and with performance notching up another gear, the situation looks to be as precarious, if not worse, with the 8 Elite Gen 5. Next year’s move to a 2nm process can’t come soon enough— provided the benefits are put towards efficiency and energy savings rather than yet more performance.

What does this mean in practice for consumers? Well, OnePlus is correct that the phone won’t burn a hole in your pocket while performing everyday tasks. However, heavy gamers, emulator fans, and those who use their phones for far more demanding tasks might want to consider a handset that doesn’t risk buckling under stress.