Phone comparison · UK prices · October 2026
OnePlus 15R or Galaxy S26 FE: which should you buy?
The short answer
The OnePlus 15R leads on battery life, the screen, speed and toughness. The Galaxy S26 FE has a zoom lens. We have no current UK price for the OnePlus 15R.
Comparing 2 phones
OnePlus 15ROverall score 89/100
Galaxy S26 FEOverall score 83/100
Differences in daily life
Battery and charging
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R has the bigger battery (7,400 mAh vs 4,900 mAh on the Samsung), which may help it last longer between charges.
It also charges faster by cable (80 W vs 45 W on the Samsung), so it tops up quicker with a compatible charger.
Screen
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R has the brighter screen (3,600 nits vs 1,900 nits on the Samsung), so it is easier to read in strong sunlight.
It also has the smoother screen (165 Hz vs 120 Hz on the Samsung), so scrolling and animations look more fluid.
Camera
Depends on youThe Galaxy S26 FE is the only one with a zoom lens (3x), so it can get closer to faraway subjects without cropping the photo.
The OnePlus 15R's selfie camera has more megapixels (32 MP vs 12 MP on the Samsung), so selfies and video calls can look more detailed.
Speed
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R's chip (Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5) scores higher in benchmark tests than the one in the Samsung (Samsung Exynos 2500), so it should feel quicker in demanding apps and games.
It also has more memory (12GB vs 8GB on the Samsung), which helps it keep more apps open at once.
Toughness
Best: OnePlus 15RThe OnePlus 15R has the better water and dust rating (IP69K vs IP68 on the Samsung), so on top of surviving a dunk it is also rated against high-pressure water jets.
Size and weight
EvenBoth have a similar size (163.4 × 77 mm and 161.6 × 76.9 mm) and similar screen sizes (6.83 inches and 6.7 inches), close enough not to matter much day to day.
Still can't decide?
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Scores
| Score | OnePlus 15R | Galaxy S26 FE |
|---|---|---|
| Battery | 91 | 74 |
| Screen | 93 | 82 |
| Camera | 79 | 85 |
| Speed | 91 | 87 |
| Toughness | 90 | 89 |
| Connections and extras | 87 | 82 |
| Overall | 89 | 83 |
How these scores are made: Each score is calculated from the maker's published specs and benchmark results, using one fixed formula for every phone. We have not tested these phones in the hand. How we score phones
Specs side by side
Display
- Type
- AMOLEDDynamic AMOLED 2X
- Size
- 6.83 inches6.7 inches
- Resolution
- 1272 × 2800 pixels1080 × 2340 pixels
- Refresh rate
- 165 Hz120 Hz
- PPI
- 450385
- Aspect ratio
- N/A19.5:9
- Screen-to-body ratio
- ≈ 90.1 %88.7 %
- Display features
- 1 billion colors, Capacitive Touchscreen, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, HDR Vivid, Multi-touch display, PWM Dimming, Ultra HDR image supportCapacitive Touchscreen HDR10+ Multi-touch display
- Max rated brightness
- 3600 nits1900 nits
- Screen protection
- Corning Gorilla Glass 7i, Mohs level 5Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+, Mohs level 5
Core Specifications
- Chipset
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5Samsung Exynos 2500
- CPU cores
- 810
- Fabrication Technology
- 3 nm3 nm
- CPU max frequency
- 3800 MHz3300 MHz
- Microarchitecture
- 2x 3.8 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix L, 6x 3.32 GHz – Oryon V3 Phoenix M1x 3.3 GHz – Cortex-X925 2x 2.74 GHz – Cortex-A725 5x 2.36 GHz – Cortex-A725 2x 1.8 GHz – Cortex-A520
- GPU
- Qualcomm Adreno 829Samsung Xclipse 950
- RAM
- 12GB8GB
- Storage
- 256GB, 512GB128GB, 256GB, 512GB
- Storage Type
- UFS 4.1UFS 4.0
Software
- Operating System
- Android 16 (Baklava)Android 17 (Cinnamon Bun) , with up to 7 major OS updates
Main Camera
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30/60/120 fps, 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps4320p @ 24/30 fps 2160p @ 30/60/120 fps 1080p @ 30/60/120/240 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)Gyro-EIS, HDR10+
- Features
- Color Spectrum sensor, High Dynamic Range (HDR), PanoramaBest Face High Dynamic Range (HDR) Panorama
- Lenses
- 50 MP, ƒ/1.8, 24 mm (Wide angle), 1.0 μm, 1/1.56" Sensor size, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), PDAF 8 MP, ƒ/2.2, 16 mm, 112° (Ultra-wide angle), 1.12 μm, 1/4.0" Sensor size50 MP , ƒ /1.8, 24 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.0 μm , 1/1.57" Sensor size Dual-Pixel PDAF Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) 8 MP , ƒ /2.4, 75 mm ( Telephoto ), 1.0 μm , x3 Optical zoom, 1/4.4" Sensor size Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) PDAF 12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 123° ( Ultra-wide angle )
Selfie camera
- Matrix
- 32 MP12 MP
- Lenses
- Single camera: 32 MP, ƒ/2.0, 25 mm (Wide angle), Autofocus (AF)12 MP , ƒ /2.2, 26 mm ( Wide angle ), 1.12 μm , 1/3.2" Sensor size
- Video Resolution
- 2160p @ 30 fps, 1080p @ 30 fps2160p @ 30/60 fps 1080p @ 30/60 fps
- Video Features
- Gyro-EIS, Optical Image Stabilization (OIS)Gyro-EIS, HDR10+
- Features
- High Dynamic Range (HDR), PanoramaN/A
General
- Announced
- Wednesday, 17 December 2025Thursday, 27 August 2026
- Released
- Monday, 22 December 2025Friday, 04 September 2026
Battery
- Capacity
- 7400 mAh4900 mAh
- Type
- Si/C Li-IonLi-Ion
- Wired charging power
- 80 W45 W
- Wireless charging support
- N/AYes
- Wireless charging power
- N/A15 W
- Features
- Color Spectrum sensor, High Dynamic Range (HDR), PanoramaQi2 compatible Reverse wireless charging Wired charging from 0-69% in 30 min (as advertised)
Design
- Height
- 163.4 mm161.6 mm
- Width
- 77 mm76.9 mm
- Thickness
- 8.1 mm7.4 mm
- Weight
- 213 g193 g
- Resistance certificate
- IP68, IP69KIP68
- Resistance cert. meaning
- Dust and water-resistant (withstands high-pressure water jets; submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)Dust-tight and water-resistant (submersible up to 1.5m for 30 minutes)
Network
- SIM cards
- Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM)Dual SIM (Nano-SIM + Nano-SIM + eSIM + eSIM)
- Network_5G bands
- n1, n3, n5, n8, n26, n28, n38, n40, n41, n48, n66, n77, n785G: n1 (2100), n2 (1900), n3 (1800), n5 (850), n7 (2600), n8 (900), n12 (700), n20 (800), n25 (1900), n26 (850), n28 (700), n38 (2600), n40 (2300), n41 (2500), n66 (2100), n75 (1500), n77 (3700), n78 (3500 MHz)
- Network_4G bands
- b1, b3, b4, b5, b8, b18, b19, b26, b28, b34, b38, b39, b40, b41, b42, b48, b66LTE: b1 (2100), b2 (1900), b3 (1800), b4 (1700), b5 (850), b7 (2600), b8 (900), b12 (700), b13 (700), b17 (700), b18 (800), b19 (800), b20 (800), b25 (1900), b26 (850), b28 (700), b32 (1500), b38 (2600), b40 (2300), b41 (2500), b66 (1700 MHz)
- Network_3G bands
- HSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 2100 / 800 MHzHSPA: 850 / 900 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 MHz
Connectivity
- WiFi support
- Yes (Wi-Fi 7)Yes ( Wi-Fi 6 )
- Bluetooth support
- Yes, v6.0Yes, v5.4
- USB ports
- USB Type-C 2.0, USB On-The-GoUSB Type-C 2.0 USB On-The-Go
- GPS features
- BDS (B1I & B1C & B2a), GALILEO (E1 & E5a), GLONASS (G1), GPS (L1 & L5), NavIC (L5), QZSS (L1 & L5)BDS, GALILEO, GLONASS, GPS
- Wi-Fi standards
- 802.11/a/b/g/n/ac/ax/be802.11/a/b/g/n/ac/ax
- Wi-Fi features
- Dual-bandDual-band or Tri-band: Varies by market or region, Wi-Fi Direct