Testing OnePlus 15’s competence
Since my colleagues have already evaluated the OnePlus 15 on its core performance metrics, I am sprinting straight to test its gaming performance. For this, I’m relying on two Android games that are brutal on the hardware — Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact. Then, I would follow it up by running a couple of emulators to test the 15’s ability to survive and thrive in alien territories.To quantify performance, I’m using Gamebench, a professional benchmarking tool. Gamebench has been kind enough to offer me a free journalist’s license for several years now. However, it does not have any input on the findings in this (or any other) gaming test.I’ve allocated 30 minutes of continuous gameplay for each game. This should be sufficient, since the OnePlus 15 had already started sizzling after 20 minutes of a continuous 3DMark stress test during our previous evaluation. After each of the tests, the external temperature is recorded with an infrared thermometer.Each test is performed at a room temperature of 22ºC (~72ºF), and the phone is at around 25ºC (~77ºF) before starting. Meanwhile, the phone is tested with Normal Mode and not the High Performance Mode to ensure realistic results. Lastly, the results were recorded after updating the phone to version 16.0.1.305 of OxygenOS.
Here. We. Go!
For this test, I’m relying on two taxing Android games: Call of Duty: Mobile and Genshin Impact. I will detail the graphics settings for each in their respective settings.
Call of Duty: Mobile: The 165fps test
While the OnePlus 15 boasts of a 165Hz panel, only a handful of titles can actually run at 165fps. Thankfully, COD:M is one of the games that natively support 165fps gameplay. Others include Brawl Stars, Clash of Clans, Real Racing, and Standoff 2.To start, I chose the Ultra frame rate setting in COD:M, removed any frame rate limits, and enabled frame rate adjustment. One trade-off of doing that is that the resolution falls back to Medium graphics and disables any HDR color options. But to test that separately, I will perform another test later.But first, let’s go with 165fps. Based on the stats recorded by Gamebench, here’s a brief summary of my 30 minutes of gameplay:
– Median frame rate: 165fps
– Percentage around median fps: 91%
– Battery drain: 11%
– Average RAM usage: 917MB
– External max temperature: 37ºC (99ºF)
Okay, to start, I wasn’t expecting the OnePlus 15 to stay cool under extreme pressure, but this test suggests the phone does dissipate heat well. This indicates the update may have had a beneficial effect. Moreover, the majority of the deviations from the median were due to the loading screens in COD:M, which render at 30fps instead of 165, 120, or even 60fps.Overall, the phone delivered consistent frame rates between 162–165fps, with some variation in the value when I was killed and an animation of the killer played while I was respawning. Other than that, I did not see any frame drops while firing multiple rounds or delivering headshots, even with a scope.Assuming this smooth performance might be because of Medium graphics settings, I switched to Max and turned on depth of field and reflection to stress the GPU further.
Call of Duty: Mobile: The graphics test
Switching to Max graphics also reduces the frame rate to 60fps, but enhances visibility significantly. So, this test was to evaluate whether 165fps is truly worth any hype, and if the Max graphics setting drains the OnePlus 15 more.Here’s what Gamebench’s stats tell me:
– Median frame rate: 60fps
– Percentage around median fps: 85%
– Battery drain: 4%
– Average RAM usage: 1098MB
– External max temperature: 34ºC (93ºF)
Honestly, after the first test, I wasn’t really surprised to see COD:M rendering at 60 fps. I was automatically primed to expect it to run well.While the higher deviation may grab your attention, it is once again due to extremely long loading screens between multiple deathmatches.
Genshin Impact: The heavy Android game test
Since Genshin Impact is an open-world game with more varied visuals, I was expecting some trimming in performance, especially with anti-aliasing, reflections, and shadows set to the highest values. Despite setting Genshin Impact to the highest video settings, the OnePlus 15 rendered remarkable performance.Here’s an overview:
– Median frame rate: 60fps
– Percentage around median fps: 98%
– Battery drain: 11%
– Average RAM usage: 1281MB
– External max temperature: 33ºC (91ºF)
Although the RAM usage increased slightly, I did not encounter any issues while running the game at 60fps consistently. There were times when it would drop to around the 55fps mark, but jumped back up almost instantaneously.
Emulating games for other platforms
Regular Android games haven’t exactly proven to be taxing on the OnePlus 15, so I moved to tests that I feel could be more rigorous.
PS3 emulation: After Burner Climax
The first test of this part involves emulating a Sony PlayStation 3 title using the RPCSX emulator. While PS3 emulation on Android is still patchy, I was able to run After Burner Climax, which involves high-speed air combat between Air Force fighter jets.Here’s an overview:
– Median frame rate: 60fps
– Percentage around median fps: 99%
– Battery drain: 8%
– Average RAM usage: 1928MB
– External max temperature: 32ºC (90ºF)
After Burner Climax runs as effortlessly on the OnePlus 15 as the fighter jets glide through the damp ocean atmosphere in the various dogfight scenarios. Despite PS3 hardware being dated by all standards and modern chips, delivering a nearly rock-solid 60fps without excessive external temperatures is no mean feat. This makes me hopeful about better performance while emulating more recent gaming hardware, such as the Nintendo Switch.I’m surprised that it barely takes a toll on the OnePlus 15’s hardware, which probably only heated up as much as it did from the warmth of my hands, and not the game itself.
Windows emulation: Stumble Guys
So I decided to stress the chip further by running a Stumble Guys (PC version) through the GameHub emulator. The emulator allows installing games from EXE files or downloading them by linking your Steam library, and I chose the latter option. Admittedly, Stumble Guys wasn’t my first choice, but GameHub still struggles to run online competitive games such as PUBG or Counter-Strike 2, perhaps likely due to limited support for anti-cheat algorithms on Arm architecture.Still, I feel like it was intensive enough to be run as part of this test. I ran the game at a resolution of 1,280 x 720 and left all other graphics options set to their default values. Here’s how it went:
– Median frame rate: 45fps
– Percentage around median fps: 47%
– Battery drain: 9%
– Average RAM usage: Not recorded
– External max temperature: 38ºC (100ºF)
This is the first test where the average frame rate dropped far below the maximum supported values. While the median recorded here is 45fps, the frame rate fluctuates significantly, swinging between 30 and 50 fps a lot. Meanwhile, the loading screens rendered at 120fps (and not 165fps, likely due to GameHub’s limitations), leading to more variance.It was also the test where the phone got the hottest, but I did not have to hold the phone, thanks to the emulator’s native support for GameSir’s G8 Plus controller.
Are OnePlus 15’s overheating issues fixed?
Perplexed by the fact that none of the tests drove the OnePlus 15 to extremely high temperatures, I also ran 3DMark Wildlife Extreme, which previously led the app to crash on the phone and drove its external temperature to 53°C (127°F).I used an infrared thermometer connected via USB to a phone to measure the external temperature at the end of the 20-something-minute run. What ensued truly surprised me.
Not only did the OnePlus 15 complete the test without crashing, but its external surface also did not exceed a temperature of 42°C (108°F). While it was warm to the touch, it did not feel extremely hot. And this does prove one thing — OnePlus has listened to the feedback from early adopters and users, and fixed the heating issues. And just in time for the phone to be available in the US.
Will the OnePlus 15 melt?
The short answer is “No!” And that’s not just relieving to potential buyers, but also me, as a reviewer, who plans to recommend the OnePlus 15 to most of my friends looking to buy a new Android phone. While my chief list of reasons included a large battery and superfast charging, OnePlus’ recent fixes for the heating issue make its case stronger.As impressed as I am at the stable performance I saw across gaming and emulation tests, I wonder if the phone could technically perform even better. With games I tested capped at just 60fps with high-fidelity graphics enabled, many modern Android games probably aren’t making full use of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5’s — or a similar chipset’s — power. With last-gen models already performing virtually as well, generational upgrades feel less enticing. What I’d really like to see is Google pushing harder to make Android gaming more engaging. One way could be to bring more complete, close-to-original ports of PC games to smaller screens, especially as Apple is already taking slow but steady steps in that direction with franchises such as Resident Evil.On the plus side, the OnePlus 15’s excess power is assuring enough that it won’t disappoint for gaming. However, I wish I could maintain the same stance for its cameras too!
OnePlus 15
MSRP: 9.00
Peak power.The OnePlus 15 is a flagship-level smartphone with very competitive specs: blazing fast chip, excellent display, huge battery + fast charge, and a triple 50MP camera system.Thank you for being part of our community. Read our Comment Policy before posting.
