OnePlus has officially confirmed the OnePlus 15T, its next compact flagship smartphone set to launch in March 2026. The device follows last year's OnePlus 13T, which carved out a niche for smaller Android phones with a 6.3-inch display and flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite processor. OnePlus President Louis Lee described the 15T as a "dream phone for small-screen enthusiasts" in a Weibo post, though the company has not yet announced global availability plans. Leaks suggest it may launch as the OnePlus 15s in markets outside China.
The OnePlus 15T is expected to feature a 6.32-inch screen with 1.5K resolution and the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor, matching the chipset found in the standard OnePlus 15. The camera setup reportedly includes a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP telephoto lens, and a 16MP front-facing camera. The most significant upgrade appears to be battery capacity, with leaks pointing to a 7,500mAh cell compared to the 13T's 6,260mAh battery. This would give the 15T exceptional battery life in a compact form factor, a rare combination in the Android flagship space.
The Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor marks a turning point for Linux compatibility on mobile hardware, with Qualcomm providing same-day upstream mainline kernel support at launch. The initial device tree patches cover essential components including CPU power management, USB, storage controllers, and thermal sensors, though display and GPU patches remain in development. This upstream support benefits projects like postmarketOS and could eventually enable alternative Linux distributions on compatible hardware, assuming OnePlus maintains its bootloader unlock policy for the 15T.
The OnePlus 15T addresses a growing demand for smaller flagship phones at a time when most Android manufacturers have abandoned compact devices in favor of 6.7-inch and larger displays. While OnePlus has not announced pricing or a specific release date, the device is expected to launch in China in March 2026 with potential global availability to follow.
