iPhone 16 Plus vs OnePlus 15T

iPhone 16 Plus

A large 6.7-inch Super Retina XDR OLED that's bright but, for yet another year, capped at 60Hz with no Always-On — the phone's defining weakness.

• The display is only 60Hz for yet another year, with no Always-On option and bezels thicker than the Pro models.
• The 6.7-inch screen is a key reason to choose the Plus over the smaller iPhone 16 for media and big-screen use.
• For long-time 60Hz users the lack of 120Hz isn't a deal-breaker, but spec-conscious buyers find it hard to accept at the price.
• The big screen plus the relatively small Dynamic Island (vs the old large notch) is a standout for upgraders.

OnePlus 15T

The 6.32-inch 165 Hz 1.5K AMOLED panel is the only true 165 Hz compact-flagship display on the market and pairs that refresh rate with a measured 1,800 nits brightness, 460 ppi pixel density, Crystal Shield Glass, and HDR10+/Dolby Vision support. Native 165 Hz support in popular FPS games is a real differentiator. Notebookcheck flags 120.7 Hz PWM dimming that can cause eyestrain for sensitive users.

• The 6.32-inch 165 Hz AMOLED panel achieves a very good 460 ppi pixel density and the advertised maximum brightness of 1,800 nits in standard measurement.
• Display sharpness is plenty competent — sharp, smooth, and easily one of the strongest spec sheets you can get on a compact phone.
• Native 165 Hz support in COD, Delta Force and Peacekeeper Elite makes this the only small-screen flagship pushing a full 165 Hz gaming experience.
• OnePlus claims up to 3,600 nits peak brightness — even on a playground in direct sunlight you can still see everything clearly, no squinting required.
• Specifications confirm a 6.32-inch 1.5K (1216 × 2640) resolution with 165 Hz refresh — a configuration unique to the 15T in the compact class.
• Display backlight flickers at just 120.7 Hz under PWM dimming — low enough that the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches for sensitive users after extended use.

iPhone 16 Plus

The A18 with 8GB RAM — the same RAM as the Pro this year — delivers strong, future-proof performance, especially as an upgrade from older iPhones.

• The A18 provides enhanced performance and supports Apple Intelligence — 'Pro features at a mainstream price.'
• Optimisations from the new A18 chip clearly improved efficiency over the iPhone 15.
• Your tired old iPhone may run iOS 18, but the iPhone 16 runs it exponentially better — the iterative criticism misses the point for upgraders.
• Owners report great performance and photos, with the powerful chip making the upgrade worthwhile coming from an iPhone 13.

OnePlus 15T

Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 paired with 12-16GB LPDDR5X Ultra Pro RAM delivers flagship synthetic scores — Notebookcheck recorded Geekbench multi-core 10,976 and 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited 29,901, on par with the larger Xiaomi 17 and Honor Magic8 Pro Air. The problem is sustained: in the 3DMark Wild Life stress test the GPU drops over 50% and the back of the phone hits 50 °C, which both Notebookcheck and SuperSaf flag as a deal-breaker for long gaming sessions.

• Geekbench 6 multi-core hits 10,976 — flagship-tier and within 1% of the average 8 Elite Gen 5 result, so there is no compromise on the chipset versus larger phones.
• 3DMark Wild Life Unlimited hits 29,901 — 5% above the 8 Elite Gen 5 average and ahead of the Xiaomi 17 with the same chip.
• In the 3DMark stress tests the OnePlus 15T shows a sharp drop in performance of over 50%, which significantly lowers our rating.
• Wildlife Extreme stress test scores swung from 6,990 best loop to 3,743 worst loop in a single run — the chart is 'quite a bit of a bumpy ride' and performance mode did nothing to stabilize it.
• Surface temperatures hit 48.3 °C on the back during stress testing and continued climbing to 50 °C near the camera bump — about 45 °C internal — which seems to be the phone's thermal limit.
• Genshin Impact averaged 60.3 fps over 30 minutes at just 3.2 W power draw, with the phone staying cool to the touch — and Peacekeeper Elite pushed 164.5 fps thanks to native 165 Hz support.

iPhone 16 Plus

The Plus's headline strength: the best battery life in the entire iPhone 16 line — undercut by slow charging.

• It's claimed to last up to 27 hours of video playback and up to 100 hours of audio playback.
• The battery on the 16 Plus has been significantly better than the 16 Pro Max for some owners — ~9 hours screen-on-time on a single charge with excellent standby.
• Battery life is excellent, a key reason to pick the Plus and a huge step for those used to a 12 Pro Max.
• Proper fast-charging technology has yet to reach Apple's labs.
• iOS 18 adds an 80–100% charge-limit option and visible cycle count to extend long-term battery health.

OnePlus 15T

This is the section the OnePlus 15T was built to win. The 7,500 mAh silicon-carbon 'Glacier' cell is the largest ever fitted to a true compact phone — 50% bigger than the iPhone 17's pack in a similar footprint. Notebookcheck measured roughly 1.5 days of real-world endurance at 150 cd/m². Wired charging tops out at 100 W, wireless at 50 W. The only friction points are the missing built-in magnets for MagSafe-style alignment and the still-USB-2.0 port.

• OnePlus relies on a silicon-carbon-based battery with a large capacity of 7,500 mAh for its mini flagship — in our practical battery test at 150 cd/m² brightness, the 15T achieved an excellent battery life of nearly 1.5 days.
• 9to5Google's preview confirms the 7,500 mAh cell carries the same 'Glacier' moniker as the OnePlus 15's battery, so the silicon-carbon structure is here too — 200 mAh more than the larger sibling.
• Even though the phone keeps the same compact size, it now packs a massive 7,500 mAh battery — to put that into perspective, the iPhone 17 Pro Max only has around 5,000 mAh, and this is a 6.32-inch phone.
• Battery life is wild for a phone this size and is actually a hair bigger than the one in the OnePlus 15, which has a noticeably larger footprint.
• 100W SuperVOOC wired charging and 50W wireless mean even the huge cell refills fast — getting through two full days on a single charge feels totally realistic.