Best OnePlus phones in 2026

Traditionally, OnePlus has made some of the most cost-effective Android phones — until the firm decided to stop selling newly released devices in the U.S.. That means you can still buy existing models here, but don’t expect to be watching the new releases like a hawk.

And the devices we can still buy remain excellent. The OnePlus 15 is a powerful device that comes in at a lower price than the competition, offering stellar bang for the buck. It’s a battery powerhouse, for example, lasting 25 hours on a single charge. There’s a great budget option too, in the Nord N30, which offers solid specs for a bargain price.

While we may not be getting new OnePlus devices, there are still some great options on the market. Here are the best OnePlus phones you can still buy right now.

The best OnePlus phones you can buy

Why you can trust Tom's Guide Our writers and editors spend hours analyzing and reviewing products, services, and apps to help find what's best for you. Find out more about how we test, analyze, and rate.

The best OnePlus phone overall

OnePlus’s last flagship released in the U.S. is a masterstroke of phone design — mostly because it seems like the philosophy in the team that put it together was “just jam the biggest battery in it, and make it last as long as possible”. As a result, the OnePlus 15 lasts for over 25 hours, a record to this day when it comes to smartphone staying power. It charges quickly too, filling up to 45% in just 15 minutes. You won’t need to reach for a wall outlet anywhere near as often as you might with a Samsung phone, that’s for sure.

It’s powerful too. It’s filled with some extremely fast internals, from a first use of Qualcomms then latest chipset to up to 16GB of RAM. The result is a phone that devours just about everything you throw at it, for a price that really doesn’t break the bank like rival flagships.

That price does come with a couple of downsides — the selfie camera is really not that great, with soft details and washed out skin tones. We also wish that the otherwise excellent screen were slightly brighter, but that’s where the negatives end. This is a wonderful sub-$1,000 flagship that’s well worth picking up if you can find one.

Read our full OnePlus 15 review

A great alternative

Samsung Galaxy S26

The non-ultra version of Samsung’s flagship phone is an excellent alternative if you’re looking for top-shelf performance without stumping up for the more expensive “premium” option. It’s got a big, bright screen, a powerful processor, and decent battery life. It lands at a similar price to the OnePlus 15 too — if you want the performance of the Ultra, you’ll have to start looking upwards of that $1,000 price tag.

Read the review

The best OnePlus phone value

Previously, the R series of OnePlus phones was about making the flagship device more affordable to a wider range of folks. The 15R changed pitch somewhat, instead only cutting a few dollars from the price of the 15 and focusing on out-and-out gaming performance. At its goal, it almost entirely succeeds, but it does shift the target audience.

Look, everyone is going to find something to like about the 15R. Its gaming performance is excellent, and that power means it's smooth and slick to use. The top-shelf screen that makes it good for a few hours of Genshin Impact also makes it good for watching videos on the go. The gaming stuff means a lot more for the average consumer than you might think, but that price rise makes it a harder sell overall.

But if you want something that’s not quite as expensive as the flagship but want a similar look and feel, then the 15R is a great option. Just remember that you can save money and pick up the Nord N30 below if you want something truly budget-friendly. What you get here is value for money.

Read our full OnePlus 15R review

A great alternative

Google Pixel 10a

For around $200 down on the 15R you get a relatively similar performance for a whole lot less. It’s still great for games, but the price is just that much more affordable. It’s also got a superior camera, even if the battery life isn’t quite as good.

Read the review

The best budget OnePlus phone

This budget device is one of the best ways to get a lot of phone for only a few bucks. It offers some pretty premium features for its low price, including a very high refresh rate screen (see: very smooth) and very fast charging. On the note of the battery, you’re going to get one of the longest-lasting batteries of a cheap phone, around 13 hours. Thanks to that speedy charging, you won’t be waiting around to top up if you run low on juice.

Otherwise, this is a fairly standard cheap phone. It’s not the most powerful device in the world, but it's got enough to keep everything running smoothly. The responsive touchscreen is fairly bright and crisp, and the chassis feels nice in the hand.

The camera is surprisingly solid, but it’s nothing to write home about. But that’s what we tend to expect when it comes to cheaper phones — and make no mistake, the Nord N30 is a very pretty good cheap phone. Just a shame that we’re not going to see the sequel in the U.S..

Read our full OnePlus Nord N30 5G review

A great alternative

Moto G (2026)

The Moto G is a great cheap phone, and comes in a similar price to the Nord N30. The screen is perfectly serviceable, and there’s enough power under the hood to make sure everything is kept nice and smooth. We really like the way the phone looks, particularly in it’s rather fetching purple colorway.

Read the review

FAQs

As OnePlus is leaving the U.S., there are going to be questions about the longevity of existing devices. Let’s answer those queries today.

What to look for in a OnePlus phone

When shopping for the best OnePlus phones, keep in mind that OnePlus divides its smartphone product line into two different categories. The more expensive OnePlus flagships usually cost $700 and up and pack in the best features OnePlus has to offer. OnePlus Nord devices are the phone maker’s budget devices — prices are lower and features are scaled back, though you’ll still find a few notable capabilities.

OnePlus has made exactly one foldable phone, the OnePlus Open, which launched in 2023. It was a revelation at the time compared to rival foldables, but Samsung, Google and others have now caught up. Why OnePlus hasn't launched a sequel, we don't know, but we can only hope it does so, once again using tech pioneered by its partners over at Oppo.

There's also the T-series phones to keep in mind. These haven't been sold in the U.S. or Europe for some time, but we wish that would change since the current OnePlus 15T seems like a rare example of a small premium Android phone. OnePlus has used its T models to try other spins on its flagship models, such as more powerful chipsets or faster charging, so there's no guarantee that this approach will last for long. But it's always worth checking out if you're shopping OnePlus handsets.

How we test the best OnePlus phones

We take the same approach to finding the best OnePlus phones as we do any smartphone we review, running various tests and benchmarks. We use Geekbench 6 to measure overall performance and 3DMark Wild Life to test graphics performance. For real-world testing, we use Adobe Premier Rush to transcode a video, timing how long it takes. (This test does not work on all devices due to app compatibility issues.)

In our lab, we test the brightness of the phone’s display as well as how colorful each screen is (using both the sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut). We measure color accuracy as well.

We have a custom battery test in which we have phones surf the web continuously over a cellular connection, timing how long it takes until they run out of power. We also time how quickly a phone can recharge, checking the battery status after 15 and 30 minutes.

Finally, to test cameras, we take the best OnePlus phones out into the field and shoot photos of landscapes, portraits, night images and other shots. We compare those shots to similar images captured by phones with comparable specs and prices.