Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra or OnePlus 15? Which Android phone is better for you

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and OnePlus 15 are two of the newest premium Android smartphones you might be considering for an upgrade. They each excel in different ways. So, which one is the better option really comes down to priorities and preferences.

Having tried both these devices, I offer a deep dive comparison into the areas that matter most, like design and durability, performance and user interface, cameras, battery life, AI integration, and more. If you’re back and forth between these two phones, by the end of this article, you’ll be confident in making an informed decision.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. OnePlus 15

Before going over the different areas, here’s a quick comparison of the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and OnePlus 15 based on key specifications:

Design and durability

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display is the attention-getter. Find this option in the Settings to dim its 6.9″ screen when others around you try to view it off axis. Turn it on and off as desired. Set it to come on only when you access certain apps, when you get notifications, or when you need to enter a password, pattern, or PIN. It’s a smart feature I wish was in every phone.

Its new glass camera island looks sleek but sticks out so much from the back that the phone doesn’t lie flat. The IP68 rating means it’s dust-tight and can be submerged in up to 1.5 metres of freshwater for up to 30 minutes. It’s also worth noting that it comes with an S Pen.

By comparison, the OnePlus 15’s overall dimensions are smaller with a 6.78″ screen and it’s a smidge thicker. The square camera island doesn’t look nearly as elegant as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra. But it does sit flatter on a table.

Where this phone really shines is in durability. It meets not only an IP68 rating but also IP66, IP69, and IP69K. The latter two ensure its protected against high-pressure water jets, even from close range and extreme temperatures. Drop it in the snow or the hot tub. I have seen live demos where it’s tossed into the top rack of the dishwasher (not recommended) and comes out unscathed. I haven’t done that but I have run tap water over it myself to confirm that it’s totally true.

Power and performance

The big question is how they perform. Whether you’re getting work done, watching movies, playing games, or navigating multiple apps, you want the phone to keep up with you. Both these devices can do that.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and OnePlus 15 have the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor. They come with either 12GB or 16GB RAM (availability may vary by region). They’re powerful phones that can handle multitasking, bandwidth-intensive tasks, gaming, and more. With gaming, in particular, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has a new Vapor Chamber to offer better thermal management. On the other hand, the OnePlus 15 has a 360° Cryo-Velocity Cooling System to help dissipate heat.

In his review of the Galaxy S26 Ultra, Ted Kritsonis points out the value in connecting the Samsung phone to your desktop via DeX or even a smart TV for gaming. It’s a useful option for those who have other Samsung devices. I found the Galaxy S26 Ultra to be fast and fluid, able to keep up with demanding tasks, whether it’s recording videos, multitasking, or even my 14-year-old son playing mobile games.

Reviewing the OnePlus 15, Ted highlights the Live Alerts feature as working really well, providing at-a-glance details from an active app, like a song that’s playing or an ongoing timer. He also appreciates OxygenOS, calling it one of the cleanest Android software overlays around. I find OxygenOS to be one of the simpler Android variants as well. Without tons of bloatware, it provides a feel that’s similar to base Android with some of OnePlus’ own flavour sprinkled in for good measure.

Ted says the OnePlus 15 is well-suited to handle demanding games, though it can get warm with longer sessions of intense games. While I don’t play many mobile games, I have used the OnePlus 15 for tasks like recording long seminars and interviews, playing videos, web surfing, and more, and it’s intuitive, quick, and responsive.

Cameras

Both these phones do a pretty good job at functioning as cameras in your pocket.

The cameras in the OnePlus 15 are no slouch. The main one is much lower resolution and you don’t get a second telephoto lens. But the front camera is much higher resolution for better selfies. I found that images had good detail and depth with nice colours and contrast.

Ted observes more muted photos with the rear cameras compared to the OnePlus 13, so they often require him to do post-capture editing. But the phone does excel, in his opinion, with action photography and video using the Pro Video mode. Zoom at up to 120x digital zoom is impressive in my tests while night-time photos are relatively good.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra camera specs remain unchanged from the previous generation Galaxy S25 Ultra. It has the same 200MP wide main camera, 50MP ultra-wide camera, 50MP telephoto camera, and 12MP front camera. Optical and digital zoom are identical as well, so it’s not worth upgrading for the camera beyond Horizontal Lock for video capture (discussed in the section below) and improvements with Nightography photos.

I found little difference in the overall camera performance compared to the Galaxy S25 Ultra. However, I notice a slight boost in low-light photos, something Ted observed in his review as well. Natural mode for selfies produces, as expected, more natural looking skin tones than with the OnePlus 15, though you can also play around with camera settings and lightings.

AI Camera Features

While there isn’t a huge upgrade for the cameras, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra gets a boost when it comes to AI performance. There are more natural skin tones with selfies, finer details in mixed lighting, and enhanced Nightography videos. But the most notable is Horizontal Lock with videos. An enhancement to Super Steady mode, this keeps the subject in frame no matter how much you move. Whether you are navigating a bumpy trail or even if you rotate your phone a full 360°, the video will remain unchanged. It’s a marvel to try and based on my experience with it, it works surprisingly well though you will notice some degradation in video quality when it’s in use.

From an AI perspective, new features can help you do things like remove a stain from clothing or even add a missing piece from a photo, not just remove a distracting one. Think a piece of cake that was cut before you had the chance to get the perfect birthday shot. I tried this with a bagel after taking a bite and was blown away: it worked! It also unnaturally fixed the bagel to look rounder than it really was, such that the image did have a bit of an artificial look to it. But it’s a useful feature, nonetheless that works way better than you think it might. I was able to do everything from add back a bite from a burger to virtually reconstruct a broken ceramic piggy bank so it looked exactly as it should.

The OnePlus 15 has some pretty impressive post-editing camera features, too, like being able to remove distracting objects, recompose shots, unblur blurry ones, and even remove or at least reduce reflections. (The Galaxy S26 Ultra can do most of the same things).

Battery life and charging

The OnePlus 15 is unmatched when it comes to battery life, with a massive Silicon NanoStack battery that can last up to two days per charge, which I can verify with my own experience. Its wired and wireless charging speeds are incredible, especially with an 80W charging brick and cable in the box. For wireless charging, it’s faster than most premium phones can accomplish with wired charging. This is a huge deal for power users, gamers, and travellers.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra has the same 5,000mAh battery as its predecessor, but charging speed is improved. However, you will need a compatible charging adapter as one doesn’t come in the box. Wireless PowerShare is a useful feature: if you have other Galaxy devices like the new Galaxy Buds4 Pro, you can plop the case atop the back of the phone to recharge wirelessly.

It’s worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is Qi2 ready, which means you can use a compatible Qi2 wireless case for faster wireless charging. The OnePlus 15 only supports Qi wireless charging. Neither has the necessary magnets built in, which is unfortunate given that this is something Google has done with its latest Google Pixel 10 Pro.  

AI and intelligence

Samsung focuses heavily on the AI experience, dubbing the Galaxy S26 Ultra an “AI phone.” The Galaxy AI features are meant to simplify otherwise mundane and time-consuming tasks.

Now Nudge and Now Brief work together to provide relevant suggestions as you work and/or communicate. This could be calling up the right photos when your friend messages asking for an image you took on your recent trip to Vegas or automatically adding a lunch date to your calendar as you finalize it. Maybe it’s to surface flight details when your spouse is asking about your upcoming work trip or order an Uber without actually having to open the Uber app. I love that it works not only with Google apps but across others as well, like WhatsApp, Signal, and Instagram.

Additionally, the phone offers both Gemini and Perplexity access out of the box, including popular Google features like Circle to Search, which can now identify multiple objects at the same time, like furniture and décor in a living room photo, and even “find the look” if you want to replicate an outfit. Samsung’s Bixby personal assistant remains part of the equation as well, now able to accept natural language commands.

The OnePlus 15 offers Gemini access as well, along with its own spin on AI features. Plus Mind is the standout, which functions like a digital vault for brainstorming ideas, capturing images, messages, web pages, and more. Use the side Plus Key or swipe up with three fingers from the bottom of the phone to save your screen, like while researching ideas for a vacation or party, or conducting research for work or school. You can also record voice memos. Visit the Mind Space area to go through everything you’ve saved, even connect it with Gemini Live to distill everything down to something more helpful. It could be finding a hotel with the best deal or summarizing key points from articles and messages.

My favourite AI feature, however, is AI Recorder. It’s a standard audio recorder but can also deliver incredibly accurate real-time or post transcription. I have used it for seminars, in-person and phone interviews, meetings, and more, and it’s flawless. Download the transcription to a Word or text file, even get a concise Coles Notes-like summary. Everyone from administrative personnel to executives and students will find uses for it.

Pricing and value

Both these phones are on the premium side with pricing to match. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra costs several hundred dollars more but also has boosted specs to match. As you move up the storage and RAM scale, the delta in price becomes even bigger. It’s worth noting that the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra adds a 1TB option alongside 256GB and 512GB.

Overall, both offer good value, but it’s tough to argue with the competitive pricing of the OnePlus 15R.

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. OnePlus 15: Which phone should you buy?

The decision between these two phones comes down to what you value most. If durability, battery life, charging time, and the front selfie camera are top priorities, the OnePlus 15 might be the better choice.

The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra’s Privacy Display and Horizontal Lock might sway you, though. Being able to ask the phone to fix your photo in a certain way and seeing it happen like magic is pretty mind blowing. With multiple AI agents from which to choose, including Perplexity, it’s an AI user’s dream. OnePlus’ Plus Mind system is a nice touch for convenience and organization, too, if you can get in the habit of using it.

Naturally, if you already own or plan to buy other Samsung devices, the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is the logical choice since it works well within this ecosystem, allowing you to leverage features like Samsung Health. If you aren’t tied to a specific brand of smartwatch or earbuds, the OnePlus 15 will save you some money and still offers a premium experience. It’s a logical choice if you use OnePlus earbuds and/or smartwatch as well.

Worth keeping in mind is that the OnePlus 15 only gets software updates for the next four years, security for six, versus seven for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. This is important if you want to hang onto the phone for a while, resell it, or hand it down to a family member when you’re ready to upgrade again.

Both these premium phones are among the best Android devices you can buy with all the latest features, including AI, and a dash of their own seasoning for good measure. Hardware-wise, they’re stylish phones with ample, bright screens and intuitive interfaces. It comes down to what matters most for you.

Pop into a Best Buy store and give the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and OnePlus 15 a try!