Joe Maring / Android Authority
TL;DR
- OnePlus is adding a new OnePlus 15R variant with higher RAM.
- Previously limited to 12GB, the OnePlus 15R now gets a 16GB RAM option with 512GB of storage.
- The variant, unfortunately, is currently limited to India.
If you’ve wanted to buy a latest-gen Android that’s high on performance and offers superfast charging, the OnPlus 15 is among the easiest bets you can make. But if you don’t want that $900 siphoned from your pocket, a relatively more affordable yet equally powerful alternative is the OnePlus 15R. The latter, in addition to its better value for money, also feels like a better choice for a bigger battery and a similarly smooth 165fps gaming experience. However, it feels limiting if you want to experiment with more demanding workloads, such as running a large AI model on-device. For those who’ve been in a similar fix, OnePlus has quietly rolled out a new variant with higher RAM.
The OnePlus 15R initially launched with two variants: 12GB+256GB and 12GB+512GB. However, a third variant has now been added to the lineup, offering 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
The OnePlus 15R’s new variant currently appears to be exclusive to India (via Gizbot), where it’s currently listed on both Amazon and the company’s local website. In terms of pricing, the variant is available for INR 61,999 ($655). However, in the US, the phone’s lowest variant starts at $700, so if OnePlus were to bring the 16GB variant, we can expect it to be priced around $775–800.
That’s just a speculation based on the pricing trends, but if it’s true, it might still be more compelling than the flagship OnePlus 15, which starts at $1,000 for 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.
The exact reason OnePlus is bringing this new variant isn’t immediately clear, especially since tech brands have been culling devices with higher RAM to keep prices in check. A very likely one would be to fill the gap created by multiple recent price hikes the OnePlus 15 received in India, where its price has been increased by INR 8,000 (~$90) since launch. The future for the next generation of Ultra Android flagships already appears challenging due to the shortage.
We’ve reached out to OnePlus in the US to check whether it plans to bring this new 15R variant here, and we’ll keep you updated on what the brand has to say. We don’t expect similar treatment in Europe, where the company is downsizing operations and removing products from its catalog.
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