OnePlus just pulled off a world first for Android phones

Back at Qualcomm's Snapdragon Summit this year, the chip-maker revealed in addition to its Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip that it would also be creating a step-down 'non-Elite' version.

And the OnePlus 15R is the first Android phone in the world to feature said chip, sitting marginally below the top-tier OnePlus 15 flagship – which T3 awarded the full 5 stars in our review.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 is still plenty powerful, though, featuring two prime cores and six performance cores – just like the Elite's architecture – but clocked slightly lower.

The 'R' variant of OnePlus's handset will bring some interesting differences of its own, too, but not everything is out in the open yet – with the 17 December set to be the handset's full unveiling.

Whether it'll have the same battery and charing capabilities as the OnePlus 15 is up for question, as that flagship has really impressed with its huge battery capacity.

The camera setup is another aspect that will differ, as you can see from the image of the product, likely dropping the OnePlus 15's zoom lens for the sake of cost effectiveness.

Just like the key OnePlus 15, the 15R features the same refresh-rate capability. It's confirmed that it can still cater for up to 165Hz, so gamers will be happy.

The handset also remains dust- and water-resistant, with both the IP68 and IP69 ratings qualified. Indeed, OnePlus' earlier tease of the 15R confirmed it has more IP ratings than any other Android phone you can name.

Like its higher-spec brother, the OnePlus 15R will launch with its Oxygen 16 software over Google's Android 16 base, offering the brand's Plus Mind AI system.

Pricing and availability is still a question, with the 17 December release date when that'll be revealed in full. You can sign-up now for a pre-order discount, though.