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the OnePlus 15 My excellent colleague, David Lomb, was impressed with the great battery life and excellent performance, especially for him Games. I wasn’t happy with the cameras in my early tests, but the evidence of their photographic prowess is in how they stack up against the competition. In this case, iPhone 17 Pro It is one of our favorites Phone cameras Indeed one of the best Camera phones you can buy in 2025.
For years, OnePlus has collaborated with popular Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad to work on color science and image calibration for OnePlus phones. But that partnership has ended, which puts a lot of pressure on the Chinese company to impress with its camera array on the OnePlus 15. And throughout all these changes, Apple has released iPhone 17 Prowhich has a new 48MP 4x telephoto camera and enhances the company’s reputation for excellent photography.
I took to the streets of Edinburgh, Scotland, to test my phone’s camera in a variety of situations. However, it is important to note that what I consider “best” may not be what you agree with. Photography, like all arts, is subjective. While, K Professional photographerI prefer more natural and realistic colors, and you may prefer images that have more color and pop. Take my thoughts with a grain of salt.
Also note that all images were captured using each phone’s standard camera mode in JPEG format, and all images were resized using Adobe Lightroom, without any additional adjustments or sharpening applied. The small print is done, let’s dig deeper.
Right off the bat, I’ll admit there is a slight error in the photos above. I took this shot using one of my iPhone photography styles. I think it was gold, so it’s no surprise that it gave the image a more vibrant and warm look that works incredibly well for the scene. I only had the active mode for this example and the superfast version below.
However, I did notice that the iPhone’s exposure was generally better, while OnePlus’ software processing worked harder at reducing image noise resulting in a lot of texture being lost in the ground.
Switch to ultra-wide lenses, and things change a bit. The iPhone exposure above looks favorable to my eye, but the OnePlus shot definitely has more detail overall.
This example above is quite classic of the issues I encounter not only with the OnePlus 15, but also with most OnePlus phones. The image is over-saturated, with a bright blue-green sky that looks unnatural to me. The iPhone photo has a better handle on color here.
My other issue with OnePlus phones is how difficult their HDR processing is, overbrightening shadows and dragging out highlights, resulting in images that often lack reasonable depth and contrast. The image above is a prime example where the deep shadows below that bridge were preserved in the iPhone shot, but where the OnePlus 15 tried to lighten them so much that the image looks very over-processed.
And to prove that this isn’t a one-off event, this example above represents a real low point for OnePlus. He really tried to remove any kind of shadows in this scene, pulling out the bright lights in the sky outside a lot. The photo looks fake, overly processed, which is exactly what people would think if you told them the photo was taken on a phone. By taking a much more subtle approach, the iPhone image is much more to my liking.
OnePlus hasn’t been harsh in its retaliation against ghosting in the image above, but it does appear to have boosted that saturation. It’s not that I don’t like vibrant colors — I do — it’s just that I want to add that saturation Should I want that?instead of having it forced on me by default.
The images above show a more muted, well-efforted scene from both phones. Although it was captured only nine seconds apart (I checked the meta), I think the sun may have peeked out from behind a little more cloud in the iPhone shot, as the front of the building appears brighter. Or maybe OnePlus is going hard on HDR again. Who knows? Either way, good details in this image from both phones.
iPhone 17 Pro, ultra-wide camera
OnePlus 15, ultra-wide camera
The same scene in the Ultra range arguably looks a little muted from the iPhone, at least when compared to the dark blue color in the OnePlus shot above. Somewhere between the two would be my sweet spot. After I zoomed in on the details, the iPhone shot was definitely sharper, but in full screen mode — or in your Insta feed — that difference is minimal.
This difference in brightness and color persists when taking each phone to its default maximum zoom, so it probably doesn’t have anything to do with sun and clouds after all. Colors aside, the iPhone shot above is also sharper, and its details look sharp without being overly digitally sharpened. The OnePlus image has a bit of a ‘graininess’ due to software processing which I don’t like very much.
Telephoto zoom and crop details. OnePlus on the left, iPhone on the right.
Taking a closer look at the pixels in the close-up zoom shot of each phone, I definitely think OnePlus went to great lengths to sharpen the image above of a person in the window.
I’m a little torn on this night scene. The OnePlus image shown above has once again turned large in terms of saturation. Look at the overcooked green on the grass – it looks like it was taken in the middle of the day in spring. iPhone colors look more natural. However, the OnePlus Clarity feature works better at night, providing a shot with sharper details throughout.
And in the ultra range, I absolutely prefer the OnePlus image above. Those vibrant tones look much better here, especially since they make the orange color of the building in the background stand out more.
Night mode, crop details. OnePlus on the left, iPhone on the right.
And if we look at those pixels again, it’s clear that the detail in the OnePlus shot (left) is much better. Finally a win for OnePlus.
This low-light indoor scene is something of a mixed bag. The OnePlus photo above is definitely brighter – especially for people closer to the camera – but noise reduction became a bit fiddly in some areas, reducing the texture of clothes and hair that the iPhone didn’t. Overall, though, I’d say this example is a close fight.
iPhone 17 Pro or OnePlus 15: Which camera is better?
For me, this is an easy win for the iPhone 17 Pro. Almost across the board, its images look more natural with realistic colors, saturation levels, and exposure. The OnePlus 15’s reliance on heavy image processing resulted in flashy images that are often the opposite of what I look for in photography. However, as I said at the beginning, this is just my opinion.
As a photographer, I want my camera – any camera – to be able to take the best photo straight from the camera that I can then make further adjustments to if I want. But maybe you don’t want to do that and instead want a vibrant, powerful-looking shot that you can instantly share on social media. If so, OnePlus might be for you.
At the end of the day, deciding which phone to buy will be about more than just the camera, so be sure to read CNET’s in-depth reviews of all of these phones. The best phones of 2025 To decide what is right for you.
Watch this: Unexpectedly satisfying iPhone 17 tips and accessories