NEW YORK, January 9, 2026, 04:45 (EST)
- Best Buy and Amazon are offering a $100 gift card with purchases of OnePlus’s OnePlus 15 in the United States.
- PhoneArena’s OnePlus 15R review said the $700 model leans on a big 7,400 mAh battery and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip, but skips a telephoto camera.
- An India-focused post touted an “expected” ₹12,999 OnePlus phone with a 300MP camera and 8,000 mAh battery, without naming a specific model.
Best Buy and Amazon are bundling a $100 gift card with purchases of OnePlus’s OnePlus 15, a promotion that sharpens the Chinese brand’s pitch against Samsung’s top-end Galaxy phones in the United States. The deal centers on the 512GB model at $999 at Best Buy, while Amazon lists a 256GB version at $899.99, Android Central reported. https://www.androidcentral.com/phones/oneplus/this-new-phone-is-faster-than-the-galaxy-s25-ultra-its-usd300-cheaper-and-it-comes-with-a-free-usd100-gift-card-what-are-you-waiting-for
The timing matters because OnePlus is trying to widen its presence on big-box shelves just as shoppers weigh whether another four-figure flagship is worth it. Samsung’s next Galaxy S Ultra refresh is expected within months, which tends to reset comparisons and buying decisions.
OnePlus is also leaning hard into two familiar levers: raw speed and battery endurance. The OnePlus 15 uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 processor — the main chip that runs the phone — and Android Central said the handset carries an IP69K durability rating, a standard tied to dust sealing and resistance to high-pressure water jets.
Best Buy’s terms show the $100 is a promotional e-gift card for a future purchase and the trade-in incentive can reach up to $600 depending on the device and condition. The retailer said the offer runs through Jan. 31 and warned that returns are reimbursed minus the value of the gift card. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/promo/oneplus-15-offer
A separate PhoneArena review of the OnePlus 15R, positioned as a cheaper sibling, framed the new model as a mixed value play. The review said the 15R starts at $700 for 256GB and rises to $800 for 512GB, with “very good” battery life and fast charging, but flagged a “just okay” camera and the lack of a telephoto lens. https://www.phonearena.com/reviews/oneplus-15r-review_id7790
PhoneArena said the 15R has a 6.83-inch FHD+ OLED display with a “high-brightness mode” rated at 1,800 nits, and that the headline 165Hz refresh rate — up to 165 screen refreshes per second — only appears in a limited set of supported games. It also said OnePlus includes an 80W wall charger in the box and that the phone carries multiple “IP” ratings, including IP68 for water immersion and higher tiers aimed at harsher water exposure.
The promotions still put OnePlus in direct conversation with Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra and, to a lesser extent, premium Google models. Android Central noted OnePlus promises six years of operating system upgrades for the OnePlus 15, compared with Samsung’s seven, and said Samsung leans harder into AI features and a built-in stylus.
OnePlus has long tied its flagship positioning to Qualcomm’s top chips. In a September statement at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, OnePlus founder Pete Lau said the company and Qualcomm had “moved in lockstep” and that the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 at the core of the OnePlus 15 would deliver “speed, intelligence and efficiency” for users. https://www.stuff.tv/news/the-oneplus-15-is-on-the-way-heres-why-youll-want-it/
In India, a Mycampus Store post claimed OnePlus was launching a “premium 5G smartphone” with a 144Hz AMOLED display, a “300MP OIS triple camera” (OIS is optical image stabilisation, meant to reduce blur), and an 8,000 mAh battery at an “expected” price of ₹12,999. The post did not clearly identify a specific OnePlus model and included a disclaimer that some listed highlights appeared unrelated to a phone. https://mycampusstore.in/oneplus-launches-a-premium-5g-smartphone-with-144hz-amoled-display-300mp-camera-8000mah-battery-at-%E2%82%B912999/
But the push comes with obvious catches: gift cards are not cash discounts, trade-in credits depend on device condition and can shrink quickly, and promotions can end without warning if stock tightens. Reviews also show where the cost-cutting lands — the 15R’s missing telephoto lens and middling camera scores could matter more than battery size for some buyers — while the next Samsung launch could pull attention, and money, back to the Galaxy camp.
