A new OnePlus 15R teardown shows an unusually repair-friendly internal layout with an 8.5/10 score, just as the phone goes on sale in India today. Here’s what’s easy to fix, what isn’t, and why the 15R’s durability headlines (including an IP69K “dishwasher test”) are getting attention.
On December 22, 2025, the OnePlus 15R is suddenly in the spotlight for two reasons buyers don’t usually get at the same time: it’s on sale in India starting today, and a widely shared teardown suggests it’s far easier to repair than most modern phones—a rare win in a world of glued glass backs and fragile flex cables. [1]
What’s driving the conversation is a practical question: if you spend close to flagship money, can you keep the phone long enough to justify it—without a single cracked back panel or battery swap turning into an expensive nightmare?
Today’s OnePlus 15R headlines (Dec 22, 2025)
Here’s the “what happened today” snapshot around the OnePlus 15R:
- First sale in India is live today: pricing starts at ₹47,999 (12GB/256GB) and ₹52,999 (12GB/512GB), with bank offers and EMI options widely reported. [2]
- A durability stress test went viral: Tom’s Guide published a hands-on story today describing an extreme IP69K “dishwasher test” and what happened after the wash cycle. [3]
- Comparisons are arriving fast: Gizmochina posted new head-to-head pieces today framing the 15R as a “performance-first” alternative versus phones like the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE and Xiaomi 17. [4]
- The teardown story is fueling the buzz: A teardown published in the last 24 hours cites a high repairability score and highlights repair-friendly design decisions—right as buyers are deciding whether to hit “Buy.” [5]
OnePlus 15R teardown: why the repairability score matters
According to Gizmochina’s write-up of a PBKreviews teardown, the OnePlus 15R earned an 8.5/10 repairability score—not because it’s “simple,” but because it avoids several design traps that make modern phones painful to service. [6]
What the teardown praises (the “good news” list)
The teardown highlights several choices that tend to reduce repair time, risk, and labor cost:
- Common Philips screws instead of unusual screw heads that require special bits
- Modular camera parts, which can make camera servicing less invasive
- An easy-to-remove battery with pull tabs, which is a big deal for long-term ownership
- “Accessible core components,” implying less “remove half the phone to reach one part” design [7]
If you’ve ever had a battery replacement quoted at an eye-watering price, you already know why pull tabs matter. Batteries are wear items. The easier they are to remove safely, the more realistic it is for authorized service (or advanced DIYers, depending on region and parts access) to keep a phone going for years.
What’s still hard (and why “repairable” doesn’t mean “effortless”)
Even with a strong score, the teardown also flags familiar pain points:
- The glass back is still held with adhesive, so you’ll need careful heating and patience to avoid cracking it during removal. [8]
- Screen replacements can be the hardest task, because the process requires disassembling multiple internal layers before the display flex cable is accessible. [9]
That second point is crucial: for many people, screen repair is the #1 “real world” repair. So the OnePlus 15R’s story isn’t “every fix is easy,” it’s closer to: battery and internal component access look unusually reasonable, but display work remains complex—a pattern we still see across much of the industry.
Durability news today: the OnePlus 15R “dishwasher test” and IP69K
Repairability is only half the longevity equation. The other half is avoiding repairs in the first place.
That’s why today’s Tom’s Guide report got attention: it focuses on the OnePlus 15R’s unusually stacked water/dust claims—IP66, IP68, IP69, and IP69K—and then tries to simulate extreme conditions with an actual dishwasher cycle. [10]
Tom’s Guide explains that IP69K testing involves high-pressure, high-temperature water sprays at close range, and argues a dishwasher roughly mirrors that stress scenario (while also emphasizing it’s not a controlled lab test). [11]
What happened after the wash?
In the published account, the phone:
- showed no visible damage,
- the display turned on immediately, with no touch issues or flickering, and no obvious sign of water intrusion under the panel, [12]
- cameras appeared normal, with no fogging described,
- speakers sounded muffled briefly but recovered, and
- charging worked shortly after (after basic drying steps), with no warning interruptions reported. [13]
Important context: the same story explicitly warns readers not to treat durability ratings as challenges and not to replicate the dishwasher stunt. [14]
OnePlus 15R on sale in India today: price, offers, and what you get
If you’re shopping today, the practical details are straightforward.
India pricing (Dec 22, 2025)
Gadgets360 reports the OnePlus 15R starts at:
- ₹47,999 for 12GB RAM + 256GB
- ₹52,999 for 12GB RAM + 512GB [15]
Other major Indian retail coverage echoes the same pricing and also points to common bank discounts and EMI options. [16]
Sale offers and protection programs being promoted
Gadgets360 lists launch-period benefits including:
- up to ₹3,000 instant discount for select bank credit cards and EMI options, plus
- a 180-day phone replacement plan and a lifetime display warranty for OnePlus 15R buyers. [17]
A separate OnePlus India FAQ page describes its Lifetime Display Warranty as coverage for the rare “green line” AMOLED issue, offering free display replacement through authorized channels (with important disclaimers around damage and parts availability). [18]
OnePlus also publishes terms for a 180-day phone replacement plan, describing it as coverage for hardware quality defects under normal use within the period, with exclusions (cosmetic damage, user-caused damage, liquid exposure, non-official channels, etc.) and requiring inspection at authorized service. Eligibility can depend on region and specific purchase windows. [19]
OnePlus 15R specs at a glance (for buyers deciding today)
From today’s Indian sale coverage, the headline hardware looks like this:
- 6.83-inch FHD+ AMOLED with 165Hz refresh rate (Gorilla Glass 7i) [20]
- Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 (3nm), 12GB LPDDR5x, up to 512GB UFS 4.1 [21]
- Rear cameras: 50MP Sony IMX906 (OIS) + 8MP ultra-wide; front: 32MP [22]
- 7,400mAh battery with 80W wired fast charging [23]
- Claimed durability: IP66 + IP68 + IP69 + IP69K [24]
- Software: ships with Android 16-based OxygenOS 16, and OnePlus promises four OS upgrades and six years of security updates [25]
Why this combo is unusual: repairability + durability in the same news cycle
Most phones sell you on thinness, camera bumps, and AI features. The OnePlus 15R’s December 22 story is different: it’s being discussed like a product designed to survive ownership, not just impress on day one.
- The teardown narrative suggests lower friction for common repairs like battery service (and potentially cameras), even if the screen remains difficult. [26]
- The durability narrative suggests OnePlus is taking sealing seriously, with third-party stress coverage highlighting resilience in extreme conditions (with all the usual caveats). [27]
- The India sale narrative adds urgency: consumers can actually buy it today, and the offers being promoted lean into long-term ownership (replacement plan + display warranty messaging). [28]
Buyer checklist: who should care most about the teardown result?
If you’re deciding whether today’s OnePlus 15R sale is for you, the teardown angle matters most if you:
- Keep phones for 3+ years and expect a battery swap at some point
- Live in a region where authorized service is accessible and parts availability is reasonable
- Want a phone you can maintain rather than replace the moment something goes wrong
- Care about long-term ownership alongside performance (rather than “yearly upgrade” life) [29]
If you’re the type who always trades in after 12–18 months, repairability is still a nice-to-have—but it’s not the main value driver.
References
1. www.gadgets360.com, 2. www.gadgets360.com, 3. www.tomsguide.com, 4. www.gizmochina.com, 5. www.gizmochina.com, 6. www.gizmochina.com, 7. www.gizmochina.com, 8. www.gizmochina.com, 9. www.gizmochina.com, 10. www.tomsguide.com, 11. www.tomsguide.com, 12. www.tomsguide.com, 13. www.tomsguide.com, 14. www.tomsguide.com, 15. www.gadgets360.com, 16. gadgets.beebom.com, 17. www.gadgets360.com, 18. www.oneplus.in, 19. www.oneplus.in, 20. www.gadgets360.com, 21. www.gadgets360.com, 22. www.gadgets360.com, 23. www.gadgets360.com, 24. www.gadgets360.com, 25. www.gadgets360.com, 26. www.gizmochina.com, 27. www.tomsguide.com, 28. www.gadgets360.com, 29. www.gizmochina.com
