OnePlus has long pushed smartphone design, yet the upcoming OnePlus 15 seems to take a cue from an unexpected place, Apple’s iPhone. Recent leaks point to a look that breaks from recent flagships, with major camera upgrades and a distinct feature straight from the iPhone playbook. The latest leaks show a square camera module, a sharp turn from the brand’s circular designs. The timing is no coincidence, OnePlus is moving away from the Hasselblad partnership to build its own imaging engine.
What makes this intriguing is the overlap. OnePlus is reworking its design language while taking full control of its camera path. Not a trend-chasing move, more a nod to how Apple’s square bump has become shorthand for serious photo hardware in the premium tier.
Why the square camera module actually matters
This shift is more than copycat aesthetics, it is an engineering choice. The whole frame looks flatter, closer to the OnePlus 9 or 10 than the 12 or 13, which hints at a rethink of the camera housing.
Here is the practical bit. Square modules use space better than circular ones. When you cram in multiple sensors, image processors, and optical stabilization, a square layout lets you place components cleanly instead of squeezing them into arcs. That helps with heat dissipation, vital for heavy computational photography, and it makes room for larger sensors without wasted corners.
Apple reached a similar conclusion when it moved to multi-lens systems, the square was not just a look, it was a modular platform for growing camera complexity. OnePlus appears to be following that same logic, especially as reports this week say it wants its own imaging engine, with the Hasselblad name now staying on Oppo devices.
Breaking free from Hasselblad: OnePlus’s new imaging direction
The end of the Hasselblad era is a big moment for OnePlus cameras. The first non-Hasselblad branded images arrived in a blog post, a preview of an in-house system that could reshape the brand’s photo identity.
The in-house camera system is called Lumo in the blog, though images suggest DetailMax Engine in some regions, classic OnePlus regional naming. Labels aside, the play is clear, take what was learned in collaboration and channel it into OnePlus’s own take on mobile computational photography.
Early results look stellar. Punchy color, strong detail. The system leans into people photography, with exceptional performance in portrait blur, motion capture, and telephoto. That focus suggests OnePlus studied how its users actually shoot and optimized for it. Smart move.
What computational photography brings to the table
OnePlus’s new philosophy mirrors Apple’s approach, use software intelligence to overcome hardware limits. The system lacks in raw sensor muscle, it makes up for it with computation, the very recipe that keeps iPhones competitive against bigger Android sensors.
Look at the proof. All three sample images are shot at an 85 mm equivalent, the classic portrait length. Not an accident. OnePlus is showcasing telephoto chops in the toughest scenario, faces, motion, depth.
Having its own camera solution lets OnePlus tune hardware and software together, the kind of deep optimization Apple is known for. That opens the door to real time processing tweaks, custom algorithms for niche scenes, and updates that meaningfully improve images after launch.
Control the entire imaging pipeline, and you can optimize for your users instead of shipping a one size fits all camera.
The bigger picture: OnePlus’s iPhone-inspired evolution
The OnePlus 15 reads like a strategic reset, not a tune up. The new tech aims for more than a marketing bump, the company clearly wants the kind of recognition premium partnerships bring, just with an in-house badge.
The broader package backs that up. The camera technology should debut with the OnePlus 15, paired with the Snapdragon 8 Elite 2 SoC. That processor matters, recent Snapdragon platforms ramp up AI horsepower for real time HDR, advanced noise reduction, and multi frame blending.
To feed all that compute, the company is also likely to use silicon carbon tech again, which should enable a 7,000 mAh or higher battery. Not just stamina, it is headroom, so sustained imaging workloads do not trip over power limits.
Taken together, distinct design, proprietary computation, modern processors, and a big power reserve, this mirrors Apple’s integrated hardware plus software playbook. If OnePlus pulls it off, the brand looks more like a flagship trend setter than a fast follower.
What this means for the smartphone camera race
The OnePlus 15 lands in a busy year for camera innovation. The smartphone camera market in 2025 is stacked, with different philosophies competing for the same crown.
On one side, Google’s Pixel 9 lineup leans into AI tools for object removal and live adjustments. On the other, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra goes hardware heavy with a Leica branded quad setup, a 1 inch primary, and a 200 MP periscope. Two paths, software brains versus partnership powered muscle.
OnePlus has often lived in the middle. OnePlus has the best hardware on its flagships, yet the cameras still feel capped, even as quality improves. That gap has been the Achilles heel.
The OnePlus 15’s hybrid play, iPhone style design principles plus a homegrown computational engine, offers a third route that separates it from Google’s software first stance and Xiaomi’s partnership centric push. By owning the imaging stack and borrowing a few hard learned lessons from Apple, OnePlus gives itself a real shot to compete on camera quality, not just spec sheets.
PRO TIP: Keep an eye on those 85 mm equivalent samples. If the system can reliably turn out portrait grade shots without monster sensors or legacy badges, that might be the breakthrough OnePlus has been chasing.
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