OnePlus 15 vs Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max

How they differ in real use

Built from our best battery phones scoring, each product's published specifications, and verified owner feedback — not hands-on testing.

Both the OnePlus 15 and the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max made our Top 5 Gaming Phones, at #2 (best premium) and #3. ASUS confirmed it has no ROG Phone 10 for 2026 and has since exited the phone business entirely, and the ROG Phone 9 Pro it leaves behind is now out of stock across Amazon and ASUS's own store. The OnePlus 15 is the strongest mainstream stand-in: Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, a 165Hz LTPO OLED display (higher than the ROG Phone 9 Pro's own panel), and a roughly 7,000mAh battery with 120W wired charging. Its triple-layer vapor-chamber cooling still throttles to about 60% of peak after 30+ minutes of sustained gaming load, per a HotHardware review, and it has no dedicated shoulder triggers. Best for Apple ecosystem gamers with A19 Pro sustained performance, console-quality games (RE Village, AC Mirage), and Apple Arcade. MagSafe controller attachment needs no pairing fuss. Passively cooled, so it trails the actively-cooled and vapor-chamber phones above on extended sessions.

We score gaming phones on Performance (35%), Display (25%), Cooling (20%), Gaming Features (10%) and Battery Life (10%). On that basis the OnePlus 15 totals 8.8 out of 10 and the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max 8.7. The widest gap is Performance, where the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max scores 10 against 9 for the OnePlus 15: processing. Display also separates them: 10 for the OnePlus 15 versus 9 for the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max. The Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max claws back ground on Gaming Features.

On paper, the specifications that actually differ: Display: 6.78" LTPO AMOLED, 2780x1264, 120Hz on the OnePlus 15 versus 6.9" Super Retina XDR, 2868x1320, 120Hz ProMotion on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max; Processor: Snapdragon 8 Elite on the OnePlus 15 versus A19 Pro Bionic on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max; RAM: 12GB/16GB on the OnePlus 15 versus 12GB on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max; Storage: 256GB/512GB on the OnePlus 15 versus 256GB-2TB on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max; Battery: 7,300mAh Si-C, 100W wired, 50W wireless on the OnePlus 15 versus Up to 39hr video on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max; Camera: 50MP triple system on the OnePlus 15 versus 48MP main (ƒ/1.78) + 48MP ultrawide + 48MP 4x (100mm) telephoto on the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max.

Check current pricing at the merchant links below. Owners praise the OnePlus 15 for 25+ hours longest tested and 7,300mAh silicon-carbon; the most common complaint is large phone. Owners praise the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max for best-in-class video recording and 4K 120fps smooth capture; the most common complaint is premium flagship price.