The OnePlus 15 earned a perfect score; here’s how the Galaxy S26 Ultra could also be a five-out-of-five
The next Galaxy S26 Ultra could be perfect, just like the OnePlus 15, if Samsung refines its software and refreshes the hardware with a new look. At the very least, it'll be improved if Samsung takes away some bloatware.
(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
The OnePlus 15 is a perfect phone, according to my review score, and I couldn’t ask for more. It beats my best expectations across key criteria like display quality, battery life, and overall performance. Of course, some phones are better in one or two specific metrics, but none in every way.
The Galaxy S26 won’t be Samsung’s best phone ever – nobody would buy the Galaxy S26 Ultra if it were. Still, could the Galaxy S26 Ultra be a perfect phone, with a perfect 5/5 score on TechRadar.com? Well, to reach perfection, Samsung shouldn’t just focus on copying what OnePlus does best, because it's already doing those things pretty well.
OnePlus focused on durability and battery life with OnePlus 15
Both the OnePlus 13 and OnePlus 15 proved to be the most durable mainstream (ie, not for construction or military) smartphones you can buy. They can even withstand jets of hot water during a trip through your dishwasher. Samsung’s phones are nearly as durable, but going the extra mile would help close the design score gap.
Samsung phones may not be as durable as the OnePlus 15, but they are among the most durable devices you can buy. The Galaxy S25 Ultra is water-resistant all the way down to the S Pen, which can be submerged in water, and there’s no problem if the S Pen silo gets flooded. The Ultra can’t survive a dishwasher (presumably), but that’s not how I wash my phones.
(Image credit: Future / Lance Ulanoff)
Battery life will be harder for Samsung because OnePlus is using a new solid-state battery technology that most of the big phone makers have ignored so far. While Samsung’s phones get great battery life, the OnePlus 15 gets hours more screen time in our Future Labs tests.
OnePlus may be the battery life champ, but Samsung is a close second, and the Galaxy S25 Ultra really impressed me with its longevity. The latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite (and the newer Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5) chipsets have proven to be incredibly efficient.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra lasted for more than 18.5 hours in our battery rundown tests. That’s longer than the Apple iPhone 17 Pro Max and almost every other Android phone that came before. It isn’t as mindblowing as the OnePlus 15 with its 26.5 hours of screen time, but it’s still a strong second-place finish – enough to last more than a full day of hardcore phone use.
