A few things made this year’s launch of the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G a little different. The first country to get it was China at the beginning of 2022. Other countries, like India, are just now getting it. Second, there is only one model of the new 10 series so far.
This is in contrast to the three models that came out with the 9 series in India last year. A less expensive OnePlus 10 and OnePlus 10R are likely to come out later this year, but for now, we’re only interested in the top model.
Like the OnePlus 9 Pro (Review), the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G starts up where it left off. It also has a lot of changes that should make it a better flagship.
The ones that stand out to me are the new look, the better picture camera, and the bigger battery that charges faster. This year, the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G goes up against the Samsung Galaxy S22 (Review) and the iQoo 9 Pro (Review).
It also goes up against the iPhone 13 (Review) and the Vivo X70 Pro+ (Review). Let’s check out the new OnePlus 10 Pro 5G and see if it lives up to its looks.
OnePlus 10T Full Specification
| LAUNCH | |
| Announced | January 11, 2022 |
| First Release | January 13, 2022 |
| NETWORK | GSM / CDMA / LTE / 5G |
| BODY | |
| Dimensions | 163 x 73.9 x 8.6 mm |
| Weight | 201 g |
| Build | Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5) Glass back (Gorilla Glass 5) Aluminum frame |
| SIM | Single SIM (Nano-SIM) |
| DISPLAY | |
| Type | LTPO2 Fluid AMOLED, 1B colors |
| Size | 6.7 inches, 108.4 cm2 (~90.0% screen-to-body ratio) |
| Resolution | 1440 x 3216 pixels |
| Protection | Corning Gorilla Glass Victus |
| PLATFORM | |
| Operating System | Android 12, upgradable to Android 13, OxygenOS 13 (International |
| Chipset | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm) |
| CPU | Octa-core |
| GPU | Adreno 730 |
| MEMORY | |
| Card Slot | No |
| Internal | 128GB/ 8GB RAM 256GB/ 8GB RAM 256GB/ 12GB RAM 512GB/ 12GB RAM |
| MAIN CAMERA | |
| Triple | 48 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (wide) 8 MP, f/2.4, 77mm (telephoto) 50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 150˚ (ultrawide) |
| Features | Dual-LED, dual-tone flash. HDR, panorama, Hasselblad Color Calibration. |
| Video | 8K@24fps, 4K@30/60/120fps |
| SELFIE CAMERA | |
| Single | 32 MP, f/2.2, (wide) |
| Features | Auto-HDR |
| Video | 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS |
| SOUND | |
| Loudspeaker | Yes, with stereo speakers |
| 3.5mm jack | No |
| COMMS | |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6, dual-band, Wi-Fi Direct |
| Bluetooth | 5.2, A2DP, LE, aptX HD |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS, GALILEO, QZSS |
| NFC | Yes |
| Radio | No |
| USB | USB Type-C 3.1, OTG |
| FEATURES | |
| Sensors | Fingerprint (under display, optical) |
| BATTERY | |
| Type | Li-Po 5000 mAh, non-removable |
| Charging | 80W wired, PD, 1-100% in 32 min (International) |
| MISC | |
| Colors | Emerald Forest, Panda White, Volcanic Black, |
| Models | NE2210, NE2211, NE2213, NE2215, NE2217 |
| TEST | |
| Display | Contrast ratio: 1544:1 (nominal) |
| Camera | Photo / Video |
| Loudspeaker | -25.2 LUFS (Very good) |
| Battery life | Endurance rating 107h |
Read More: OnePlus 10T 5G Review: Evolve Beyond Speed
OnePlus 10 Pro Box Content
- The OnePlus 10 Pro is in the color you picked.
- Power adapter with 80W SuperVOOC.
- USB Type-A to Type-C.
- Quick Start Guide.
- Letter of Welcome.
- Information on safety and a warranty card.
- Screen Protector (pre-applied).
- A case for protection.
- The SIM Tray Ejector.
- Stickers for OnePlus.
- Red Cable Club joining card.
OnePlus 10 Pro Price and Release Date
Since April, you can buy the OnePlus 10 Pro. A model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage cost $899 when it first came out. But since the OnePlus 10T came out, the company has lowered the price of its top-of-the-line phone. It used to cost $999, but now you can get the OnePlus 10 Pro for $799. For $869, you can get a 12GB/256GB version.
The phone can also be bought at Amazon and Best Buy, as well as on the OnePlus website itself.
The Pixel 6 Pro ($899), the iPhone 13 Pro ($999), and the Galaxy S22 Plus ($999) (or $799 Galaxy S22) are the models that are most like the OnePlus 10 Pro. But I think the Galaxy S22 Ultra is the best match in many ways. It starts at $1,199 and has the powerful S Pen stylus and crazy telephoto zoom. Even though it doesn’t have those features, the OnePlus 10 Pro is still a good phone, and it costs $400 less now.
The OnePlus 10T costs $649 and has a faster engine than the OnePlus 10 Pro. It has even more savings. The cheaper gadget will have a better camera, but it will not work as well.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Design
The OnePlus 10 Pro has a 6.7-inch screen. It has a 1440p LTPO OLED screen with long sides that are slightly curved. Its 20:9 aspect ratio makes it a little higher than the S22 Plus and Pixel 6 Pro screens, and its top refresh rate of 120Hz is the same as theirs.
Comparing the screens, I can see that this one doesn’t get as unbearably bright as the Galaxy S22 Plus’s when they’re both in full sunlight. However, it’s still bright enough to use comfortably outside.
The 10 Pro has a frame made of metal Gorilla Glass 5 on the back and Gorilla Glass Victus on the front. It looks good that OnePlus copied Samsung and made the metal camera bump housing fit in with the phone’s side rails. If they copy someone else’s work, it’s at least the work of a smart kid in the class.
If you compare the 10 Pro to any other big flagship Android phone, there are only small differences in size—a few millimeters in either way, depending on the phone. Still, partly because the screen is higher, it feels a little sleeker and easier to hold.
The Pixel 6 Pro feels too bulky the more I use it, but this one is easier for me to hold. The 10 Pro’s in-display optical fingerprint reader is also quick and responsive, which is better than the Pixel’s scanner, which is slow. It’s a nice phone to carry and use all around, even for this small phone fan.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Display
The OnePlus 10 Pro is pretty big, which is probably because it has a big screen. The 6.7-inch AMOLED panel is pretty big. There are more words than just “big” that can be used to describe the screen. “Bright” and “beautiful” are two examples.
It has a resolution of 3216 x 1440, which is 2K, and a maximum brightness of 1,300 nits. This means that the material looks good whether you watch it outside or in a dark room like a movie theater. OnePlus has added an algorithm that changes the brightness of the screen based on how bright you like the phone to be in different settings and whether you change the brightness directly.
The update rate is 120Hz, and OnePlus’s LTPO 2.0 technology lets the rate change automatically. This means that the phone can switch between 1Hz for photos and 120Hz for games or social media faster than before. Speed isn’t very important, since the average person can’t tell the difference between, say, 50Hz and 60Hz, but OnePlus says this function lowers battery drain better than the OnePlus 9 Pro’s LTPO.
The phone also has a billion colors and HDR10+ support, so you can get the best picture possible. There is a chance that some tech fans will enjoy these extras, even though not all users will ever see all billion colors or find HDR useful.
The OnePlus 10 Pro, like many high-end phones, has an “always-on” display that shows the time and alerts even when you’re not using the phone. Over time, this does use some power, but we didn’t notice that it had a big effect on the battery life of the phone.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Camera
Yes, the iPhone may have been the first phone with this design, but the OnePlus camera system looks a bit like a kitchen tool with its square shape and four rings. Plus, it fits in with the phone’s frame in a way that looks a lot like the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Anyway, we don’t mind. OnePlus’s designs aren’t completely unique, but they do take on popular themes. What counts is whether this camera is finally the one that puts OnePlus on the same level as the big guys.
Based on the OnePlus 9 Pro, the OnePlus 10 Pro is a natural next step in terms of hardware. The phone doesn’t have anything truly new or amazing, but it does have a good amount of features for 2022. There is now a much smaller sensor in the ultra-wide camera, but it has a bigger 14mm field of view and a cool new 150-degree fish-eye shooting mode.
We have the same 3.3X zoom long lens as last year. It doesn’t look that much better, but that’s okay because it takes great pictures. But the Hasselblad logo is still there, and it makes you think of greatness. Let’s see if that’s really what you get.
Now there is a 10-bit color mode and a “RAW+” mode that records 12-bit color, which is even larger. For people who want to carefully edit their photos in Adobe Lightroom or another post-processing app, both of these tools should be very helpful.
Image quality
In general, the OnePlus stands out thanks to its easy-to-use photo app and wide range of features. There is a lot of detail in the pictures taken by the main camera, and the colors are dark and have a hint of deep contrast that makes me think of the Pixel 6 Pro.
The ultra-wide camera is also good, but the fisheye mode is mostly just a fun party trick. Last but not least, the 3.3X telephoto isn’t very sharp. On the other hand, the selfie camera gets beautiful, detailed pictures.
One problem that needs to be fixed isn’t unique to OnePlus; it happens with most high-end Android phones as well: when you switch between cameras, colors often change, sometimes very little, and other times a lot. In this way, an iPhone is more reliable.
Another strange “issue” is that the OnePlus 10 Pro wouldn’t turn on its Night Mode by itself. It’s not hard to do that by hand, but the fact that it’s not automatic makes some people raise an eyebrow or two. It’s 2022, even iPhones can do that!
Video Quality
You can take videos on the OnePlus 10 Pro in a number of different resolutions and ways: Video in 8K! 1280×720 at 4K! AI records videos!
That’s all great, but let’s start with the facts. Of course, you do have 8K video, but you can only record it at 24fps, and the files are pretty big. As you might expect, the video is reduced a bit. Fork has the same field of view as 1080p, so there is no need to edit. In 4K/30fps, you can use all three cameras. In 4K/60fps, you can only use the main camera, and in 4K/120fps, you can only use the ultra-wide camera.
This new 4K/120fps choice is great for people who edit videos after the fact and want to record very detailed slow motion. You have to do it after the fact; the phone gallery app won’t slow down 4K/120fps videos for you. It would have been great if the camera and photo apps could do 4K slow motion, but they couldn’t.
OnePlus has also added a new zoom button that makes zooming very smooth. We love the idea, and we’ve seen interfaces like this in some third-party camera apps. There should be quick ways to switch between the three cameras, but that’s not a big deal.
Lastly, there is Ultra Steady video stabilization, but it only works in 1080p 60fps mode. There is also an AI mode that makes the colors look better, but it only works in 1080p mode as well.
One thing we noticed is that the selfie camera can only record movies in 1080p, while other cameras can do 4K. Also, if you have bright highlights, they are blown out and turned white. We’ve seen much cheaper phones do this much better.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Audio Quality
As we already said, this doesn’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack. However, you can still use USB-C headphones or wireless headphones.
These two loudspeakers can get very loud, but they distort a bit, and at the loudest levels, the sound isn’t as clear or deep. Still, these are some of the best we’ve heard, and they do make watching videos or playing games more enjoyable.
The new haptic feedback motor in the OnePlus 10 Pro is something that OnePlus is very proud of. This is without a doubt the best haptic feedback OnePlus has ever put on a device. It’s strong and accurate.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Performance and Software
For a long time, OnePlus has been able to keep the stock Android experience simple while adding its own changes and features. Even though OnePlus and Oppo are working together more closely and using the same codebase, the OnePlus 10 Pro stays true to that method.
One of the reasons the 10 Pro took so long to come out after its debut was that the company had to spend more time making changes to the software for places other than China. This was because version 12 of OxygenOS was released.
It’s still nice to be able to quickly turn off OS features I don’t need. You can pull down the OnePlus Shelf menu from the top right part of the phone to show it. It puts together a number of tiles that can be changed. This is similar to the widgets that you can add to your Android phone’s home screen for about ten years.
I don’t need it, and I get annoyed when it shows up instead of the normal Android drop-down menu that has my alerts and settings toggles. Thank goodness I can turn off the whole thing by tapping the settings cog inside the Shelf.
A new AI adaptive brightness feature is one update I’m not going to turn off. The OnePlus 10 Pro can learn how bright you like your screen to be and make changes, probably before you do. It can be hard to notice AI features in smartphones when you’re using them every day.
For example, energy optimization features are meant to change based on how you use your phone and use less power. But when I checked the 10 Pro early in the morning, OnePlus’ adjustable brightness quickly showed up and kept the screen from being too bright before I even had my coffee.
Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip
To get the most out of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, there are also some changes that make games run better. Thanks to Oppo, the HyperBoost game engine tries to keep frame rates stable while you play games. A new feature called O-Sync also makes the touchscreen more quick. Both have problems with AI improvements that happen behind the scenes that bother me. On top of that, you can’t stream games from Xbox Cloud Gaming or Stadia, which is how I usually play games on my phone.
The OnePlus 10 Pro didn’t care about what I did to it, as has been the case with most phones that use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. The 5,000mAh battery died after playing the same movie over and over for more than 14 hours, which is longer than Samsung’s Galaxy S22+ battery life of about 17 hours.
OnePlus 10 Pro Battery Life and Charging
Thanks to Oppo’s research and development, the OnePlus 10 Pro can be charged quickly with 80W SUPERVOOC. OnePlus has had fast charging for a while now, but man, this is fast. If you have the right charger (don’t worry, it comes with the phone), it only takes 32 minutes to fully charge the 10 Pro.
Even faster charging is possible with the 80W SUPERVOOC, which OnePlus says can take the phone from 0% to 61% in just 15 minutes. I got about the same results when I charged the phone myself. One important thing that the OnePlus 9 Pro doesn’t have is this great feature.
US buyers won’t have the same experience, which is a shame. In a OnePlus forum discussion, the company made it clear: “In North America, the OnePlus 10 Pro supports 65W SUPERVOOC. This is because 80W SUPERVOOC does not currently support 110 or 120-volt AC power, which is the standard for power outlets in the region.”
In the US, a 65W charging speed would still be the fastest, but it’s hard not to feel a little let down when compared to other places.
Should I buy the OnePlus 10 Pro?
Buy it if…
You like cameras, but taking pictures isn’t your main goal: The cameras on the OnePlus 10 Pro are good, but not as good as cameras on other phones in the same price range. This means that this phone is best for people who want good photography along with other features.
You need to charge quickly: If you buy either the 80W or 65W OnePlus 10 Pro, you’ll get a phone that charges faster than many other phones on the market, which is great for people who are in a hurry.
You want a Pro phone but don’t want to spend a lot of money: The OnePlus 10 Pro is cheaper than many other high-end Pro phones, which makes it a good option for Samsung, Xiaomi, and iPhone phones.
Don’t buy it if…
You can’t wait for the OnePlus 10: There won’t be a “standard” OnePlus 10, so if you want a phone that costs less than the Pro, Oppo or Samsung phones are better choices.
Your hands are small: People with big hands will like the OnePlus 10 Pro the most. If you’re not sure, try one out in a store before you buy it.
You take a lot of selfies with yourself: The OnePlus 10 Pro’s Portrait mode, especially on the front camera, didn’t do much for us. If you like taking artistic pictures of your friends and family, you should skip this.
OnePlus 10 Pro Verdict
When I tested the OnePlus 10 Pro, it was clear that the phone was made by OnePlus with OPPO features added. This isn’t always a bad thing. With the help of BBK’s favorite kid, imaging has become more consistent, battery life has improved, bugs have been reduced, and the overall user experience has been made better. It also has some great features, like a beautiful screen and better battery life and charging that is lightning fast.
Unfortunately, the union has made a phone that doesn’t stand out. The software doesn’t have that one-of-a-kind OnePlus style, and the overall lack of care in the package is telling. It’s clear that the days of never settling are over, as shown by the camera’s steps backward, the unlocked model’s lack of an IP rating, the speakers that aren’t balanced, and the lack of top features like mmWave 5G.
The OnePlus 10 Pro marks the start of a new era at OnePlus. One where the goal is to make as much money as possible by using good enough phones to ship more. The OnePlus 10 Pro doesn’t blow people away, but it does what it says on the box well enough, which is what manufacturers need to do to make money, not to win fans.
Long-time fans might not be crazy about the OnePlus 10 Pro, but it’s meant to attract a wider range of people. Along the way, it’s also a sad reminder that the old OnePlus is really dead.
