The OnePlus 10 Pro exceeds expectations by providing all of this under extreme duress in addition to exceeding expectations by outperforming the OnePlus 9 Pro in almost every discernible aspect. This year, OnePlus has refined its idea of a real flagship phone to compete with the major manufacturers, and the end result is a smart, stylish product. It’s not simply a less expensive flagship; it’s a genuine rival to Samsung and Google with a distinct personality. Not that OnePlus has completely bridged the gap between itself and the major Android brands. Compared to the Pro from last year, the 10 Pro’s $899 price makes more sense. However, there are compelling reasons to choose the Pixel 6 Pro or the $999 Galaxy S22 Plus over the 10 Pro for the same price. One area where OnePlus needs to make up ground on its rivals is the camera department. Additionally, unlike Google or Samsung, which promise five years of support following launch, OnePlus does not offer software security upgrades for as long.
OnePlus 10 Pro review: Design
The design skills of OnePlus have progressively grown over the past few years, but the OnePlus 10 Pro surpasses even the OnePlus 9 Pro. The Volcanic Black variant, which has a soft touch material on the back, is what we got. The fact that the phone can now resist fingerprints, something its predecessor could not, is one of our favourite aspects of this. You may have noticed the new camera module’s clear Samsung-inspired appearance. The entire array effortlessly disappears into the frame, resembling the contour cut of the Galaxy S22. Although we just really see a cooktop when we look at the camera module of the OnePlus 10 Pro, it is sturdy and attractive because to its ceramic construction. Since the OnePlus 2, the alert slider has been a mainstay of OnePlus phones and is still present and just as helpful. Similar hardware switches exist on iPhones, however the slider has not yet been implemented on an Android phone. It’s quite helpful for making the OnePlus 10 Pro vibrate or completely silent. We adore it, and we adore that OnePlus has maintained it; it demonstrates that some of the business’s previous design aesthetic has persisted. The OnePlus 10 Pro is really pleasant to hold overall. It feels remarkably light in our hands for only weighing 7 ounces. With a 3 inch width, we can access much of the screen without having to extend our thumb too far. The Galaxy S22 Ultra is heavier and narrower than the OnePlus 10 Pro. Thus, OnePlus created an extremely ergonomic phone that is nonetheless very huge.
Display
The OnePlus 10 Pro’s large size is probably due to its large screen, as the device’s 6.7-inch AMOLED display is roomy. In addition to “big,” we can also describe the screen as “bright” and “beautiful,” and that’s just sticking with the letter “b.” The video looks good whether you see it outside or in a dark setting akin to a movie theatre because of the resolution, which is 3216 x 1440, or 2K, and the high maximum brightness of 1,300 nits. A new algorithm from OnePlus adjusts the brightness of the display based on how bright you prefer the phone to be in various settings and if you ever manually adjust it. The phone can switch between merely 1Hz for still images and 120Hz for games or social media more quickly than previously thanks to OnePlus’ use of what it calls LTPO 2.0 tech for automated rate change. Even while speed isn’t crucial—the untrained eye can’t tell the difference between, example, 50Hz and 60Hz—OnePlus claims that this technology saves more battery life than the LTPO in the OnePlus 9 Pro. The phone also supports HDR10+ and a billion colours if you absolutely need the most advanced display characteristics. While not all people will ever be able to view all the billion hues or benefit from HDR, certain tech enthusiasts could value these advantages.
OnePlus 10 Pro review: Software
One of OnePlus’ products’ biggest strengths and distinctive features is its OxygenOS user interface, an Android skin that offers fluidity and simplicity in a way that genuinely seems to appeal to people. In light of this, supporters were understandably worried when the company hinted that OxygenOS might be merging with Oppo’s ColorOS as part of its OnePlus 2.0 push in September. However, after receiving criticism from the community, OnePlus changed its mind. As a result, ColorOS and OxygenOS continue to operate on a newly-unified codebase, maintaining their own identities on the devices of their respective brands while still benefiting from an easier update plan. As expected, OxygenOS 12.1 is tidy and distinct while running on the 10 Pro (on top of Android 12). You have control over the quick settings and app icon forms, the UI color palette, the movement of the fingerprint sensor, and more. Every time a “1” appears in the clock widget, it is shown in the company’s distinctive red. Additionally, you have the choice to utilize OnePlus Sans in place of Android’s default Roboto typeface, which contributes to the user interface’s delightfully distinct look and feel throughout the system.
Hardware and performance
For instance, the OnePlus Shelf was moved from the “left side” of the home screen to a drag-down position from the upper right corner, which is essentially the same spot as the control Centre on the iPhone. We deactivated the feature because we never intentionally turned it on. You’re in for a letdown if you were looking for the extensive modifications present in the majority of Android 12 builds, particularly the Pixel 6 series. The OnePlus version of Android 12 does allow for some customization, but not as much as standard Android 12. However, when it comes to using the phone itself, we don’t have any issues with the majority of routine tasks. With the exception of the rare stutter that might be the game itself, gaming functions smoothly. We never found ourselves wishing we were on a different phone while we went about our day checking email, utilizing Slack, sending texts, and making calls. Considering the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor and 8GB of RAM, it performed flawlessly. But we were making a big exception when we said “most day-to-day” activities. The OnePlus 10 Pro has awful Android Auto. This isn’t even a brand-new problem; the 9 series also had issues. But the fact that this hasn’t been resolved yet is disappointing. Our phones are set to charge only by default when we connect them into our cars. Although we changed the default to data transmission using developer options, it isn’t always effective. Usually, Android Auto starts up properly if we connect the phone in before starting our car. If it doesn’t work, switching the cable on and off frequently does. If not, we must drag the notice down and choose the data transfer option. also you will learn our article on OnePlus 10 Pro review. Even after all of that, it might not work, but typically pushing the phone into data transfer mode works. However, there are occasions when we are unable to connect our phone to our automobile for Android Auto. It’s annoying, especially since we don’t have the same problem on any other phone. Every time we want to use Android Auto, we shouldn’t have to perform a song and dance. Though we do. It’s a major oversight that discourages us from using the phone.
OnePlus 10 Pro review: Camera
The back of this phone contains three camera sensors: a 50-megapixel ultrawide sensor with a 150-degree field of view, an 8-megapixel telephoto lens with 3.3x optical zoom, and the primary sensor, which has a resolution of 48 megapixels. The logo on the camera module and the recognizable orange shutter button are further indications that OnePlus has a connection with the camera experts at Hasselblad, but more importantly, it is this partnership that enables all three sensors to capture photos in true 10-bit color. Evidently, these three sensors offer a great degree of adaptability, allowing you to snap a variety of photographs depending on the situation. We weren’t blown away by the image quality captured by this device, though. First of all, despite the variety of lenses being a plus, the three don’t have a particularly similar colour scheme. The camera is able to record in 4K at 120 frames per second, producing high-quality videos (or even 8K, but at 24fps). According to our usage experience, the stabilization has produced a sharp image. The addition of Movie, which allows you to modify IO, shutter speed, and white balance both before and during filming for more customization, is one of the most significant enhancements to video capture. Overall, despite the OnePlus 10 Pro’s camera’s lofty claims of adaptability, our testing revealed that it fell short of the finest camera phones in terms of quality.
Battery life
We were blown away by the OnePlus 10 Pro’s battery life during both our testing and actual use. Long gaming sessions and occasional YouTube and Plex viewing were no problem for the phone. The OnePlus 10 Pro will last a very long life when used more casually for online browsing and social networking. When evaluating a phone’s battery life, we task it to continuously reload web pages over a cellular connection while the display brightness is set to 150 nits. To determine our average, we conduct this test several times. In our battery rundown tests, the OnePlus 10 Pro easily defeats the Galaxy S22 Ultra despite having the same 5,000 mAh battery and Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 CPU. In this test, we anticipate that modern smartphones will last at least 10 hours, which the OnePlus 10 Pro comfortably surpasses. It almost matches the amazing outcome of the iPhone 13 Pro in its 120Hz setting, which is saying a lot. you can read our article on OnePlus 10 Pro review.
OnePlus 10 Pro review: Price and availability
Conclusion
This all brings us to the conclusion, which is another affirmative one for OnePlus. The OnePlus 10 Pro not only packs in the majority of the features you’d expect from a flagship phone at a more affordable price than competitors, it also manages to do it without making too many sacrifices in any one area. It has a good design, takes wonderful photographs, has a long battery life, and has excellent performance. The only issue, which is a very significant one, is that it doesn’t have an IP classification for water and dust resistance. It’s a definite must-have at this price point and on a flagship phone, and the OnePlus 10 Pro’s lack of it prevents me from giving it my highest rating.