An update to the phone that never was, the OnePlus 10T arrives in late summer to fill a slot a notch below the 10 Pro. There was no OnePlus 10 to be succeeded, and there’s no 10T Pro now either, so the 10T is in somewhat of weird spot – superior to the 10 Pro is some ways, not quite as good in others.

 

 

 

 

 

The upgrades come in areas that one easily associates with OnePlus. On the one hand, is performance – the new model uses the latest Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, the TSMC-made version coming with improved speed and efficiency. It’s coupled with the most advanced cooling system the company has made, so it can make the most out of that chip. And then there’s charging speed – the 150W charging capability of the OP10T sounds excessive on paper, but it does make it one of the fastest charging handsets we’ve seen.

Not being a Pro, the 10T does make some concessions in other areas, key among them being the camera. The rather unimpressive setup is missing a zoom camera (a 3x one present on the 10 Pro), and the ultrawide one is a midrange-grade unit (if even that). That only leaves the main camera with some proper imaging chops, but it, too, is hardly cutting edge.

A similarly not-quite-flagship bit is the display – sure, it’s a 120Hz capable OLED, but it omits the granular adaptive refresh rate we’ve come to expect from top-end models.

But framing the 10T as a flagship and pointing out ways in which it misses the mark may be unfair to its aspirations. There’s a reason why there’s no Pro in its name, and with a starting price of $650/€740 it’s fighting a different battle. Let’s see how it does.

OnePlus 10T specs at a glance :

Disclaimer. We can not guarantee that the information on this page is 100% correct.

OnePlus 10T unboxing

There are no surprises in the presentation – the 10T arrives in a familiar bright red cardboard box. It’s a full-size one, too – it has to be in order to fit the chunky power adapter. There’s a 160W stamp on it, but the phone will max out at just 150W, as mentioned before. In the US, the power output will be capped at 125W, too – bummer. It’s worth mentioning that the charger is also USB PowerDelivery compliant and will put out up to 45W through its USB-C port.

There’s little more in terms of accessories inside the box other than the adapter and cable to go with it. There are a couple of 1+ stickers, for what it’s worth.

 

 

 

 

There’s no bundled protective case, but OnePlus sent us a couple from their case roster that you can purchase at an extra cost. One of them is black and mimics the sandstone texture of earlier models by the company – from when they still did things to stand out from the pack. The other one is the cooling type, similar to the one we had for the Oppo Find X5 Pro. It has cutouts in a striped pattern, and with some imagination, you could see stylized lightning bolts in there.

 

 

 

 

Competition

The OnePlus 10T‘s base price of $650/€740 (for an 8GB/128GB version) makes it reasonably competitive, both in the US and Europe, while the INR 50K asking price sounds like a bargain in India.

 

 

 

 

A Galaxy S22 is nominally $800 but now runs for $700 (for the same base 8GB/128GB configuration), while it’s €750 or less in Europe. It comes with a few advantages to make up for the small premium in the US, while the level playing field in Europe makes it a fight on the merits entirely. At INR 75K, the Galaxy is in a very different price bracket in India.

The IP68 rating is among the S22’s pros in this head-to-head, as is the more versatile camera system (3x tele, higher-res ultrawide, AF-capable selfie camera). The OP counters with better battery life and way quicker charging, though the S22’s wireless charging could settle it in the opposite direction for some buyers. The 10T does have a brawnier chipset, though it goes to waste with the gaming fps caps – the Galaxy does allow high fps gaming. The S22 could be too small for some folks looking at the OP 10T, and the plus-size model can be out of budget.

If, however, small is good, there’s always the Zenfone 9, retailing for €800 in Europe. At less than 10% more expensive than the 10T, this one too has its advantages – the IP68 rating and superior camera setup (though missing a tele) aren’t surprising, but the Zenfone also has its own solid implementation of the SD8+ Gen 1, making it one better than the Galaxy. There’s no matching the 10T’s charging speed, however, and if you want big, the Asus is not it.

In a way, you might be able to get a Xiaomi 12 Pro for OnePlus 10T money in Europe – if you’re eyeing the 16GB/256GB OP at €820. A 12GB/256GB Xiaomi goes for as much and is a proper flagship – with the cameras and display of one. It also charges about as fast as the 10T, which is quite the achievement, though the OnePlus still wins for endurance. In India, even a base 8GB/256GB 12 Pro is more than 10% pricier than the top-of-the-line 10T, but it may still be worth the extra money if you’re after a more competent cameraphone.

Meanwhile in the US, Google will sell you a Pixel 6 Pro for the same $650 that OnePlus charges for the 10T – admittedly, it’s a temporary discount from the usual $900, but it’s the number we’re looking at right now. The Pixel has more and better cameras, software from the very source, wireless charging, and an IP68 rating. It matches the 10T’s battery life, though the 10T obviously takes the wind for wired charging speed. If you’re on this side of the Atlantic, the Pixel 6 (non-Pro) for €650 can be a reasonable alternative to the 10T as well.

With the close ties between the brands, can the Realme GT2 Pro count as a rival? Well, why not – it’s different enough and is priced in the same ballpark wherever the two share markets. We got significantly better battery life out of the Realme, perhaps thanks to its more advanced display, and while the OP maintains an advantage in charging speed, the Realme is no slouch either. Main cameras are similar, but the Realme’s fisheye ultrawide and microscope are infinitely more interesting than the 10T’s meh ultrawide and pointless macro.

 

 

Samsung Galaxy S22 5G • Asus Zenfone 9 • Xiaomi 12 Pro • Google Pixel 6 Pro • Realme GT2 Pro

 

 

Verdict

The OnePlus 10T is hardly an exciting release, and it makes it easy on us to pick on it for its missteps. For the most part, those were already there in the spec sheet – the so-so camera system and lack of wireless charging and IP rating weren’t exactly surprises, and the press images readily reveal the absence of the alert slider too. That last bit, coupled with the fact that OnePlus and Oppo Android overlays have been steadily converging, may also put off long-time fans of the brand.

 

 

 

 

But the 10T doesn’t have to be all things to all people quite like a ‘proper’ flagship does, and the 10 Pro is still there to cater to a more demanding audience. The 10T’s main selling points were also right there on the official product pages, and the phone does deliver top-level performance and charging speed. For its conservatively specced camera, it delivers an okay experience, the display is solid in its average-ness, battery life is similarly middle-of-the-road – all of these to be taken in a good way if that makes any sense.

In its essence, the OnePlus 10T is an upper-midrange phone with a top-tier chipset and class-leading charging capability. We’d say it’s priced accordingly and is worth what OnePlus is asking – perhaps you can read that as sort of a recommendation.

Pros

• Bright 120Hz display.
• Competent main camera for both stills and video, in good light and at night alike.
• Some of the fastest charging in the business, solid battery life.
• Nice sounding stereo speakers.
• Fastest Android chipset on the market, great sustained performance.

Cons

• Alert slider is now gone.
• No wireless charging.
• No IP rating.
• OxygenOS is now but a reskinned ColorOS.
• Most games limited to 60Hz, browsers to 90Hz.
• No telephoto camera, the ultrawide is so-so.