OnePlus 10 Pro Review: Is It Still a Flagship Killer in 2024?
This is the OnePlus 10 Pro, and it is perhaps one of the most fascinating phones I’ve reviewed in a long time. Now, this isn’t necessarily because of the phone, but because of what’s happened with OnePlus over the past few years and where they sit as a company right now. You know, they used to make Android phones aimed at enthusiasts and that somehow managed to bring top-end specs down to fairly affordable devices, but as we all know, over the years, the prices of their phones have increased to flagship territory, their portfolio of phones has gotten super convoluted, including models like the OnePlus 10T, and then last year we had the announcement that OnePlus was officially merging with Oppo.
And when that happened, it felt as though the OnePlus that we all once knew and loved was fading faster than it had arrived. But as easy as it is to latch onto those headlines and wave our fists at OnePlus, the real answers only come when you use a OnePlus device. And so, given that the 10 Pro is OnePlus’s first flagship device released since the merge, I think it poses some interesting questions and answers.
OnePlus 10 Pro Specifications:
- Dimensions: 163 x 73.9 x 8.55mm, 200.5 grams
- Display: 6.7-inch LTPO 2.0 AMOLED, 120Hz refresh rate, LTPO 2.0, 1300 nits (peak) Corning Gorilla Glass Victus
- Resolution: QHD+ (3216 x 1440 pixels), 525 PPI
- Rear Camera: Triple (with LED flash), Second-gen Hasselblad Camera for Mobile
- 48MP Sony IMX789 primary
- 50MP ultrawide
- 8MP telephoto
- Front Camera: 32MP Sony IMX615 f/2.4
- Processor: Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 5G (4nm)
- Memory: 8/12GB LPDDR5 RAM
- Storage: 128/256GB UFS 3.1 storage
- Software: Android 12-based OxygenOS 12
- Battery: 5000mAh with 80W SuperVOOC charging
Recommendations
OnePlus 10 Pro Design
OnePlus 10 Pro: There’s always a difference between seeing it in renders and teasers versus actually holding it and experiencing it in person. And I have to say, personally, it’s a pretty solid design. It’s a nice size, roughly the same as last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro. Big, but not too big. It still has all the classic OnePlus shapes and specs. The logo is centered in the middle of the back, the speaker and SIM card tray are at the bottom, and the alert slider is slightly moved up on the phone.
The biggest change with this new design is the camera layout. So obviously, there is some inspiration from what Samsung did with the S21 series. A bit of a copy of my homework, but don’t make it too obvious here. But I still prefer Samsung’s version because it still feels more intentional. One, because it goes all the way to the corner and feels like a more integrated part of the design. And two, because here is this seam.
OnePlus 10 Pro Display Quality
The OnePlus 10 Pro’s 6.7-inch AMOLED display is a proper stunner, but then so is the screen on pretty much every other phone at this price point. All of those boxes are ticked as expected. You’ve got the QHD plus resolution, nice wide viewing angles, you’ve got HDR support with natural look and contrast, you’ve got a refresh rate that dynamically shifts from 1Hz up to 120Hz. That said, OnePlus has at least tried to evolve the screen technology a little bit by chucking in a couple of fresh new features, such as the AI Adaptive Brightness.
This evolves to learn your preferred brightness level, whether you’re outdoors or in ambient light, based on how much you manually tweak the brightness slider. Also updated is the Dual Colour Calibration, which produces richer-looking visuals at very low brightness, so colors shine compared with most rivals. Here’s a side-by-side with the OnePlus 9 Plus as an example, and you can see those vibrant tones are a lot more obvious when the screen brightness is almost at its lowest level.
The OnePlus 10 Pro is ideal for anyone who watches a lot of stuff on their smartphone in bed, or down the cinema when they get dragged there by the kids for the latest Harry Potter-type guff.
OnePlus 10 Pro Performance
OnePlus 10 Pro comes with the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, 8GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 128GB UFS 3.1 storage. Now, firstly, to test the performance, I ran the CPU throttling test. It scored 71%, which is good for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. But the scores are not at flagship level. So, then I got curious and ran Antutu to check, and it scored around 7,40,000, which is really low for a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phone. Then I turned on performance mode too, and it scored slightly better than 7,70,082.
Typically, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 scores around 9,00,000 or more. So, of course, there is throttling due to thermal control. But you don’t buy a phone just to run benchmarks. In terms of graphic settings for PUBG, you can play at Ultra HD 40 FPS just like any Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 phone.
However, I didn’t notice any issues during gameplay. I haven’t found any articles where I have seen graphics at HDR and frame rate at the extreme, but if you want good performance for the long term, then I recommend you keep graphics balanced and frame rate at ultra or extreme. FPS drops may occur if you play on HDR settings.
OnePlus 10 Pro Software
The OnePlus 10 Pro phone is built with OxygenOS 12.1 based on Android 12, but this is the first time a OnePlus phone ships with the combined ColorOS and OxygenOS software that OnePlus has been hinting at for a while. Now let’s start with the good news, which is the most fluid and buttery version of OxygenOS I’ve ever used. OnePlus has incorporated all the great things we saw in the Android 12 update on Pixel phones, like those beautiful animations throughout the OS, and improved them even further, resulting in an extremely smooth software experience.
For example, between using and reviewing this phone, I switched to the Galaxy S22 Ultra for quite an extended time, but after returning to using this phone, I have to emphasize how fluid the software experience was compared to the software on the S22 Ultra. It’s noticeable and oh-so-satisfying.
OnePlus 10 Pro Camera
The OnePlus 10 Pro has a 48MP primary camera with a Sony IMX789 sensor. The second sensor is Samsung’s 50MP Ultra Wide JN1 sensor, and the third sensor is an 8MP Omnivision sensor, which provides 3.3X optical zoom. The front selfie camera is 32MP.
We took a lot of photos yesterday, and a couple of things are noticeable. Firstly, the dynamic range of the photos is impressive. Whether you’re shooting under normal conditions or in dark and overexposed areas, you’ll appreciate the dynamic range.
Regarding the ultra-wide shots, there isn’t much color change. When taking a normal photo, some light colors are visible, but they become slightly flat on the ultra-wide shots. However, the difference is not too pronounced. Additionally, the Ultra Wide lens offers a 150-degree field of view, and there’s also a fisheye mode available along with many filters.
Overall, the camera offers a variety of features that will assist you in creating creative photographs. As for portraits, the skin tones appear to be good.
OnePlus 10 Pro Battery
the battery So without getting much thicker or bigger, this phone is now packing a 5,000 milliamp-hour battery and upgrades to 80-watt wired charging plus 50-watt wireless charging, which is sick. So usually you get, you know, a huge battery, but not so fast charging or a medium-sized battery, but with ultra-fast charging, it’s sort of like pick and choose. This is impressive.
This is combining the best of both worlds. So from a low battery, you can add about 60% charge in 15 minutes, which on such a big battery can last you an entire new day. And even if you don’t have a heavy day of use, you know, I haven’t really used this phone for very long, but you can already tell that this big battery combined with the LTPO2 display will reward lighter use days with much longer battery life.
My verdict
I know that my last two points regarding cameras and software may seem to skew things toward the negative, but in reality, I’ve largely enjoyed my experience using this phone. I think that mainly comes down to how impressive the build quality and design are, but also how fluid the software experience is.
The issue is, at this price point, the competition is just so stiff. This phone is now more expensive than the Pixel 6 Pro and the regular Galaxy S22. And in all honesty, that makes this phone a pretty tough sell.
It’s got some fantastic elements that make it a true joy to use, but there are also enough concerns to suggest being slightly cautious before purchasing. If you’ve been considering buying this phone for yourself, hopefully, there’s enough in this review to give you the confidence to make the decision one way or another. But as for the ultimate question of whether OnePlus has lost its way, well, at least in regards to the OnePlus 10 Pro, I don’t think they have just yet.
OnePlus recently announced that they’re going to revert to a non-merged version of OxygenOS when Android 13 launches later this year. And even the fact that the launch price of this phone was lower than that of the 9 Pro last year gives me enough confidence to suggest that they haven’t fully lost their way just yet. To be honest, I’m rooting for OnePlus, and I’m excited to see how not only the 10 Pro evolves with software updates down the line, but also how their future devices evolve as well.
The 10 Pro, for me, clearly shows that OnePlus hasn’t lost its way just yet, so here’s hoping things will only get better from here.
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Alvi Hosain
I am a tech enthusiast with over 1.5 years of experience in phone reviews and gadgets. Passionate about making technology easier for everyone, I focus on creating smartphone reviews and detailed tech guides. Whether exploring the latest devices or providing tips on how to get the most out of your gadgets, I love helping others navigate the world of technology. Known among my friends for solving phone-related problems, I enjoy discussing technology and staying up-to-date with the latest industry trends.
