After the launch of its 2nd generation Nord Series in India, OnePlus has introduced its premium flagship smartphone, the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G which competes with a bunch of flagships including the Apple iPhone 13. The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G has been upgraded from its predecessor, you will see a new design aesthetics, a larger battery with faster charging, some camera upgrades, and more. Here’s what we have to say about the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G in our review.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Specifications
- Display: 6.7-inch LTPO 2.0 Fluid AMOLED 10-bit color display, 2K WQHD+ resolution (3,216 x 1440 pixels, 525 ppi), 120 Hz refresh rate, 1,300 nits peak brightness, HDR10+, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, sRGB, Corning Gorilla Glass Victus (front), Corning Gorilla Glass 5 (back)
- Software: OxygenOS 12.1 interface, Android 12 operating system
- CPU: 4nm Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 (armv9) octa-core SoC clocked at 3.0 GHz, Kryo processor (Cortex-X2/A710/A510), 6 MB L3 cache, 7th generation AI Engine
- GPU: Adreno 730 Graphics
- Memory: 8 GB OR 12 GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM
- Storage: 128 GB OR 256 GB UFS 3.1 2-LANE internal storage
- Main Camera: Triple cameras (48 MP Sony IMX789 primary camera + 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1 ultra-wide 150 degrees fish-eye camera + 8 MP telephoto camera), Optical Image Stabilization, EIS, 8K Video Recording, dual-LED flash
- Selfie Camera: 32 MP Sony IMX615
- Others: In-display fingerprint scanner, Face Unlock
- Cellular: 5G network (X65 chip), dual SIM, dual standby support
- Battery: 5,000 mAh battery (2S1P 2,500 mAh, non-removable)
- Charging: 80W SuperVOOC fast charging, 50W AirVOOC
- Price: ₹49,999 (8 GB + 128 GB), ₹57,999 (12 GB + 256 GB)
- Offers: Flat ₹4,500 cashback on SBI credit cards, and EMI
Design, Display, & Build
OnePlus has improved its design, the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G is a step above its older generation. We got the Volcanic Black model which features strong metallic soft touch on the back and it sparkles in the sunlight while another variant is the Emerald Forest which has a Forest Green outlook.
The design is highly sleek and premium, with metallic frames, and curved edges, and offers a slimmer design compared to the OnePlus 9 Pro (8.7 mm vs 8.6 mm). It’s now resistant to fingerprints and gives you a nice smooth feel when you hold it in your hands. It certainly has one of the best design builds and offers a solid build quality.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G uses a newer display tech, you will find a 2K display on the phone using LTPO 2.0 technology (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide). It is a special kind of backplane technology designed for AMOLED screens. The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G flaunts a 6.7-inch 2K display with 10-bit color depth (1B colors) utilizing the LTPO 2.0 technology and fluid AMOLED panel. The resolution is 2k WQHD+ (3216 x 1440 pixels, 525 ppi) along with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and 1,300 nits peak brightness.
The screen is covered with the new scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass Victus on the front side while the backside has a Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection (Emerald Forest variant). The back looks very different from all OnePlus generations, the quad modules merge with the side frame with the Hasselblad branding and it is covered with the 3D nano-microcrystalline Ceramic for extra durability. It has triple cameras and an LED flash on the rear setup.
The right side has an alert slider and a power button while the left side has volume controls. The top has a microphone and the bottom has a USB Type-C port for fast charging, data transfer, and audio output, as well as a loudspeaker (stereo), microphone, and SIM tray. The tray supports dual SIMs with 5G functionality and dual standby, no microSD slot is available on the phone.
You get dual stereo speakers on the phone with support Dolby Atmos, and Hi-Res Audio Certification. The fingerprint scanner is under the display and you will find an in-screen selfie camera on the front which has been upgraded.
Software & User Interface
The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G runs OxygenOS 12.1 based on Android 12 and it’s the latest version from OnePlus. The OxygenOS is currently one of the best Android interfaces free from bloatware and offers a chunk of features and customizations.
Speaking of the pre-installed apps, only the essential Google apps and a few OnePlus apps came with the phone, the rest is just clean, no third-party apps are installed as you see on certain smartphones. You will also find traces of OPPO’s ColorOS such as a few familiar features in the camera app and OPPO’s ORoaming feature.
OxygenOS 12.1 also offers a more granular dark mode menu, allowing you to choose between Gentle, Medium, and Enhanced based on your preference. Apart from this, you also get all the native traits of Android 12. OnePlus promises three years of Android OS updates and four years of security updates for the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G.
Hardware, Performance, & Gaming
On the performance side, the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G has nailed it with the new Qualcomm chip, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 which is Qualcomm’s fastest flagship SoC to date right after the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 2 5G. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is clocked at 3.0 GHz along with Adreno 730 GPU for high-end gaming.
The CPU is one of the major highlights you will see apart from its 2K display. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is even more powerful than the Snapdragon 888 Plus, with about 20% more performance and 30% better power-saving than its predecessor, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is the fastest CPU for Android-based smartphones and should be competing with the Apple A14 CPU.
About the CPU, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 is a high-end fast SoC manufactured in a 4nm process consisting of 1+3+4 Kryo core configurations, one high-performance prime core ARM Cortex-X2 core clocked at 3.0 GHz, three performance ARM Cortex-A710 cores clocked at 2.5 GHz, and four power-efficient ARM Cortex-A510 cores clocked at 1.8 GHz.
The performance is significantly improved compared to the predecessor chip, Snapdragon 888. You can check the benchmarks for its performance, one of our Geekbench 5 benchmarks scored 860 points in a single-core CPU benchmark and 3,322 points in a multi-core CPU benchmark. The GPU has scored 5,920 points which means it has enough power to handle high-end GPU tasks.
Gaming is something you should look for on this phone, no matter what you throw at it, this mighty gaming performer has what it takes to handle everything at max graphics. You can play games with the highest possible graphics, the Adreno 730 GPU has enough power to handle it. The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G is one of the best gaming rigs to pick in the flagship segment.
Speaking of the RAM and storage options, the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G has a fast LPDDR5 RAM type and UFS 3.1 2-LANE storage type which is considered to be among the fastest. About the variants, you will find two RAM variants i.e. 8 GB RAM and 12 GB RAM while the storage on the phone is 128 GB and 256 GB. The storage cannot be expanded via a microSD card slot due to its lacking microSD card support.
The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G comes with RAM expansion technology which you might have seen on realme and OPPO smartphones. The RAM expansion helps you increase the RAM to an extra 7 GB making a total of 19 GB of RAM on the phone. The price for the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G starts at ₹66,999 for its base variant 8 GB RAM + 128 GB variant and ₹71,999 for 12 GB RAM + 256 GB variant. By grabbing the discounts, you can get a flat ₹4,500 instant discount using SBI Bank credit cards.
Cameras
OnePlus, this time continues with Hasselblad cameras, you will find a total of three rear cameras on the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G, which OnePlus calls its second-generation Hasselblad Camera for Mobile. The cameras have been upgraded on the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G, though the primary and telephoto camera cameras are the same as we saw on the predecessor, the ultra-wide and selfie camera cameras are new.
You will find a 48 MP Sony IMX789 primary camera, a 50 MP Samsung ISOCELL JN1 ultra-wide that offers 150 degrees fish-eye mode, and an 8 MP telephoto camera. The camera supports Optical Image Stabilization (OIS), EIS, 8K Video Recording, along with a dual-LED flash. The selfie camera is 32 MP.
The 8 MP telephoto camera 8 MP has OIS support and it is capable of 3.3X optical zoom and up to 30X digital zoom. The camera app is well designed, making it easy to find what you are looking for. The ultra-wide camera still has a 50 MP resolution but it’s based on a Samsung ISOCELL JN1 sensor. The one good thing is its 150 degrees FOV, which lets you take some interesting-looking shots. OnePlus has also finally upgraded the selfie camera on its flagship with a Sony IMX615 sensor.
OnePlus 10 Pro 5G Camera Samples
Battery Runtime & Charging
The battery capacity of the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G has increased to 5,000 mAh and is now even slimmer (8.6 mm). This is a dual-cell battery with 2,500 mAh each (2S1P) making a total of 5,000 mAh and surprisingly, the phone supports 80W SuperVOOC fast charging that takes about half an hour to charge fully. It also supports Wireless charging 50W AirVOOC if you are looking to charge the phone wirelessly. Another charging option Reverse Wireless Charging is also supported.
The battery life in our usage was exceptionally good, charging just 15 minutes and it last a day, depending on your usage, the phone easily survives at the end of the day, the display resolution is set to Auto and the refresh rate is set to 120 Hz. Expect a battery life of about 1.5 days to 2 days on average use and up to 1.5 days on moderate use.
Verdict
The OnePlus 10 Pro is currently the top-of-the-line premium flagship from the OnePlus, things that we liked in the phone are its massive performance (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1), super-fast charging (80W), the gorgeous 2k display, and mind-boggling camera along with its camera traits i.e. the 150-degree fish-eye mode. The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G is a solid flagship contender from OnePlus and wins in many areas, for those who want a sleek and powerful package in the flagship department, you can’t go wrong with the OnePlus 10 Pro.
