The OnePlus 10T 5G is not a “tock” update to the OnePlus 10 Pro “tick”. While the designs are similar and the phone comes with the newer and more powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, in addition to 3 rear cameras of 50, 8, and 2 megapixels, and a single front camera of 16 megapixels that provide excellent performance for capturing photos and videos in high resolution.
You may notice that the Hasselblad branding on the OnePlus 10 Pro is gone on the OnePlus 10T 5G and you might be wondering if that makes any difference. The same goes for the Alert Slider, which has been a staple on flagship phones. Or the fact that there is no wireless charging. These are just a selection of features that OnePlus removed to get a lower price; neither is a deal breaker for the price in my opinion.
Existing OnePlus 10 Pro users can skip the OnePlus 10T 5G. Other than a small performance boost, the phone is mostly a downgrade otherwise. However, if you’re looking for a phone priced right between the mid-range and premium, the OnePlus 10T 5G has a lot going for it.
Quite familiar
The OnePlus 10T 5G has a bright display and a high refresh rate that makes everything feel smooth.
One big slab – I’ve softened some of my distaste for the ever-increasing size of smartphones after having a good time with the Google Pixel 6a, but with a 6.7-inch screen, the OnePlus 10T 5G is too much for me. That said, if you like big phones (most people do), then I really think OnePlus has improved on the OnePlus 10 Pro.
Removing the tacky Hasselblad logo from the camera array was a big step in my opinion. Same with the weird “P2D 50T” that used to be in the flash. The back of the OnePlus 10T 5G is clean save for the OnePlus logo, with a triple-camera system flowing smoothly into the back of the phone and its glossy side rails. The removal of Alert Slider has upset many OnePlus loyalists, ostensibly to make room for “high-wattage charging, a large battery capacity, and better antenna signal,” but I don’t feel any real attachment to it. At a press conference a day before the OnePlus 10T 5G launch, the company said “we are doing everything we can to bring back Alert Slider in future products.”
The OnePlus 10T 5G has a textured glass back with little specs that make it sparkle in certain light.
The OnePlus 10T 5G comes in two different finishes: the “moonstone black” version I own, with a textured “basalt-inspired” Gorilla Glass 5 back, and a smooth, glossy “jade green” model that resembles ceramic.
One downgrade that might annoy you: The OnePlus 10T 5G is only IP54-rated, which means it’s safe from splashes and light dust, but it’s a step down from the more durable IP68 rating found on most premium phones, including the OnePlus 10 Pro.
The front, with a hole-punch camera and a large 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED display, is flat and utterly beautiful. OnePlus doesn’t use the fancy LTPO technology found in Apple’s OnePlus 10 Pro and iPhone 13 Pro, but the OnePlus 10T 5G display does have an adaptive refresh rate that can automatically switch between 60Hz, 90Hz, or 120Hz depending on the content you’re viewing. be displayed. Scrolling on the OnePlus 10T 5G is smooth and responsive. The 2412 x 1080 resolution is respectable, but not as sharp as the OnePlus 10 Pro’s 1440p display. As an iPhone 13 mini user, I sometimes forget what it’s like to look at a larger, higher-resolution screen with a faster refresh rate – it’s really cool.
How About OnePlus 10T 5G?
The improvements that Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 brings to the OnePlus 10T 5G are minor but should help with gaming performance.
Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 – “But what about the strength and performance of this chipset?” you ask. it is solid; I’m not sure I see much of a difference between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 found in phones like Samsung’s Galaxy S22+ and the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 found in the OnePlus 10T 5G.
For reference, because RAM also plays a role in these things, the OnePlus 10T 5G comes in two different varieties:
OnePlus 10T 5G with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $649
OnePlus 10T 5G with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for $749
Taking that into account, and looking at what Qualcomm promised when it first introduced the chips, the CPU and GPU performance improvements aren’t dramatic (about 10 percent more powerful for each), but the effects on battery life and details in games could be big. That’s pretty much what OnePlus has focused on with the OnePlus 10T 5G. The HyperBoost gaming engine that OnePlus is shipping with the OnePlus 10T 5G is supposed to smooth out frame rates, improve touch sample rates, and prevent graphics rendering from destroying the battery. I can’t really say how effective it is outside of Impact Genshin which OnePlus noted as supporting its features, but hey, Genshin works well and is one of the most popular mobile games in the world, very well.
Personally, I didn’t find any throttling when gaming on high settings, though the OnePlus 10T 5G did eventually get warm in most cases. Immortal Devil, the other title that’s becoming my go-to test for mobile gaming, was a bit harsher, with occasional stutters in the game’s open world. and tighter dungeons. I think that’s just Immortal though, because overall I’ve found the OnePlus 10T 5G to be a competent mobile gaming machine and, in this case, its sheer size works in its favor. More screens for more games.
OnePlus has a weird cross-hatch case that mimics the textured back of the OnePlus 10T 5G.
Multi-day battery — The best demonstration of the OnePlus 10T 5G’s improved performance is its battery life and charge. The OnePlus 10T 5G has a 4800mAh dual-cell battery with support for 150W fast charging (125W for 110V sockets). That translates to around 20 minutes to go from 1 to 100 percent charge, according to OnePlus, which I found true in my tests. You’ll easily get all the charge you need in less than 30 minutes with the 125W USB-C charging brick that the OnePlus includes in the box. The only thing missing is support for wireless charging (and reverse wireless charging), also removed from the OnePlus 10 Pro.
Overall, the OnePlus 10T 5G has no problem getting a full day of battery life, even at high settings in games, and plenty of time recording video; You could easily get several days of battery life with super light use. If battery life and blazing fast charging are at the top of your checklist, the OnePlus 10T 5G delivers.
Oxygen OS 12 — The OnePlus 10T 5G’s software is still mostly bloat-free and stripped down where it matters. I was very excited by Google’s decision to embrace customization in Android 12 with Material You, and it’s a bit sad that OnePlus clearly doesn’t feel the same way. There are no matching wallpapers or icons on the OnePlus 10T 5G, even if Google’s silly Material You widgets are still buried in the customization options if you really want to dig them up.
OnePlus offers three years of updates and four years of security updates, which is great and speaks to how long you can expect the OnePlus 10T 5G to last. Strange though is the fact that OnePlus is announcing OxygenOS 13, which will be based on Android 13, alongside the OnePlus 10T 5G today, but didn’t ship it on the phone first. The company says the OnePlus 10 Pro will get OxygenOS 13 first and then the OnePlus 10T 5G will get it “later this year.” What improvements can you expect in OxygenOS 13 vs. OxygenOS 12? OnePlus only says that it will have improvements in “gaming, connectivity, and personalization”.
Camera
Sadly, the OnePlus 10T 5G’s cameras aren’t as impressive as their battery life. Nothing is exactly bad about the OnePlus 10T 5G setup on paper (well maybe there is one thing), I just think that overall the camera system tends to overexpose shots and favors a contrasty look which I don’t always like.
The OnePlus 10T 5G has a noticeably different lens and sensor arrangement than the OnePlus 10 Pro. The flash is now at the top of the square instead of the bottom, and the specs break down as follows:
- Wide: 50 megapixels f / 1.8 with OIS
- Ultra-wide: 8 megapixels f / 2.2 with a FOV of 119.9 degrees
- Macro: 2-megapixel 2.4 macro
- Selfie: 16 megapixels f/2.4
In addition to the decision to swap the OnePlus 10 Pro’s telephoto for a macro, OnePlus has drastically deprioritized the number of megapixels from its other cameras in favor of upping the 48-megapixel wide camera on the OnePlus 10 Pro to 50-megapixels on the OnePlus 10 Pro. the OnePlus. 10T. As someone who doesn’t really take too many telephoto or ultrawide shots, there’s some merit to the decision, especially if it contributed to the overall lower price of the OnePlus 10T 5G. But it adds to the list of missing features that make the “T” mark confusing. Is it really a successor if only some of the specs are getting better and better?
Really, my big problem with the OnePlus cameras has to do with the macro, which I was never able to get a good shot from. Even if I don’t like telephoto lenses, I think they are ultimately much more useful than macro. Making that swap really hurts the OnePlus 10T 5G in my opinion, although night mode is satisfying and portrait mode is very effective overall.
All about the price
The OnePlus 10T 5G is a good enough phone for the price.
As a new model for customers heading to the holidays, the OnePlus 10T 5G 5G makes sense. It has the latest and most powerful Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset from Qualcomm; the battery is fantastic, and OnePlus commits to three years of software updates. These are all great selling points for anyone who isn’t looking to upgrade every year.
But you can’t ignore what’s “missing” between the OnePlus 10T 5G and the OnePlus 10 Pro, either. The display is 1080p vs. 1440p; the Alert Slider is gone; no wireless charging; the phone is less resistant to water and dust, and the camera system is decent, but not that great. Some or all of these may be deciding factors for you personally. To me, they’re not: Starting at $649, the OnePlus 10T 5G still feels like a great value.
Should you buy the OnePlus 10T 5G?
The OnePlus 10T 5G will be a strong new competitor in the premium Android segment, where OnePlus has dominated for a while. So for those looking for a complete smartphone with a price that does not go through the roof, the OnePlus 10T 5G will be a good option.
But the challenge for OnePlus will be to match the expectations that consumers, especially repeat buyers, will have of the brand in terms of what it stands for. That is something the brand will have to manage effectively going forward.
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