The launch of the OnePlus 10 Pro is slated to happen this month, possibly as soon as this week. So it’s time to review what we know about the upcoming flagship from OnePlus.
In the case of the OnePlus 10 Pro, that’s quite a bit. thanks not only to rumors about the new phone, but details that the phone maker itself has confirmed in advance of the formal launch. The OnePlus 10 Pro has a big act to follow, as the OnePlus 9 Pro impressed us thanks to its improved cameras. Still, we can think of some key changes we want to see in the OnePlus 10 Pro.
In the meantime, here’s what we’ve heard so far about the OnePlus 10 Pro.
OnePlus 10 Pro news (updated January 2)
OnePlus 10 Pro release date
OnePlus co-founder and CEO Pete Lau has confirmed the OnePlus 10 Pro will be revealed in January. In a Weibo post, Lau noted said “see you in January” alongside a hashtag for the 10 Pro.
When the phone will actually launch and if there’ll be a standard OnePlus 10 alongside it isn’t clear. But the OnePlus 10 Pro has been tipped to get a Chinese release in January, with the U.S. and other nations getting access to the phone in March or April.
We could find out very shortly what OnePlus’ plans are. CES 2022 gets underway this week, and while OnePlus has joined other companies in opting out of a physical presence in Las Vegas, that doesn’t necessarily mean any announcements it was planning are on hold. We’ll be keeping an ear open for any OnePlus announcements this week.
OnePlus 10 Pro design
According to an early leak, the OnePlus 10 is going to be a “polished series 9”, suggesting that the phones wouldn’t look that different from the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro that arrived earlier this year.
Normally that sort of description is what we’d expect from a T series phone. But with OnePlus cancelling plans to release a OnePlus 9T device in 2021, it makes sense that OnePlus may recycle that process for the OnePlus 10 series.
While still evolution rather than revolution, claimed dummy units of the OnePlus 120 Pro show off a rectangular camera module that seemingly loops round the edge of the phone. We’ve seen this design hinted at in renders, supposedly based on leaked information. so there could be something to this.
A OnePlus 10 Pro video render from design Waqar Khan takes all the rumors about the upcoming phone and uses them to create a pretty compelling look at how the phone might appear when it arrives this month.
OnePlus 10 Pro software
The OnePlus 10 Pro is going to see a big change for the OnePlus line up, thanks to the company having a closer relationship with sister brand Oppo. Both companies are set to merge its respective flavors of Android, Oxygen OS and Color OS, into a single, unified smartphone operating system.
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the OnePlus 10 Pro will be the first OnePlus device to use the new operating system when it launches. It was also announced that older OnePlus devices, up to and including the OnePlus 8, will be able to upgrade eventually.
“By combining our software resources to focus on one unified and upgraded operating system for both OnePlus and Oppo devices globally,” Lau said. ”We will combine the strengths from both into one even more powerful OS: the fast and smooth, burdenless experience of OxygenOS, and the stability and rich features of ColorOS.”
Presumably this means that the still-unnamed OS will keep the same clean near-stock Android experience of OxygenOS, which will be a relief to long-time OnePlus fans.
OnePlus 10 Pro camera
We haven’t heard much about the OnePlus 10 Pro’s camera system just yet, though based on previous phones we can make some informed guesses about what might be on the way.
The main thing we do know is that the phone will likely come with Hasselblad branded cameras, just like the OnePlus 9 series. The two companies committed to a three year partnership focussing on camera software, color tuning and sensor calibration.
Since the OnePlus 9 was the first phone to feature Hasselblad cameras, and since both announced length of the partnership, it’s almost certain that the OnePlus 10 and even the OnePlus 11 will as well. After that? Who knows. But we won’t see what happens there until 2024.
It’s also possible that the OnePlus 10 Pro will come with three cameras, as has been the case with the OnePlus 9, 8T, 8, and 7T. Meanwhile, we’d expect that the OnePlus 10 Pro would come with at least four, like the OnePlus 8 Pro and 9 Pro.
What those lenses might be isn’t clear, since OnePlus has been a little inconsistent, but we can certainly expect to see wide and ultrawide angle lenses on both phones. Possibly a telephoto lens, with optical zoom, on the Pro.
Renders from LetsGoDigital show off a OnePlus 10 Pro with a circular camera module and quite large camera lenses. However it’s not clear what these renders are based on, and it’s likely that the OnePlus 10 that goes on sale won’t look like this.
The latest tidbit of camera information comes courtesy of a Weibo post, which claims the OnePlus 10 Pro will get a 5x optical zoom range, trumping the 3.3x zoom of its predecessor. That would give it the zooming capabilities to challenge the likes of the iPhone 13 Pro. We’d take this with a pinch of slat as the rumors is a little vague, but the more zoom range for OnePlus phones would be much appreciated and would seem like a smart upgrade.
A new leak claims that the OnePlus 10 Pro will feature a 32MP front-facing camera in a left-aligned hole-punch cutout. For the rear cameras, the leaker says that the phone will have a 48MP main, 50MP ultrawide, and 8MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
Of course, OnePlus will need to ensure it does plenty of work on the image signal processing and computational photography side to be in with a chance of earning a spot on our best camera phones list.
OnePlus 10 Pro specs
The OnePlus 10 Pro is set to get the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. OnePlus co-founder Pete Lau said Qualcomm’s new chipset will feature in the “next-generation” of OnePlus phones, which very much hints at the OnePlus 10 and OnePlus 10 Pro.
The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 promises a chip that’s 20% faster and 30% more power efficient than the Snapdragon 888 found inside the OnePlus 9. Improvements to gaming and AI performance are also expected.
As for memory that’s expected to come in 8GB and 12GB versions. And storage is likely to come in at 128GB and 256GB options.
A new leak has detailed some the OnePlus 10 Pro’s specs, notably the display. The phone will supposedly have a 6.7-inch QHD+ 120Hz display.
And following that leak, Pete Lau confirmed on Chinese social network Weibo that the OnePlus 10 Pro will use an new LTPO 2.0 display. Following on from the LTPO panel in the OnePlus 9 Pro, which can dynamically scale for a fast 120Hz down to 1Hz when a speed refresh rate isn’t needed, LTPO 2.0 will also make for an overall smoother display.
How this will work in practice wasn’t made clear, but Lau noted LTPO 2.0 would facilitate a “new level of smoothness.” Nevertheless, this could be a boon to players of fast-action mobile games, or even those looking top tap into the Nvidia GeForce Now RTX 3080 cloud-based game streaming.
OnePlus 10 Pro charging
A recent rumor has claimed the OnePlus 10 Pro will come with 125W charging, near doubling the 65W charging the current OnePlus phones have.
That would yield a boost on charring speeds, but not actually half the charging time. That’s because as wattage increases so does electrical resistance, so there comes a point where there’s arguably diminishing returns.
Nevertheless, increased charging speeds are to be expected from the OnePlus 10 range. We’ll just have to wait and see if they make a tangible real-world upgrade.
We got a leak with the OnePlus 10 Pro’s specs, and in it, the leaker claims that the OnePlus 10 Pro will sport 80W wired charging and 50W wireless charging. For reference, the OnePlus 9 Pro charged at 65W wired and 50W wireless (with the OnePlus wireless charger).
OnePlus 10 Pro: What we’d like to see
Official water resistance ratings: OnePlus has never been particularly fond of IP water resistance ratings, only releasing two phones with one over its lifetime: The OnePlus 8 Pro and OnePlus 9 Pro. It’s about time OnePlus followed the rest of the phone industry and offered it on any OnePlus 10 models (assuming a OnePlus 10 joins the OnePlus 10 Pro).
Faster wireless charging: OnePlus was always slow to take up wireless charging, and the first non-Pro device to get it was the OnePlus 9. Unfortunately it only had 15W wireless charging speeds, compared to the 9 Pro’s 50W. Even if the OnePlus 10 isn’t quite as fast as the 10 Pro, we still need more than a measly 15W.
No gimmicky cameras: Whether it’s a macro lens, monochrome lens, or something equally as pointless, OnePlus has a history of fluffing its cameras with an extra lens that doesn’t do very much. It’s worse when the genuinely useful telephoto lens is sacrificed as a result. We just hope the OnePlus 10 range doesn’t fall into the same trap.
More camera improvements: While the OnePlus 9 range made huge advances in camera performance, OnePlus is still lagging behind the likes of Apple and Google. We hope that the OnePlus 10 Pro keeps that momentum going, and makes similarly large leaps in post-snap camera processing.
Keep the pricing low: Flagship phones seem to be getting more and more expensive, and OnePlus is no exception. However, the company has always had more to offer at lower price points, and we’d like to see that continue. Yes the iPhone 13 Pro may be $999, but that doesn’t mean the OnePlus 10 Pro has to be as well.