Weekly poll: OnePlus 10 Pro, hot or not?

The OnePlus 10 Pro was announced earlier this week and it even went through its first sale – you probably didn’t get one, though, as it was only in China and all available were gone in a second. It was a small batch, 18-21,000 units, so now it’s a race to produce more for future releases.

Including the global launch, which will happen in the spring, though the company kept things vague. That goes for the pricing too, we only know the one for China where the 8/128 GB model costs CNY 4,700 (a straight currency conversion yields $740/€650).

The 9 Pro started at CNY 5,000 last year, so we expect the global pricing of the new model to be the same or perhaps even a bit lower – the 9 Pro was €900 in Germany at launch. And now it’s €800, what does the 10 Pro have to offer for the extra cost?

A comparison highlights the following upgrades: chipset (duh), camera, screen and battery. The last three of which are not minor, but not huge either. Let’s dig in. The new chipset is a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which (according to official numbers) has a 20% faster CPU and 30% faster GPU than the 888, while being more power efficient to boot.

Not bad, plus Qualcomm did a lot of work on the camera hardware, including upgrading the ISP and adding hardware support for more features. This ties into the updated color processing and Pro mode co-developed by OnePlus and Hasselblad.

This brings us to the camera, which has the same main and telephoto modules on the back along with a new 150º ultra-wide lens. This is coupled with a smaller sensor though, 1/2.76” vs. 1.56” (0.64 µm pixels vs. 1.0 µm). We’ll have to test it out before we can render judgment. The selfie camera resolution was doubled to 32MP.

Next up, the screen – it has the same 6.7” diagonal and the same 1440p+ resolution. However, it uses LTPO 2.0 tech, which allows it to use its variable refresh rate capability in more scenarios, which reduces power usage. Also, the protection was upped to Gorilla Glass Victus (from GG5).

This leaves the battery, which grew to 5,000 mAh (up from 4,500 mAh). It comes with a more powerful charger too, 80W (up from 65W). But is it actually faster? Well, no. A full charge takes 32 minutes, while the 9 Pro gets to 100% in 29 minutes. Of course, the new phone has 500 mAh extra to fill, but the charging speed upgrade seems to be a wash.

Let’s compare the OnePlus 9 Pro to some competitors, starting with the new Xiaomi 12 Pro. The Xiaomi has an older LTPO panel, but it’s essentially the same size and resolution. It uses the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 too, of course. As for the camera, its ultrawide lens covers only 115º FoV, while the 2x telephoto has a 50MP sensor (vs. 3.3x 8MP). Finally, the battery is smaller (4,600 mAh), but faster to charge (18 minutes at 120W). In China both phones cost the same.

Xiaomi 12 Pro

How about a Realme GT2 Pro? An 8/256 GB unit costs CNY 4,000, so it is 15% cheaper than the OnePlus. The screens are near identical and the new GT even matches the ultrawide camera at 150º (in fact, it was the first to have one). But there is no telephoto lens. And the 5,000 mAh battery charges only at 65W, so it takes forever... wait, it only needs 33 minutes, one minute longer. Huh.

Realme GT2 Pro

Earlier this week we saw some evidence that the Motorola Edge X30 will launch globally as the Edge 30 Pro. While it doesn’t have an LTPO panel, it does have a higher refresh rate, 144Hz. It too lacks a telephoto camera and the ultra wide camera isn’t very wide (114º). Plus the 5,000 mAh battery needs a whopping 35 minutes to fully charge at 68W. The Edge will not be the best Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 smartphone out there, but it could be the cheapest for a while – the 8/128 GB model is currently CNY 3,000 in China, around two-thirds of the OnePlus price.

Motorola Edge X30

Well, time to vote – who will buy a OnePlus 10 Pro once it becomes available in a store near them?

If you’re having trouble with the embedded poll above, try casting your vote here.