OnePlus 10T hands-on review

Introduction

The OnePlus 10T is the company's latest premium smartphone. While not quite the new flagship, the 10T packs in many of the features and specifications one might expect from a modern Android smartphone along with enough sacrifices to keep the price in check.

The OnePlus T-series started off as a riff on the iPhone S series all the way back in 2016 with the OnePlus 3T and has been a mainstay of the company lineup ever since.

This year's 10T isn't necessarily an update over anything as there was no OnePlus 10 to build upon. But that may as well be for the best as OnePlus' non-Pro models have always been overshadowed by the Pro version and launching it a few months later with the T badge should help it stand out a bit more.

And that's pretty much what the OnePlus 10T is. It's the phone we would have most likely gotten back in March alongside the more expensive OnePlus 10 Pro had OnePlus followed its usual launch strategy, but are instead getting in August with an updated processor and a few extra bells and whistles.

OnePlus 10T specs at a glance:

• Body: 163.0x75.4x8.8mm, 204g; Glass front (Gorilla Glass 5), glass back (Gorilla Glass 5), plastic frame.
• Display: 6.70" Fluid AMOLED, 1B colors, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1080x2412px resolution, 20.1:9 aspect ratio, 394ppi.
• Chipset: Qualcomm SM8475 Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4 nm): Octa-core (1x3.19 GHz Cortex-X2 & 3x2.75 GHz Cortex-A710 & 4x1.80 GHz Cortex-A510); Adreno 730.
• Memory: 128GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 8GB RAM, 256GB 12GB RAM; UFS 3.1.
• OS/Software: Android 12, OxygenOS 12.1.
• Rear camera: Wide (main): 50 MP, f/1.8, 24mm, 1/1.56", 1.0µm, PDAF, OIS; Ultra wide angle: 16 MP, f/2.2; Depth: 2 MP, f/2.4.
• Front camera: 32 MP, f/2.5, (wide).
• Video capture: Rear camera: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@30/60/120fps, gyro-EIS; Front camera: 1080p@30fps, gyro-EIS.
• Battery: 4800mAh; Fast charging 150W.
• Misc: Fingerprint reader (under display, optical); NFC; stereo speakers.

What are these bells and whistles, we hear you ask. For one, the OnePlus 10T comes with the same incredible 150W charging solution that we saw on the OnePlus 10R, except now it is more sophisticated, efficient, and safer. There's also a new cooling system, said to be the best on any OnePlus phone to date, along with a new antenna system. And then, of course, is the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 making its debut on a OnePlus phone along with 16GB of RAM.

All in all, it seems like the OnePlus 10T has the company's typical focus on speed and performance. But let's see how the rest of the phone stacks up.

OnePlus 10T unboxing

The OnePlus 10T comes with a fairly standard OnePlus packaging. The boxes have gotten smaller over the years but retain all of the same items you'd have gotten before, including a charger, which is becoming increasingly rare these days.

The charger, in case, is an Oppo 160W SuperVOOC. It's a rather sizable piece of equipment and also weighs a fair bit. It uses a USB-C connection and also supports 45W USB-PD charging.

While the charger is common to all regions, the 150W charging will only be supported in regions with 220V power sockets, while regions like the US with 110V outlets will cause the charger to limit itself to 125W.

In certain markets like India, you can also expect to get a clear silicone case inside the box.