After an underwhelming launch last year, OnePlus appears to be recovering some ground with its new smartphone — OnePlus 10 Pro 5G. Here are the things to keep in mind if you want to purchase the phone.
What’s special about it?
The biggest feature appears to be the user interface, which has always been a strength for OnePlus. Powering the device is the top Qualcomm chipset, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which should ensure good performance. More importantly, OnePlus always takes advantage of a nimble processor to work around its user interface, which is smooth and perfect for all purposes — gaming to photography.
The cameras
The upgrades on the camera front compared to last year are incremental on paper but the real deal always lies with software implementation. As the main snapper you have 48MP (f/1.8 with OIS) while ultra-wide is 50MP (f/2.2). There is a telephoto (8MP; f/2.4 with OIS) and the front camera is 32MP (fixed focus). Like last year, the partnership with Hasselblad continues but only time will tell if it’s worth going all the way with a partner rather than having full control over every element of a smartphone. There is a new RAW shooting mode called RAW Plus, which is accessible in the camera app’s Pro mode and looks like an answer to Apple’s ProRAW and Samsung’s Expert RAW.
IP rating and competition
This is where things get complicated. The OnePlus 10 Pro is priced at Rs 66,999 for the 8GB/128GB variant and Rs 71,999 for the 12GB/256GB variant. That means, it’s trying to compete with Samsung Galaxy S22 series, which has an excellent camera system, good software upgrade protection and, very importantly, IP68 rating, giving it protection from rain. In case you choose the S22 Ultra, there is also the S Pen and dual telephoto lens. There is no official IP rating on the OnePlus 10 Pro. Besides, Nothing is about to release its first phone very soon. Nothing is a company founded by Carl Pei, the former co-founder of OnePlus.