7 phones worth checking out instead

OnePlus is continuing its premium push with the OnePlus 10 Pro, which has finally received a global launch this week. The new phone picks up where the old one left off, bringing a similarly impressive screen, brisk charging speeds, and great performance all at a cheaper price. But are you wondering what else is out there before you pull the trigger? Here are some of the best OnePlus 10 Pro alternatives you should be looking at.

The best OnePlus 10 Pro alternatives

The Samsung Galaxy S22 series is a direct rival to the OnePlus 10 Pro in several markets, and the S22 and S22 Plus are well worth a look if you’re curious about an alternative flagship.

The OnePlus 10 Pro brings a bigger battery, a sharper screen with a better adaptive refresh rate, and faster wired/wireless charging. However, the Samsung phones have an IP68 rating across the board, better quality cameras, a longer commitment to updates, and Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on the front and back.

Don’t mind spending a little extra? Then you should also consider the Galaxy S22 Ultra. It brings the same battery capacity as the OnePlus 10 Pro, as well as a similarly high-quality QHD+ 120Hz OLED screen. But it stands out by offering two telephoto cameras (3x and 10x) for much better zoomed-in photos at long range, as well as an S Pen and S Pen slot.

The Pixel 6 series represents a major change in Google’s smartphone strategy. For starters, it adopts Google’s semi-custom Tensor silicon for the first time. This chipset isn’t quite as cutting-edge as the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 inside the OnePlus 10 Pro, but still brings plenty of power and enables a host of machine learning tasks, such as offline voice dictation and super-res zoom photography.

Our verdict: Google Pixel 6 Pro review — The most compelling Pixel yet

The Pixel 6 Pro has the same $899 price tag as the OnePlus phone, bringing a similarly slick 6.71-inch QHD+ 120Hz OLED screen and an identically sized 5,000mAh battery. Google’s phone also serves up an impressive camera system on paper and in practice, namely a 50MP GN1 primary camera, 12MP ultrawide lens, and 48MP 4x periscope zoom lens. Other notable features include an IP68 rating, 23W wireless charging, and five years of security updates (along with three years of OS updates).

Google’s biggest misstep with the Pixel 6 series at large is the lackluster charging speed, along with the lack of an in-box charger. Nevertheless, it’s definitely one of the best OnePlus 10 Pro alternatives in the US and Europe.

The iPhone 13 Pro costs $100 extra compared to the OnePlus 10 Pro, but it’s still one of the better alternatives — provided you don’t mind leaving Google’s ecosystem for Apple’s suite of services.

Apple’s Pro model is smaller than the Oneplus 10 Pro but still provides plenty of high-end features. There’s a flexible triple rear camera system (12MP main, 12MP 3x telephoto, 12MP ultrawide), 6.1-inch 120Hz OLED panel, 15W wireless charging, and an IP68 rating. The addition of great video quality, macro photography via the ultrawide camera, and access to some exclusive apps all help make the iPhone 13 Pro a compelling proposition.

Our verdicts: Apple iPhone 13 review | Apple iPhone 13 Pro Max review

You do, however, miss out on a fingerprint scanner, 8K recording, and fast wired/wireless charging. Some of these omissions aren’t a big deal (e.g. 8K TVs and monitors still aren’t mainstream yet), but faster charging would be great.

You should also keep the $800 standard iPhone 13 in mind if you want something a little cheaper. However, it sacrifices the telephoto camera, base storage (only 64GB in the cheapest model), and high refresh rate. On the other end of the spectrum, the $1,099 iPhone 13 Pro Max brings a much bigger screen and much bigger battery than the Pro model.

OnePlus stablemate Oppo also has one of the best OnePlus 10 Pro alternatives on the market in the Oppo Find X5 Pro. The Oppo phone shares some of the same features as the OnePlus device, such as a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, 5,000mAh battery, 80W wired charging, 50W wireless charging, and a 6.7-inch 120Hz QHD+ OLED screen.

Oppo’s phone differs when it comes to the cameras though, as you’ve got two 50MP IMX766 sensors for the main and ultrawide cameras. So expect better ultrawide shots here at the very least. The Find X5 Pro also brings a 13MP 2x telephoto camera, which is pretty pedestrian for the €1,299/£1,049 price.

Our verdict: Oppo Find X5 Pro review — Beautifully bespoke, both inside and out

Other notable additions here include an IP68 rating, a premium ceramic design, a highly customizable ColorOS skin, and a similarly lengthy update commitment as the OnePlus device. However, the Find X5 Pro isn’t available in North American markets.

Sony might not be as big a player as it used to be, but it still delivers some great flagship phones, as the Xperia 1 III shows. One of the phone’s standout features is a 4K 120Hz OLED screen, making it one of the few phones on the market with a 4K display — the others being Sony phones too.

Our verdict: Sony Xperia 1 III review — Elegant, exhilarating, expensive

You’re also buying a beefy Snapdragon 888 SoC, a 4,500mAh battery with 30W wired charging, and a triple 12MP rear camera setup (including a variable telephoto lens that switches between 2.9x and 4.4x zoom). The goodness doesn’t stop here as you’ve also got great extras like wireless charging, a 3.5mm port, microSD support, and dual front-facing speakers.

Sony’s phone isn’t perfect though, lacking mmWave 5G, offering inconsistent image quality, and only providing two years of OS updates. But it’s still a great buy today, with a discounted price of around $920 on the likes of Amazon.

Who says you always have to go for the latest and greatest option? Last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro is one of the better OnePlus 10 Pro alternatives on the list, offering some of the same perks as the new flagship.

You’re also getting a similar rear camera system on the OnePlus 9 Pro, featuring a 48MP main shooter, 50MP ultrawide camera, 8MP 3.3x tele lens, and a token 2MP monochrome lens. We thought the phone took great shots last year, and we’d actually say that the ultrawide camera here is superior to the shooter on the OnePlus 10 Pro.

The OnePlus 9 Pro can currently be had for around $800 on the likes of Amazon, which is a steep drop from its original price and $100 cheaper than the current flagship.

The Nord 2 brings a powerful upper mid-range Dimensity 1200 chipset, a 6.43-inch 90Hz OLED panel, and a 4,500mAh battery with 65W charging. So the basics are well covered here. Otherwise, the phone also receives a triple rear camera system (50MP IMX766 with OIS, 8MP ultrawide, and 2MP monochrome), although we thought pictures were disappointing despite the impressive main camera.

Nevertheless, the Nord 2 is still worth a look at just €419 or £399 if you don’t want to splash out on the OnePlus 10 Pro but do want a solid OnePlus handset.

That’s it for our look at the best OnePlus 10 Pro alternatives on the market! Are there any other phones that come to mind?