Daily Authority: ???? OnePlus 10 Pro questions

☕ Good morning! I hear coffe prices are on the rise: arabica and robusta. Anyone got a few tons of green coffee lying around just waiting for these price rises?

OnePlus 10 Pro

OnePlus fully launched the OnePlus 10 Pro this morning. Given most info was already dripped out, the main surprise of the day was that we didn’t see a OnePlus 10, as in, the usual base model, or a non-Pro.

• And, still no word on an exact release date outside China.

What was announced:

• The OnePlus 10 Pro emerged as expected.
• To recap, that includes: 6.7-inch LTPO 2.0 AMOLED display at 120Hz, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, a triple-camera setup, now at the second-generation with the Hasselblad partnership continuing, a 5,000mAh battery, and some fast-charging specs including 80W wired and 50W wireless charging, though only with proprietary hardware.
• The triple camera has one weird thing: the new wide-angle lens uses a Samsung JN1 sensor. That’s not expected: it is smaller than the IMX766 used on the 9 Pro, so may be compromised on low-light shots. The 9 Pro received high marks for the great wide-angle… so we’ll see how it all fares now.
• We did get pricing: Prices start at RMB 4,699 (US$740) for the base 8GB RAM, 128GB storage, up to RMB 5,299 ($830) for the 12/256GB variant.
• Given the 9 Pro started at $969, I don’t think I’d be betting on much of a discount in this era of supply chain woes and inflation.

A quiet launch:

• OnePlus didn’t seed this out with reviewers yet, unlike its co-company Oppo with the Find N, despite the China-only approach.
• And loads of photos from OnePlus were actually renders, rather than the real deal, in the hand stuff.
• Still, that does give OnePlus plenty of time to work on refining its software for the wider market, though don’t be surprised to find some people getting imports out of China.

Now what?

• OnePlus hasn’t given out info as to when the 10 Pro and the possible 10 will make it to other markets, though a global launch is confirmed.
• Interestingly, some of the major US-focused sites haven’t really covered the OnePlus launch, even if they did cover last week’s reveals.
• And we’re starting to get into a bit of a strange place. A bunch of smartphones now come out in China before they do elsewhere, or they’re China-only like many of the recent foldables, including the Oppo Find N, Honor Magic V, and so on.
• It’s possible that OnePlus did this ahead of Chinese New Year in February in its home market, but it’s a departure from the normal.
• Unless the new normal is kind of, Apple and Samsung hitting global markets first, whereas Xiaomi, Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, and so on, go for China-first.

Roundup

• ???? Motorola Razr 3 specs leak: With a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 it could be a formidable flagship foldable, but at the same time, gimme battery life and build quality… (Android Authority).
• ???? Honor Magic V launched: Another intriguing foldable you can’t get (Android Authority).
• ???? Pretty big fight going on here: Google says it doesn’t want iMessage on Android, it just wants Apple to handle RCS: “By not incorporating RCS, Apple is holding back the industry and holding back the user experience for not only Android users but also their own customers” (Android Authority).
• ???? Android 13 info is leaking out: one tip says it could make QR code scanning a seamless affair, which would be useful (Android Authority).
• ???? Apple paid out around $60 billion to App Store developers in 2021 (TechCrunch).
• ???? Carriers are pissed about Apple’s iCloud Private Relay, one of its interesting new privacy features that’s VPN-like. And it’s not just US carriers like T-Mobile, which is blocking it, but EU carriers as well, like Vodafone and Telefonica (Gizmodo).
• ???? Signal CEO Moxie Marlinspike steps down; WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton will act as the interim CEO (TechCrunch).
• ⛓ The Associated Press is starting its own NFT marketplace for its photojournalism (The Verge).
• ???? Why Take-Two wants to pay nearly $13 billion for the maker of FarmVille (The Verge).
• ???? Microsoft posts its own teardown and repair video for the Surface Laptop SE, to woo IT admins at schools most likely (Ars Technica).
• ???? More on the Ariane 5 rocket, which doubled the Webb telescope’s lifetime (Ars Technica).
• ???? Earth’s oceanography helps demystify Jupiter’s flowing cyclones (Wired).
• ???? “What’s a game that’s worth every penny?” (r/askreddit).

Chart Tuesday

Blood types! The crazy world of blood types is somewhat peeled back with a look at this chart:

Thinking about trying to donate in Germany again (last time was tricky!)… Tristan Rayner, Senior Editor.