OnePlus 10 Pro: Release date, price, and features

While many might argue that the soul of OnePlus went right out of the door alongside co-founder Carl Pei who left the company in late 2020, OnePlus smartphones are still a hot topic, especially after their intriguing partnership with photography darling Hasselblad.

The OnePlus 10 Pro is coming in early 2022 with seemingly excellent hardware specs and design that pushes the boundaries once again, but how will the new course taken by OnePlus affect its next flagship? The Oppo overtake is seemingly changing tons of things, and while both companies have always technically been similar entities under the umbrella of BBK Electronics, things will never be quite the same for OnePlus.

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OnePlus 10 or 10 Pro?

Had OnePlus announced a OnePlus 9T this autumn, we’d probably be more than certain that we’ll be seeing a OnePlus 10 and a more premium OnePlus 10 Pro announced in H1 2022. But since this didn’t happen, the usual release habits of OnePlus are now all to be questioned.

The jury is still out if we’ll be getting one device or two. For all we know, said OnePlus 9T could essentially materialize under the OnePlus 10 name for a simplified lineup. Given that OnePlus has essentially a full-fledged range of more affordable mid-range and upper mid-range phones available, we might even see just one flagship on a year-to-year basis.

OnePlus 10 Pro Price

It’s more than clear that the days of the ultra-affordable OnePlus flagship are long gone, and if none of the latest OnePlus phones have convinced you, then the OnePlus 10 Pro will likely do so.

While we haven’t heard anything credible about the potential price of the OnePlus 10 Pro yet, judging from the prices of the previous generation, we can estimate that the OnePlus 10 Pro will likely start at around $999, or more. Meanwhile, a more affordable OnePlus 10 will probably start at around $750, or more. Still, we’ve no idea if the latter exists at all, though it’s likely.

OnePlus 10 Pro Release date

Now, a concerning new rumor paints a rather disappointing picture for the OnePlus 10-series release date. According to said rumors, the OnePlus 10 Pro will be released in mainland China first, sometime in January or February of 2022, while the rest of the globe will be able to get the device later, in March or April.

OnePlus flagships usually arrive in the March-April period of the year, so things probably wouldn’t change for the regular OnePlus enjoyer that’s living outside of China. What makes things so unusual is the hinted release discrepancy, which has never taken place before.

One of the reasons for this could be the extra work that needs to be invested in the Oxygen OS user interface that will grace the phone outside China. In the country, OnePlus and Oppo will be sharing the Color OS interface from now on.

OnePlus 10 Pro Camera

Judging from a near-complete specs sheet that got leaked a while, the OnePlus 10 Pro will continue the strong foundation established by the OnePlus 9 Pro last year. As a refresher, the company took up a partnership with legendary camera company Hasselblad, which had the task of making OnePlus cameras noteworthy with their signature color science and extensive know-how in the field of photography. The results were rather promising, but there was definitely room for improvement.

The OnePlus 10 Pro will feature a triple camera system, which is likely to combine a 48MP primary shooter with a 50MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and 8MP telephoto lens supporting 3.3x optical zoom while ditching the 9 Pro’s fourth 2MP monochrome snapper. At the front, we will be taking selfies with a rather large 32MP front-facing camera, which doubles the resolution of last year’s 16MP selfie snapper on the OnePlus 9 Pro.

Now, from a hardware perspective, this camera setup sounds intriguing and up to the standards that we expect to be commonplace in early 2022. Yet, hardware is just part of the story, as software and post-processing play larger and larger roles in image quality and overall camera performance. That’s why cameras, especially those heavily relying on computational photography, should never be judged solely on their hardware specs.

OnePlus 10 Hardware

Top hardware has always been a mainstay of OnePlus phones, and the OnePlus 10 Pro will hardly be the odd one out.

The OnePlus 10 Pro will be packing some serious raw processing power, headlined by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 898 chipset, 12GB of RAM, and 256GB of on-board storage in the base version of the phone.

OnePlus 10 Pro Design and display

A 6.7-inch display will be gracing the front of the OnePlus 10 Pro. This AMOLED panel will have tack-sharp QHD+ resolution as well as variable refresh rate that can go up to 120Hz on demand. Judging from our experiences with OnePlus devices, the display will most probably be an excellent panel showcasing the very best of OLED displays — high brightness, vivid colors, and good viewing angles.

OnePlus was among the first companies to adopt displays that refreshed higher than the standard 60Hz, and with the variable refresh rate adopted, the last OnePlus flagship provided a super-smooth experience while easing out the strain on the battery. We expect the same of the OnePlus 10 Pro, and many improvements will likely be implemented in the upcoming device.

When it comes to the design itself, OnePlus 10 Pro will be your regular premium glass and metal sandwich with a top-left punch hole. Taking some design cues from other devices, the OnePlus 10 Pro will be featuring a square-shaped rear camera unit wrapping around the handset’s metal frame. Obviously inspired by the Galaxy S21 series, the OnePlus 10 Pro seems a bit prouder in its overall design, taking a definite stand, although it doesn’t really continue the design language of the OnePlus 9 Pro.

OnePlus mainstays like a good haptic motor, a three-way mute switch, and stereo speakers will hopefully make another comeback with the OnePlus 10 Pro.

OnePlus 10 Pro Battery

Interestingly, the OnePlus 10 Pro will reportedly feature a larger battery than the OnePlus 9 Pro despite being thinner and shorter. Indeed, the phone is expected to feature a sizeable 5,000mAh battery, up from last year’s 4,500mAh battery on the OnePlus 9 Pro. The much larger battery unit, paired with the much faster and more efficient Snapdragon 898 chipset will hopefully help the OnePlus 10 Pro achieve much better battery endurance than its predecessor.