OnePlus 10 Pro Review: A Solid Android Flagship With Innovative Cameras
OnePlus 10 Pro Software And User Experience
OnePlus phones always feature delightful software, and the OnePlus 10 Pro is no exception. It runs OxygenOS 12 on top of Android 12, which means you get a clean, near-stock Android user experience with a few useful features thrown in. We suggest you read more about these tweaks in our OnePlus 8Treview. As a bonus, OnePlus is promising three years of OS upgrades and four years of security updates.The biggest change with OnePlus’ OxygenOS this year is that it now shares a common codebase with Oppo's ColorOS. And some of ColorOS is definitely seeping through the cracks, which is evident if you put the OnePlus 10 Pro side-by-side with the Oppo Find X5 Pro. Does this mean OxygenOS is worse as a result? Not really. There are a few changes, but everything is just as snappy and polished as before.
We’re glad to report that our unlocked OnePlus 10 Pro review unit shipped
with minimal bloatware. Besides Google’s familiar apps and some helpful
OnePlus apps (like a File Manager, Game mode, and voice recorder), the only
pre-installed third-party app was Netflix, and while it can’t be
uninstalled, it’s easy to disable.
OnePlus 10 Pro Pricing, Competition And Our Review Summary
Here in the US, the OnePlus 10 Pro (8/128 GB) is available unlocked for pre-order today in Volcanic Black or Emerald Forest for $899 from OnePlus (with a free pair of Buds Z2 earbuds), Best Buy (with a $100 gift card), and Amazon (with a free Echo Show 8). It’s also available for pre-order today in Volcanic Black only for $899 (or $37.50/month for 24 months) from T-Mobile. Pre-orders ship on April 14.The OnePlus 10 Pro’s main competition is Samsung’s Galaxy S22 and S22+ ($799 and $999), the 2022 Moto Edge+ ($849+), and the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro ($799 and $999). If you’re a gamer, the RedMagic 7 ($629) is also worth considering. For those of you living abroad, check out the Oppo Find X5 Pro (€1,299/ ~$1400), Xiaomi 12 Pro ($999), and Moto Edge 30 Pro ($999) – to name a few.
Sure, it’s easy to be cynical and write off OnePlus for “selling out” and merging with Oppo. Change is hard – we understand. It’s also easy to dismiss the OnePlus 10 Pro as evolutionary – a minor update to the OnePlus 9 Pro. While that’s partially true, it also delivers meaningful improvements, especially when it comes to imaging. The early release in China further dampened our enthusiasm but we're getting over it.
And now that we’ve spent a couple weeks using the OnePlus 10 Pro, we’re a lot more excited about it. We like the standout design, gorgeous display, superb camera tuning, quality speakers, snappy performance, fast charging options, and wonderful user experience. On the other hand, we’re less happy about the downgraded ultrawide shooter, and the lack of mmWave 5G, AT&T 5G support, and official IP rating.
Finally, while the OnePlus 10 Pro is more affordable than its
predecessor, it only comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. This,
together with the missing features we mentioned above can make its $899
price tag difficult to justify for some, though you do get the sweet 65 Watt fast charger in the box. It’s a great phone, but in light of the
competition, it’s not necessarily the best value. Hopefully, OnePlus will offer some discounts in the future, and in that case the OnePlus 10 Pro could really be a head-turner.
OnePlus 10 Pro
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