OnePlus 10 Pro launched with Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, ColorOS 12.1, and 80W fast charging: Everything to know

OnePlus launched the OnePlus 10 Pro, its next gen flagship phone, in China on Tuesday, January 11, 2022. The phone packs a new design, faster hardware, a more powerful ultrawide-angle camera, and quick charging both wired and wireless. This is also the first OnePlus phone to fully embrace the brand’s merger with Oppo in branding, whether it be in hardware (SuperVOOC/ AirVOOC) or in software (ColorOS). There is no word on global availability yet, but OnePlus should launch the OnePlus 10 Pro internationally – including India – sooner rather than later.

OnePlus 10 Pro design

The OnePlus 10 Pro design has been part of rumour mills since November last year. Leading into the launch, OnePlus founder (also chief product officer at Oppo) Pete Lau had shared images of the phone in question, corroborating most leaks. What this also means is that we already knew what the OnePlus 10 Pro would look like before the launch.

The phone has a camera array heavily inspired from the Samsung Galaxy S21 series. Samsung calls it “contour cut” wherein the rear cameras are basically integrated with the frame so as to give the phone a more seamless look. This is, also, a useful workaround to make its camera bump somewhat more bearable.

Also read | OnePlus 10 Pro first look in pictures: Design, specs, features, and everything to know

Ironically, Samsung seems to have given up on its contour cut design, already, as the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S22 series is expected to come with a more conventional camera array with sensors stacked individually rather than being part of a raised platform. All this despite the fact that the Galaxy S21 Ultra design has been quite popular among fans and critics. You can say OnePlus is starting off right where Samsung left last year.

The OnePlus 10 Pro, as previously confirmed, will come in two colourways – Volcanic Black and Emerald Forest.

OnePlus 10 Pro spec-check

The front remains largely unchanged from the OnePlus 9 Pro. Just like its predecessor, the OnePlus 10 Pro has a 6.7-inch QHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. OnePlus says it is using a second gen LTPO panel in the phone that should entail faster switching – between 1Hz-120Hz – depending on available content. The screen also features dual colour calibration for seemingly better accuracy.

Under the hood, the OnePlus 10 Pro has Qualcomm’s top-of-the-line Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip. This is paired with up to 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and up to 256GB UFS3.1 storage. The model sold in China will run Android 12-based ColorOS 12.1 software though OnePlus should release the phone with OxygenOS in other markets.

The primary (48MP, Sony IMX789) and tertiary (8MP telephoto) cameras in the OnePlus 10 Pro are being carried over from the OnePlus 9 Pro. The secondary ultrawide-angle camera is getting a refresh with a 50MP sensor that sits behind a wider 150-degree field-of-view lens. Users will be able to shoot at full 150-degrees (with Fisheye) or up to 110-degrees (with distortion correction).

OnePlus is retaining its partnership with Hasselblad like before. There are some new camera chops, too, such as the ability to shoot in 10bit colour across the entire triple camera system and up to 12bit colour in Hasselblad Pro Mode. The OnePlus 10 Pro also gets support for Raw Plus which is to say you’ll be able to save in RAW and a processed JPEG at the same time.

On the front, the OnePlus 10 Pro has a 32MP camera.

Rounding off the package is a 5,000mAh battery with 80W “SuperVOOC” wired and 50W “AirVOOC” wireless charging. Note that OnePlus is using Oppo’s branding for its fast-charging system (this was Warp Charge before).

OnePlus 10 Pro price-check

OnePlus has launched the OnePlus 10 Pro in China at a starting price of CNY 4,699 (roughly Rs 54,500) for a version with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. It will also come in 8GB/256GB and 12GB/256GB configurations for CNY 4,999 (roughly Rs 58,000) and CNY 5,299 (roughly Rs 61,450) respectively. The phone will go on sale starting January 13. Global availability and pricing are yet to be announced.