Even if the OnePlus 10 doesn’t have all the features I had hoped for, it may still be cheaper.
In the end, the OnePlus 10 Pro has lived up to our expectations and is now one of our top picks in both the Android and flagship phone categories. While the OnePlus 10 is a great phone, I’m still waiting for a lower-priced version with many of the same great features.
While a new rumour suggests that the vanilla version of the phone is on the way, I’m still sceptical about the device’s capabilities due to some of the details.
According to OnePlus 10 leaker Yogesh Brar(opens in new tab), a “limited release” of the device is in the works. Instead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip found in the 10 Pro, this phone may use a MediaTek Dimensity 9000 processor. That’s a mixed bag of good and bad news.
A OnePlus 10 would be a great alternative to the Samsung Galaxy S22 and Google Pixel 6 if it comes with a similar $800 or lower price tag, which I’ve previously advocated for. However, the idea of a strictly limited run does not appeal to me. This could mean that, like the entry-level OnePlus 9R from last year, the phone will not be available in the United States or the United Kingdom, depriving users of an alternative to the established Android options.
In terms of the phone’s overall performance, the Dimensity 9000 chipset is the big question. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip has performed admirably in our tests, whether on the OnePlus 10 Pro or other high-end Android handsets.
The Dimensity chip appears to be just as powerful as the Snapdragon chip in terms of benchmarks. Even more impressive, the OnePlus Nord 2 has an AI chip with more power than its Snapdragon counterparts. If the OnePlus 10 has this Dimensity chip, it may be able to do the same thing.
The OnePlus 10 rumour omits a few of my other must-have features. This includes features like the same 5,000 mAh battery, fast charging at 80W (or 65W in the United States), a smooth 120Hz QHD display, and the second-generation Hasselblad camera tuning, just to name a few.. Even though some of these standout features may have to be sacrificed to save money, keeping as many of these as possible would help sell the phone in a crowded Android market and show that OnePlus is serious about maintaining its flagship-killing origins.
We’ve heard a few rumours about the OnePlus 10 Ultra, which Brar mentions in his post. To compete with Samsung’s S22 Ultra and Apple’s iPhone 13 Pro, the OnePlus 10 Pro has shifted its focus from high-end smartphones to lower-end devices. This is especially true if the new OnePlus 10 Ultra has even more powerful cameras, such as the expected periscope telephoto camera.
To make matters more complicated, OnePlus recently announced a release strategy for the 10 Pro that includes an Oppo component, and that will likely have an impact on how the company goes about releasing future products. I’m crossing my fingers that the OnePlus 10 is real and will be available for purchase in the United States and the United Kingdom. When it comes to Android phone buyers, even if the Dimensity chip is less powerful than the OnePlus 10 Pro’s, it’ll still be a good option.