Review: the OnePlus 10T gives flagship velocity for a midrange value

Technically, OnePlus didn’t go wherever. Particularly in Europe and India, it’s been very a lot current over the previous few years, placing out midrange units that carry out higher than their value factors point out. However within the US, it appears like the corporate hasn’t fairly had the identical profile lately.

That’s altering with the OnePlus 10T, a $649 cellphone targeted on delivering excessive efficiency. It’s a well-defined area of interest, and the cellphone follows by on its guarantees. It isn’t every little thing for everybody, and that makes it good.

If there’s one standout on the 10T’s spec sheet to find out about, it’s the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor. It’s a extremely succesful chipset — the perfect you’ll find in an Android cellphone in 2022. And the 10T has it for lower than $700. That tells you a large number about what this cellphone’s complete deal is. There’s additionally very quick wired charging on board — 125W within the US, and it solely stops there as a result of our energy shops aren’t designed to deal with increased voltages.

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What’s lacking from the 10T is equally telling: there’s no wi-fi charging and no Hasselblad branding on the digicam system, just like the flagship 10 Professional gives. There’s an enormous, fast-refresh fee OLED display screen that anybody can recognize, however for added niceties like wi-fi charging, you’ll have to look elsewhere. The 10T is a cellphone for individuals who care about getting the perfect efficiency they’ll with out spending $1,000. If that’s you, then you definitely’ll be very completely happy to listen to that OnePlus is certainly again.

To accompany that top-shelf Qualcomm processor, the bottom mannequin OnePlus 10T consists of 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage — with no microSD card slot for enlargement. There’s additionally a 16GB RAM / 256GB storage model for $749, each of which might be bought in North America. These are extraordinarily aggressive specs, particularly for the worth the place 6GB of RAM is a extra frequent start line. I examined the 16GB model, and it handles intensive duties like a $1,000 cellphone would.

I can faucet and scroll seamlessly by digital 3D house excursions on Zillow’s cellular web site (who amongst us doesn’t window store for a brand new home for funsies?). I performed Diablo Immortal for half-hour with out encountering any main issues, aside from, like, an offended fire-breathing monster that I needed to seven-sided strike into submission. The framerate is a bit shaky at occasions as I transfer into a brand new space, nevertheless it’s refined — not a distracting sudden drop that breaks your circulation.

With Genshin Influence, gameplay may be very easy, and dropped frames are uncommon. It’s one among two video games that OnePlus says it’s optimized the 10T for with a framerate stabilizing expertise (the opposite is PUBG Cellular), and it appears to work very effectively.

The 10T’s quick wired charging does every little thing it guarantees, too. The cellphone ships with a charging brick and USB-C to USB-C cable, and the AC adapter is heavy sufficient to let it means enterprise once you decide it up. Charging speeds are nothing in need of spectacular: blink, and also you’ll miss the cellphone charging as much as 30 p.c in underneath 5 minutes.

Inside 10 minutes, I noticed a 60 p.c cost and a full cost inside 20 minutes. That form of velocity can type of change how you consider your cellphone’s battery life: should you don’t thoughts carrying the charger, then you may simply add a number of extra hours of use with even only a few minutes at an influence outlet. You don’t should be treasured about how a lot time you spend gaming or streaming video, even should you spend most of your day away from an influence supply.

Past that, battery life is nice. The 4,800mAh cell persistently lasted by a day of average use with about 60 p.c cost left within the tank. I examined it largely on mobile information with excessive efficiency mode enabled — and why wouldn’t you with a cellphone like this? — utilizing the quickest display screen refresh fee mode (on by default). That’s a day of average use; should you plan to do a good quantity of gaming, which is a key use case for this gadget, then you definitely’ll want that fast, late-afternoon recharge to keep away from single-digit battery hell.

The 10T carries an IP54 water resistance score regardless of the place on the earth you purchase it. That’s been some extent of confusion on earlier OnePlus units that might typically have an implied IP score as a result of the identical cellphone at T-Cellular has one, however the unlocked model doesn’t. IP54 it’s, which protects towards mud intrusion and water spray — not full immersion. That’s effectively in need of the IP68 waterproof scores on most flagship units, nevertheless it’s a bit insurance coverage towards unintentional splashes and higher than nothing.

One factor you received’t discover on the 10T: OnePlus’ signature alert slider. The corporate’s rationalization is that in an effort to give the cellphone’s chipset and warmth dissipation system sufficient area, it needed to lower the slider. It’s additionally going to nice lengths to emphasize that simply because this cellphone doesn’t have an alert slider doesn’t imply that it’s gone without end. Nonetheless, it’s a fan favourite, and leaving it out is little question an unpopular transfer among the many OnePlus devoted. For what it’s value, I obtained by simply superb with out it as I used the cellphone.

With a high-powered chipset and quick charging, OnePlus has taken care to incorporate a severe heat-dissipation system on the 10T. OnePlus says that it accommodates the most important vapor chamber in any of its units up to now. There’s 3D graphite and copper foil, and I don’t fairly perceive what all which means, however I can say this: it really works pretty effectively. The cellphone heats up, for positive — quarter-hour into downloading the 15GB Genshin Influence (with the animated loading display screen on), and it’s heat to the contact however not alarmingly heat.

Identical goes after a very good 20 minutes of Diablo Immortal: the cellphone is noticeably heat, nevertheless it stays snug to make use of. The one time I seen the cellphone getting very heat was once I left it on a mushy floor like a sofa cushion whereas doing a little intensive process, like downloading huge recreation information. That’s extra on me, although; the cooling system actually can’t do its factor when it’s being smothered.

The OnePlus 10T gives a spacious 6.7-inch OLED with 1080p decision and a prime refresh fee of 120Hz. The panel itself is flat, although the gadget’s edges are curved. It’s additionally not an LTPO show, which implies it might’t drop right down to extraordinarily low refresh charges, however the display screen will adapt mechanically between 60, 90, and 120Hz to reduce the drain on the battery. It’s additionally not the brightest display screen I’ve come throughout, however its peak brightness of 950 nits is nice sufficient to maintain it seen in direct daylight.

Within the display screen is an excellent in-display fingerprint reader for biometric unlocking — after utilizing the Pixel 6A’s a lot much less responsive reader for a number of weeks, this one feels lightning quick. On a tool whose complete premise is constructed on velocity, it feels proper at house.

Firms like Google and Samsung have elevated the variety of years that they’re committing to supporting units with software program updates, and OnePlus has adopted go well with. It’s not providing fairly as lengthy help — some Pixel and Galaxy units rise up to 5 years of safety updates — nevertheless it’s promising three OS model upgrades and 4 years of safety updates for the 10T. That’s not glorious, nevertheless it’s good, and the 10T ought to be capable of sustain effectively 4 years from now when it will get its final safety patches.

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The digicam system on the 10T appears like a little bit of an afterthought, and that’s truly superb. It has all the {hardware} I’d hope for from a premium midrange cellphone: a 50-megapixel major digicam with stabilization, an satisfactory 8-megapixel ultrawide, and a 16-megapixel selfie digicam. There’s a 2-megapixel macro digicam on the again panel that’s nigh ineffective, with its very low decision and stuck focus. When you like questioning whether or not your picture goes to be in focus, then you definitely’ll have a good time with it. In any other case, OnePlus may have carried out us all a favor and included a close-focusing ultrawide as an alternative, nevertheless it didn’t.

The Hasselblad branding is conspicuously lacking, and in a gaggle press briefing, OnePlus spokesperson Spenser Clean defined that the corporate wished to place it otherwise from the higher-priced 10 Professional. Honest sufficient – utilizing that Hasselblad brand most likely doesn’t come low cost, and the Hasselblad integration hasn’t precisely improved OnePlus’ cameras by leaps and bounds in any case. Not a lot of a loss there.

All that is to say that the cameras on the 10T are simply common: photographs in good mild look good and are acceptable in low mild. It typically takes the digicam a number of photographs to get to the correct reply, nevertheless it will get there finally. For one, publicity can drift round a bit — I took three photographs of my husband and son that look a bit too overexposed, after which lastly, a fourth with the correct publicity and pores and skin tones. It retains shutter speeds excessive sufficient to get a good variety of sharp photographs with shifting topics in average lighting. In very low mild, there’s a succesful evening mode to convey out some good colour and element in static topics. Publicity is a bit squirrely in video recording, too, however in any other case, clips look good as much as the 4K/60p max.

The OnePlus 10T isn’t a cellphone that tries to be every little thing for everybody, and I believe that’s nice. It’s well priced, and within the US, there’s not an entire lot else out there on the identical value level. It’s a bit pricier than the $599 Pixel 6 with the identical 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage configuration, however the display screen is larger (if that’s one thing you’re into) with a smoother 120Hz refresh fee. If the extraordinarily quick charging appeals to you, then that’s a mix of options you undoubtedly received’t get from the Pixel 6.

The 10T isn’t an all-around class chief, and regardless of what OnePlus’ advertising would possibly say, I don’t suppose it actually units out to be one. On this value vary – which is a tick beneath the $849 Samsung Galaxy S22 – the Pixel 6 continues to be the perfect guess for most individuals. It gives a greater holistic characteristic set, together with a greater digicam, extra strong IP68 waterproofing, and extra frequent software program updates for an extended lifespan. OnePlus made a cellphone that’s good for the cash within the 10T, even when it’s not good for most individuals. Within the US market, there’s room at that desk.

Pictures by Allison Johnson / The Verge