Tested: OnePlus 10 Pro 5G | Innovate without breaking the bank

150-degree wide-angle, custom dark modes, 1 billion colors, 50W magnetic charging. very competitive price.

Karim Benessaieh
The Press

WE love

OnePlus, which became a simple brand within the Chinese manufacturer Oppo in July 2021, has had a watchword since its very first model in 2013: to offer innovations before everyone else at an affordable price. The multiplication of rear lenses, the fingerprint reader under the screen and, more recently, the photo technology of the legendary Swedish manufacturer Hasselblad are some examples.

So here we are in 2022 with the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G, of its full name, which continues the tradition. As its name suggests, this “pro” is not intended to be an intermediate model, but a high-end one, obviously compatible with 5 G.

It is equipped with the newest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of storage space. Soon, we promise, a 12 GB/256 GB version will be launched. How does this engine behave? Pretty good for an Android phone, as confirmed by our Geekbench 5 benchmark test.

With a few hairs, it compares to the Galaxy S22 Ultra, with which it shares the same chip, but it costs 30% less. The small disappointment here is that the OnePlus 10 Pro does a little worse than its predecessor, the 9 Pro, in terms of processor power. It makes up for it, however, for graphics processing.

So we have with the OnePlus 10 Pro an agile phone that opens all applications without flinching, and that is comfortable in video games and editing. Its 6.7-inch screen is magnificent, at 120 Hz, adaptable to better preserve its battery, which offers an impressive capacity of 5000 mAH, enough to last two days with normal use.

The little OnePlus touch in the interface is first of all fonts and wallpapers that we wanted to be soothing. It reaches 1300 nits of peak brightness for a density of 525 pixels per inch, which is above average.

A little surprise awaits us in the settings: the dark mode, which is now offered in all phones, is divided into three configurations, enhanced, medium and soft. We had to think about it: we are no longer just stuck between maximum brightness and deep blacks.

For wired charging, the OnePlus 10 Pro supports up to 65W, which goes from 1 to 100% in 34 minutes. The fast charger is included in the box, a too rare little flower. The magnetic recharge, it reaches a peak that we had never seen before: 50 W. On the other hand, it is necessary to have the magnetic charger capable of delivering as much power, which is still rare.

Authentication is always done by the fingerprint reader under the screen or facial recognition. Both methods work smoothly.

Let’s talk about photography, since it is one of the major elements promoted by OnePlus. For the second model in a row, a system designed by Hasselblad is used. The three rear lenses are capable of taking pictures in 10 bits rather than 8 bits, allowing the management of 1 billion colors.

The 8MP telephoto lens has a 3.3x optical zoom capability. The main lens, 48 ​​MP, is equipped with a sensor that cleans up the images and increases the dynamic range.

It’s the third rear lens that surprises us. This ultra-wide-angle, set by default to 110 degrees, offers in a sub-menu a “fisheye” type setting at 150 degrees. Use sparingly, but can give great artistic ideas for certain scenes.

We compared this paraphernalia to that of Google’s Pixel 6 Pro. Here are three samples.

First observation, obvious: the OnePlus 10 Pro manages contrasts better and gave us much brighter colors. His “fisheye” remains a curiosity that awaits better adapted scenes. For the promised fidelity, we hesitate: the Pixel 6 Pro seemed more realistic to us in certain respects.

Finally, the best for last: we like the price of $1149, very reasonable in this league of phones.

We love less

For the photo, there is a sometimes irritating tendency for OnePlus to overpower the photos, reworking them by making them less faithful.

Farewell, 3.5mm jack. OnePlus was one of the last manufacturers to have kept it.

One buys ?

Still little known in North America, OnePlus prides itself on being the fastest growing manufacturer there last year. We can only see that the Chinese manufacturer fully fulfills its two promises: its OnePlus 10 Pro 5G offers some original novelties, is a well-designed phone and is durable at a reasonable price.

Good buy, no doubt.