OnePlus 7 Pro review: The 'flagship killer' is all grown up
OnePlus(opens in a new tab) is all grown up.
After years of walking in the shadows of Apple(opens in a new tab) and Samsung(opens in a new tab), the Chinese phone maker is stepping into the light and forging a new path with its new Android smartphone, the OnePlus 7 Pro(opens in a new tab).
There's plenty to like about the OnePlus 7 Pro. With a premium glass and metal design, a sharper notch-free display, a pop-up selfie camera, a faster and more responsive in-display fingerprint sensor, and a triple-camera system on the rear, the OnePlus 7 Pro has more than enough going for it to earn its "pro" name.
But raising the bar now comes at a much higher cost. Whereas the previous OnePlus 6T(opens in a new tab) started at $549 when it launched, the OnePlus 7 Pro starts at $669.
Don't get me wrong: The OnePlus 7 Pro's still a stellar deal when you pit it against phones with similar displays and camera setups — for example, a Galaxy S10+(opens in a new tab) starts at $999 and iPhone XS Max(opens in a new tab) at $1,099 — but is it punching above its weight class too soon?
I thought so at first, but after putting the phone through its paces for nearly two weeks in New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle, I'm wowed by how much you get for the money — something that's nothing new for OnePlus phones.
Sure, there are some things that annoy me, like the lack of IP water and dust resistance and wireless charging. But they're not a deal breaker.
OnePlus Launches New Smartphone Program To Benefit All Of Us
Plant a tree with OnePlus. OnePlus
OnePlus today revealed a new trade-in initiative that taps into the company’s community spirit and aims to benefit everyone. When a customer in Europe or the U.K. trades in their smartphone for a new OnePlus handset, the company will plant a new tree.
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It’s a step towards mitigating the consumer electronics industry's effect on the planet and is done in conjunction with Ecologi, a climate action organization. Ecologi recognizes that the electronics industry has more work to do, it says, “It's great to see OnePlus taking important steps to reduce the environmental impact of its products through its trade-in scheme, alongside supporting reforestation projects. Given its global presence and huge customer base, we hope OnePlus can act as an example to other companies in the sector - inspiring them to join the collective fight against climate change.”
Last year, OnePlus North America planted trees for a week in April to celebrate Earth Day and offered to plant a tree for each tweet with a relevant hashtag or planted two trees for sharing pictures of nature. This latest promotion is focused on Europe and the U.K.
Lest you think that to help a worthy cause like tree-planting means you miss out on getting money off your next phone, don’t worry. The trade-in discount continues, including any bonuses. For instance, throughout this month there’s an extra amount knocked off the price of a OnePlus 10 T and OnePlus 10 Pro on top of the trade-in price for their phone. Right now, that extra amount is 200€ (around $196), or £200 in the U.K.
Other phones such as the keenly priced OnePlus Nord 2T are also included in the tree-planting scheme when you trade in your current phone.
Trade-in schemes are useful, though it’s always worth checking your phone's resale value in case you could save more money by selling it separately first. But the addition of knowing that a tree will be planted in what OnePlus calls “dedicated forest areas around the world” could be enough to pique your interest in this program.
OnePlus 10 Pro arrives: Here's what you need to know about the new flagship phone
The 6.7-inch OnePlus 10 Pro comes in Emerald Forest and Volcanic Black. Images: OnePlus
Having cancelled its in-person event at CES and drip-fed design and specification information for the past week, OnePlus has now officially launched its new flagship OnePlus 10 Pro handset. The new phone will be available in China from 13 January, with launches in Europe, India and North America to follow later in 2022.
Superseding the well-received OnePlus 9 Pro, the new 6.7-inch phone sports an aluminium frame with Gorilla Glass front and back, a second-generation Hasselblad camera system, a new ultra-wide angle camera, Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform and a large (5000mAh) battery with 80W SuperVOOC fast charging.
Here's how the OnePlus 10 Pro stacks up against its predecessor:
OnePlus 10 Pro OnePlus 9 Pro Dimensions 73.9 x 163 x 8.55mm 73.6 x 163.2 x 8.7mm Weight n/s 197g Display 6.7 inches, 3216 x 1440 (20:9, 525ppi), 120Hz Fluid AMOLED with 2nd-gen LTPO, Dual Color Calibration, Gorilla Glass Victus 6.7 inches, 3216 x 1440 (20:9, 525ppi), 120Hz Fluid AMOLED with LTPO, Gorilla Glass 5 Screen to body ratio 89.7% 90% Dust/water resistance IP68 IP68 Chipset Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 OS Android 12, Oxygen OS 12 (Color OS 12.1 in China) Android 11, Oxygen OS 12 RAM up to 12GB (LPDDR5) 8GB, 12GB (LPDDR5) Storage up to 256GB (UFS 3.1) 128GB, 256GB (UFS 3.1) Storage expansion via MicroSD no no Front camera 32MP 16MP f/2.4 (EIS) Rear cameras 48MP wide-angle (OIS); 50MP ultra-wide angle; 8MP telephoto (OIS) 48MP f/1.8 wide-angle (OIS); 50MP f/2.2 ultra-wide angle; 8MP f/2.4 telephoto (3.3x optical zoom, OIS); 2MP f/2.4 monochrome Networks GSM, WCDMA, LTE, 5G GSM, WCDMA, LTE, 5G Wi-Fi 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) Bluetooth 5.2 5.2 Other connectivity NFC, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, A-GPS NFC, GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, A-GPS Ports & slots USB-C, dual Nano SIM USB-C, dual Nano SIM Buttons volume, power, Alert Slider, in-display fingerprint reader volume, power, Alert Slider, in-display fingerprint reader Audio mics, stereo speakers mics, stereo speakers 3.5mm audio jack no no Battery capacity 5000mAh 4500mAh Fast charging 80W Super VOOC (1-100% in 32 minutes) 65W Warp Charge Wireless charging 50W AirVOOC (1-100% in 47 minutes) 50W Price TBA $849 (12GB/256GB); £829 (8GB/128GB), £929 (12GB/256GB)
The new OnePlus flagship is a similar size and shape to the 9 Pro, although it has a larger, squarer camera area at the back. The 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED screen has a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, as before, but second-generation LTPO technology allows this rate to vary quicker, depending on the content, resulting in lower power consumption. The OnePlus 10 Pro's display has also been colour-calibrated at both high and low brightness levels for greater accuracy across a range of use cases.
The OnePlus 10 Pro runs Android 12 (and Oxygen OS 12, or ColorOS 12.1 in China) on Qualcomm's top-end Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Mobile Platform with up to 12GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. This is kept going by a 5,000mAh battery (up from 4,500mAh in the OnePlus 9 Pro), with quicker 80W SuperVOOC fast charging, and 50W AirVOOC wireless charging. Some manufacturers have taken to leaving out a charging adapter, but OnePlus supplies an 80W unit and a USB-C cable. According to OnePlus, you can charge the 10 Pro from 1-100% in just over half an hour using the wired 80W adapter, or in just over three-quarters of an hour in 50W wireless mode.
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Like its predecessor, the OnePlus 10 Pro's camera system benefits from OnePlus's partnership with Hasselblad. The main rear camera hardware seems similar -- 48MP wide-angle, 50MP ultra-wide angle, 8MP telephoto -- although there's no mention of the fourth 2MP monochrome camera that was on the 9 Pro. However, all three cameras now shoot in 10-bit rather than 8-bit colour, resulting in a wider gamut and smoother gradients. Also, the ultra-wide camera captures images with a 110° field of view by default, with 150° and fisheye modes accessible via a dedicated tab in the Camera app. Meanwhile, the front camera has been upgraded from 16MP in the 9 Pro to 32MP in the 10 Pro.
Hasselblad Pro Mode has been updated in the OnePlus 10 Pro, and now supports 12-bit RAW capture on the three rear cameras. There's also a new RAW+ mode that captures RAW images along with OnePlus's computational photography elements. For videographers, there's a new Movie Mode that allows you to adjust settings like ISO, shutter speed and white balance pre- and post-filming, and also capture in a flexible LOG format that doesn't apply a preset picture profile.
There's no pricing available for the OnePlus 10 Pro yet, and no launch date outside of China. Stay tuned for this information, and in due course for hands-on reviews.
See Also
OnePlus 9 Pro review: No ads, no bloat, and new tech makes it the best Android
OnePlus 9 review: Super-fast charging, Hasselblad software, 120Hz display
Best 5G phone 2022: The year's best flagships go head to head
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