TechRadar Verdict
The OnePlus 10T is a decent mid-range Android smartphone. Its beautiful display, powerful chipset, and fast charging make it a tempting purchase for some users. It's not perfect - among other things, it has to deal with a lot of compromises in the photography, autonomy and design departments to remain affordable - but most fans of the brand will prefer its purchase, in times of economic uncertainty.
advantages
- +
fast to load
- +
nice to look at screen
- +
Excellent processing power
Contras
- -
camara mediocre
- -
Low battery life
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Mover a:
- The OnePlus 10T in a nutshell
- Price and availability
- Project
- bodies
- cameras
- performances
- Interface
- Autonomy
- Should you buy the OnePlus 10T?
The OnePlus 10T in a nutshell
The OnePlus 10T restores the affordable "T" line that fell vacant in 2022, and that's good news.
In the past, OnePlus has taken advantage of this series to offer cheap alternatives to its high-end smartphones. While offering notable optimizations, taking advantage of several months of technological advances.
The OnePlus 10T is clearly inspired by theOnePlus 10 Prowhich debuted in early 2022, similar in design and size, but with a lower price and rounded edges to stand out.
Surprisingly, the OnePlus 10T is superior to its predecessor in two key areas. The first is the processor, as the 10T has the "plus" version of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 that powers the Pro. The other is the charging speed, which at 150W is super fast... as long as you enable the mode in settings and use the built-in charger.
"Speed" is emerging as one of the top marketing buzzwords for the OnePlus 10T, and with faster charging and a faster processor, the smartphone definitely fits that bill. However, if we were to think of a second abstract term to describe the phone, it would probably be "average."
That's not necessarily an insult (this is a mid-range device, after all). And as with all smartphones in this range, the OnePlus 10T has to make compromises to maintain a reasonable price.
Starting with the cameras. The OnePlus 10T lacks zoom and doesn't have access to many of the 10 Pro's modes, making for a passable shooting experience. If you are looking for one of
best camera phonestraffic, go your way.
Battery life is also mediocre, which is a shame. OnePlus has clearly prioritized charging speed over battery life. You'll have to rely on this fast power supply to power your smartphone through a whole day.
However, in view of its overall performance, the T on this model seems superfluous to us. Because the OnePlus 10T has everything from the standard OnePlus 10 that we expected a few months earlier.
Price and availability
The OnePlus 10T comes in two color options: Moonstone Black (black) and Jade Green (green). The smartphone is already available incompany official store(opens in a new tab).
Here are the different variants available:
- 8GB of RAM / 128GB of storage at €729
- 16GB of RAM / 256GB of storage at €829
At this price, the smartphone faces theGoogle Pixel 6sold at €649 with the same storage capacity. The OnePlus 10T may, however, have a larger screen, a more powerful chipset and faster charging, but it loses in the field of photo processing, autonomy and software interface.
The OnePlus 10T has been on sale since August 25, several weeks after its official launch on August 3.
GOOD PLAN:You can already benefit from a €100 discount by entering the promotional code TAKE10T, after adding the OnePlus 10T 128 GB to the shopping cart, frommanufacturer's official store(opens in a new tab). Add to that a trade-in bonus of up to €150, and this mid-range smartphone can drop below €500. The icing on the cake: OnePlus graciously offers the Buds Pro earphones worth €149.
- Usage: 4/5
Project
On the surface, the OnePlus 10T looks a lot like the 10 Pro, and that's especially noticeable in the bulge that hides the rear camera. Its back has the same square promontory as the elder, located in the upper left part of the back, with the four emblematic circles of the brand. The sensors and lens are different than the Pro, and the flash is in a separate location, but those are just minor changes to a similar-looking module.
The sleek, glossy back, complete with the OnePlus logo, doesn't exactly help tell them apart, either.
The real distinction comes from the 10T's completely flat screen (the 10 Pro has one with curved edges) and that makes the phone feel bigger (just an impression). It looks equally huge in the palm of your hand.
The dimensions of the smartphone are 163 x 75.4 x 8.8 mm and its weight is 204 g. It's a bit thicker and heavier than other phones of its generation, including the . Pro. But with such a small margin, you probably won't notice unless you compare them side by side.
It's the first OnePlus flagship smartphone that hasn't had an alert slider in years. This handy little button lets you switch between silent, vibrate, and volume modes. Fans of the brand slandered this removal, which means you have to change these settings by unlocking your phone from now on.
The OnePlus 10T features a USB-C port, but no 3.5mm headphone jack (sorry, wired audio lovers). The power button is on the right edge and the volume rocker is on the left side. To unlock your phone, you'll have to rely on the on-screen fingerprint reader... which proves to be reliable and fast most of the time.
- Usage: 3.5/5
bodies
The OnePlus 10T has a large 6.7-inch screen, with fairly average specs for its price.
The resolution is 1080 x 2412 pixels, or FHD, which is the resolution most apps and games respond to. The refresh rate is 120 Hz, which means the screen refreshes the image 120 times per second, which is twice as fast as the default. Therefore, the movements look very smooth.
OnePlus smartphones often come with beautiful displays, and this one supports a billion colors and HDR10+, making it a perfect display for gaming and video streaming.
A cutout in the form of a "hole" hides the front camera and divides the screen at the top and center of the screen. The frame is very thin, so there is no visible black ring around it.
- Usage: 4/5
cameras
The photo matrix is ​​probably the biggest downgrade the OnePlus 10T suffers from the 10 Pro – we've seen budget smartphones with the same matrix, so this smartphone can't satisfy avid and professional photographers alike.
The main camera uses the 50MP Sony IMX766 sensor. We've previously praised this sensor for being consistent when shooting in low light. It usually appears on entry-level mobile devices, rarely on mid-range models.
It is accompanied by an 8 MP ultra-wide angle sensor and a 2 MP macro sensor. The first one responds perfectly: it allows you to take good wider photos, albeit with a rather low resolution. Still, the second one turns out to be practically useless. In theory it works for close-up photos, but in practice they are so grainy that it is better to use the main sensor for this type of photos.
The lack of zoom is disappointing: without a telephoto lens, you have to rely on digital zoom, which tops out at 10x. It's not exactly the 30x zoom of the Samsung Galaxy S22, which is in the same price range. And that means you lose quality quickly when zooming.
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We've seen smartphones at half the price that offer the exact same set of cameras (like the Realme 9 Pro Plus from sister brand OnePlus). So it seems disappointing to see such an expensive phone appear with low-end cameras. However, photography is clearly not the focus of this smartphone - OnePlus focuses on speed here.
The photos end up being quite saturated, sometimes bordering on oversaturated, but they're certainly worth sharing on your social profiles. As long as the lighting is good.
The smartphone has all the standard modes such as Portrait, Night, Pro, and Long Exposure. There are also two that you don't see infrequently anymore: Tilt-Shift, which replicates tilt photography by creating deep depth-of-field effects, and Film, which brings all the settings of professional photography mode when you're shooting movies.
Some of the Hasselblad modes have been scrapped, mainly because it's the first numbered OnePlus phone in a long time not to take full advantage of the camera brand partnership. Those were niche modes though, so not a big deal.
For selfies, you get a 16 MP wide-angle camera on the front of the phone, and selfies look pretty good, with plenty of detail... but a few issues too flat. In Portrait mode, there is an issue with the AI ​​differentiating the subject from the background, which is not always noticeable.
- Usage: 3/5
Some photos taken with the OnePlus 10T
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performances
Processing power is one of the main pillars of the OnePlus 10T. This is made possible by the integration of the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 mobile processor, where the 10 Pro only features the stock version of that chip.
The chip handles all the intensive processes like running heavy games or editing videos. You can take full advantage of the graphics of your favorite title, without fear of your device crashing.
We've had issues with the Snapdragon 8-series chips getting very hot, and there are certainly echoes of that here, but OnePlus has certainly been working on a cooling fix ever since.
The processor is paired with either 8 GB or 16 GB of RAM. OnePlus claims that the latter supports 30 apps running simultaneously, but we can't imagine a time when that would be useful.
It is, unsurprisingly given its price, a 5G smartphone. So you can connect it to your high-end mobile plan. Your connection speed will depend almost entirely on your ISP and location, not your phone.
- Usage: 4.5/5
Interface
The OnePlus 10T comes with OxygenOS, OnePlus' Android overlay, so you get all the key features of the Google-designed operating system, like access to the Play Store and plenty of customization options.
You get a few extra features over stock Android, including a Zen mode to reduce distractions for a set period of time. Some of them feel a bit redundant, notably the panel you access by swiping down from the top right corner.
It offers a lot of shortcuts, which you will quickly remove or will work randomly.
OnePlus has promised that OxygenOS 13, based on Android 13 awaiting release, will arrive in late 2022. With some functional tweaks, bound for the 10 Pro first – the 10T will get it soon after.
- Usage: 4/5
Autonomy
When companies make smartphones, they often have to decide between battery capacity and fast charging: the bigger the battery, the less space there is to ensure good charging technology. And OnePlus has clearly bet on fast charging under the hood of the 10T.
The OnePlus 10T has 150W charging, a super-fast speed that almost no smartphone can match today. At that speed, the phone goes from 0 to 100% in about 20 minutes; that's pretty fast.
However, you have to use the built-in charger and enable the maximum speed in the settings. Otherwise, the default speed will be 80 W, which is still substantial.
On the other hand, the battery capacity drops to 4,800 mAh. It's nothing, but for some reason the phone is struggling to hold up. In average use, we'd struggle to keep the phone running through a day of use - by "medium" we mean "classic", with a bit of social media browsing, some music streaming, and maybe either a quick photo session or watching a video. episode of your favorite late-night show.
Heavy use, which involves starting a game, drains the battery faster. However, OnePlus is credited with offering various modes to improve battery performance, including turning off 5G or turning on dark mode. This will allow you to reach the end of a day with much more certainty.
- Usage: 3/5
Should you buy the OnePlus 10T?
Buy if...
Fast charging of your smartphone is a priority
With its 150W output, or up to 80W if you don't use the built-in charger, you can count on the OnePlus 10T to be fully operational in minutes.
Are you a mobile gamer?
Thanks to its high-end chipset, beautiful display, and internal cooling, the OnePlus 10T is a good choice for mobile gaming fans, even if it doesn't exceed thebest gaming smartphones(opens in a new tab)personalized design.
You are looking for a OnePlus 10 Pro in the economic version
More so than the OnePlus Nord models, the 10T feels like a stripped down version of its big brother; so if that device is too expensive for you, here is your best alternative.
Do not buy if...
You need a powerful camera.
With its lackluster photo module, the OnePlus 10T won't impress photographers or videographers, despite some fun modes.
You need a reliable battery
While battery life isn't terrible, the 10T can struggle to last a full day, making it a less than ideal choice if you're racking up long multiplayer sessions.
you have small hands
Thanks to its enormous size, the OnePlus 10T simply won't be comfortable to handle if you have small palms.
- The best OnePlus smartphones: Premium photographers or affordable partners, choose your #1
tom bedford
Taxpayer
Tom Bedford was deputy editor for phones at TechRadar until the end of 2022, after stepping down as a staff writer. While he specialized in phones and tablets, he also embraced other technologies such as electric scooters, smartwatches, fitness, mobile gaming, and more. He lives in London, UK and now works for the entertainment website What To Watch.
He graduated in American Literature and Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia. Prior to working at TechRadar, he freelanced in technology, gaming, and entertainment, and also spent many years working as a mixologist. Currently, he also works in cinema as a screenwriter, director and producer.