Unpacking the OnePlus 10T
OnePlus 10T Review – Box
The OnePlus 10T comes in their iconic red box which has been their main design since the OnePlus 7T.
OnePlus 10T Review – What’s in the Box
In the box you will find the following items:
- OnePlus 10T
- 160W SUPERVOOC Power Adapter
- Quick Start Guide
- welcome letter
- Safety Information and Warranty Card
- SIM tray ejector
- USB cable (Type-C to Type-C)
- The OnePlus 10T
OnePlus 10T Review – Phone Cases
Optionally, you can purchase your own OnePlus phone cases, these are The Glacier Mat Case and the Bumper Case Sandstone. The Glacier Mat Case is quite unique as the case features durable circulating cooling technology as it is made of Glacier Mat Heatdissipation material.
OnePlus 10T Review – Glacier Matte Heat Dissipation Material
The material is said to make up 36% of the case and when the phone is heated it evaporates to dissipate heat and automatically rehydrates from the air when the phone cools down. The case claims to be 5G compatible, allowing signals to flow freely without any obstacles. On the other hand, the Bumper Case Sandstone has four layers of sprayed finely ground sandstone that provide grip and protection.
Specifications:
Performance
OnePlus 10T Review – Antutu v9
Starting with Antutu v9, the OnePlus 10T’s performance lags behind the other flagship phones running on the same chipset, even lagging behind some Snapdragon 888 devices.
OnePlus 10T Review – Geekbench 5
This is further reinforced in Geekbench 5, where the OnePlus 10T again lags behind most phones. Thermal throttling may be the reason for these results.
OnePlus 10T Review – 3DMark
However, 3DMark’s results surprised me because the OnePLus 10T is on par with or outperforms many other smartphones.
OnePlus 10T Review – PCMark Work 3.0
In PCMark, the OnePlus 10T again falls short behind phones with the same chipset, which is quite similar to the Sony Xperia 5 III.
OnePlus 10T Review – Battery Life
The battery life of the OnePlus 10T can last up to 639 minutes at dynamic 120Hz and 568 minutes at 60Hz. This is probably because the 120Hz option is adaptive, while the 60Hz setting remained constant. If you’re running at 120Hz you don’t have to worry about battery life as you get both battery life and smoothness.
The most impressive thing about the OnePlus 10T is the extremely fast wired charging of 150W SUPERVOOC. It takes about 17 minutes to charge the phone from 25% to 100%.
Camera
OnePlus 10T Review – Rear Camera
The OnePlus 10T’s native camera UI is standard, with modes such as Night Mode, Pro Mode, and plenty of additional options to expand your options while taking photos and recording videos. The phone also has a triple camera setup with a 50MP primary camera, an 8MP ultra-wide camera and a 2MP macro camera, in addition to a 16MP selfie camera.
The camera started up pretty quickly and I was able to use it right away to take some pictures. The main camera captured highly detailed images and movies that can be compressed without sacrificing quality. If you are unfamiliar with camera settings, the AI scene enchantment can help you improve the vibrancy, exposure and contrast of the image or select the best mode for the subject you are capturing.
With the IMX766 sensor, the night mode produces some stunning images while preserving the original colors of what they are in real life. The only issue I have is that it takes 3 seconds to capture the image, which can cause blurry images when I capture a moving subject. The maximum zoom I would recommend is up to 3x because the photos will get ugly or super grainy.
The ultra-wide camera is about the same as its mid-range counterpart, the Nord 2T, where colors look great under brightly lit areas but fall off in low light. The selfie camera takes decent photos where the subject is mainly in focus. However, the photos appear saturated in extremely bright light, such as outdoors with the sun high.
Shooting videos on the phone is quite enjoyable as I can shoot up to 4K 60fps with the Ultra Steady mode, which can help with stabilization and reduce juddering while filming while walking.
The good
OnePlus 10T Review – Screen Display
The OnePlus 10T features a 6.43-inch Fluid AMOLED display with a dynamic refresh rate of up to 120Hz that produces accurate colors that are quite enjoyable when playing mobile games, watching videos or scrolling through photos. At 8.8mm thick, the phone is somewhat bulky, weighing in at 204g, but it’s still comfortable for me as someone with small hands.
The OnePlus 10T comes with OxygenOS 12.1, popular for its minimal bloatware with unique features such as the Shelf feature and a host of Always On Display customization options. Do expect the phone to be updated with OxygenOS 13 later this year with a facelifted UI and quality of life improvements
Another impressive feat is the ability to run multiple apps simultaneously without lag or a single frame drop. I was able to use CapCut, Lightroom, PREQUEL, and Canva all at once and constantly switch between apps without leaving the phone lagging, increasing productivity by getting things done right away.
Finally, the phone can run Genshin Impact at medium to high settings at up to 60 fps with no frame drops. However, while playing Tower of Fantasy, I experienced massive frame drops when entering new areas, causing me to get motion sickness, but I think the problem has more to do with game optimization than hardware limitations. With Dolby Atmos, playing these games and watching videos is really immersive and I enjoyed the wide soundstage.
The bad
OnePlus 10T Review – Chrome Side
The construction of the phone feels somewhat cheap as the company covers the side of the phone with a chrome plastic finish instead of glass. The glossy variant is somewhat of a fingerprint magnet, but it’s still controllable until the light hits the back of the phone and you can see the obvious grease and grime. If the constant cleaning bothers you, you can opt for a second textured variant called Moonstone Black or just buy a case to cover the phone.
Another design that bothers me is the decision to move the selfie camera notch from the corner to the center. I would prefer the camera to stay in the left corner of the screen as my fingers usually block the selfie camera when playing games or watching videos in full screen. However, with the camera now centered, it bothers me as it gets in the way when gaming and watching videos as I can see a distinct black circle.
Now that the phone is being marketed as a flagship phone, you should expect that the phone can also be charged wirelessly. Unfortunately, the OnePlus 10T doesn’t, as the company has decided to focus entirely on 150W super-fast charging. So those of you who still prefer the wireless charging feature can look to the OnePlus 10 Pro.
Despite the new haptic technology, the X-axis linear motor, the haptics on the OnePlus 10T feel hollow when typing or even using gesture mode. In addition, the global version of the phone does not have an IP rating, but the US model has an IP54 rating. So be careful if you drop your phone in the toilet or go swimming with it as this phone is only splash proof.
OnePlus 10T verdict
OnePlus 10T Review – The Phone With Glacier Mat Case
The OnePlus 10T starts at € 3,199, which is quite reasonable for a flagship phone these days. If you want a phone with super fast charging, plenty of battery life, great for multitasking and almost standard Android with decent cameras then you should consider buying this smartphone.
Before I end this review, let me talk about OnePlus’ decision to remove the iconic alert slider and what I think about it. As a longtime OnePlus user, I regret that the company has decided to remove the signature alert slider that has been part of that since the OnePlus 2. This makes the phone lose its identity and come across as a generic phone like many others on the market.
OnePlus 10T Review – Missing Alert Slider
Despite removing the warning slider, I don’t really see this as a flaw as the company explained that the removal had to be done due to the space requirement for larger batteries and more antennas. Honestly, I don’t use the alert slider as much as I thought I would.
A good analogy for this situation is that when you have the flu, you kind of underestimate the times when you could breathe easily, but after you recover, the thought wouldn’t even cross your mind until maybe when you have the flu again. Therefore, I don’t think the missing alert slider should influence your decision to get this phone, but other factors should.
At the end of our OnePlus 10T review I will reward this phone with a Bronze Pokdeaward.
Big thanks to OnePlus for sending this smartphone for this review.
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