OnePlus has already confirmed that there will be no OnePlus 9T, with the company opting instead to issue the OnePlus 9RT in China and India, but not to the rest of the world. This means that we’ll have to wait until 2022 for the next flagship offering from the Chinese giant. Here’s what we know so far about the OnePlus 10.
When is the OnePlus 10 release date?
We don’t have an official release date for the OnePlus 10 at the time of writing, but we can use the previous models as a guide. Here’s how they lined up:
As you can see, the regular and Pro numbered models appear in the Spring, usually around April, while the T models debut around September/October. As we’ve seen the OnePlus 9RT arrive in China in October 2021, it would make sense that the OnePlus 10 and 10 Pro will be introduced in the first quarter of 2022.
How much will the OnePlus 10 cost?
It’s the same case with pricing, as OnePlus hasn’t announced the new models, we don’t have confirmed pricing. Again, we turn to the previous generations for clues. Here’s the costs of the last few models that launched in the West:
- OnePlus 9: £629/$729/€699
- OnePlus 9 Pro: £829/€899
- OnePlus 8T: £549/$649
- OnePlus 8: £599/$699
- OnePlus 8 Pro: £799/$899
Prices have been reasonably stable, with the regular models coming in at around the £600/$700 mark, while the Pro editions are in the £800/$900/€900 region. We can’t see any obvious reasons why this would change with the next generation.
What new features will we see in the OnePlus 10?
So far, the rumour mill has been very quiet when it comes to the OnePlus 10 range. This could be due to the OnePlus 9RT only appearing recently, so the focus has been more on that particular model. One thing we do know is that the software side of things might see some changes.
In a blog post (September 2021), company founder Pete Lau confirmed that after the merger with fellow manufacturer Oppo, the two brands will fold their OS divisions into a single team. This means that OxygenOS (OnePlus) and ColorOS (Oppo) will become a unified codebase. Lau stated, ‘I believe that the unified operating system will keep the DNA of OxygenOS that many of you love so much, while also giving you an upgraded experience overall.’
He also confirmed that the new software will appear on its next generation of devices, ‘In terms of timeline, for global OnePlus devices, we will first introduce the integrated OS with the launch of our next flagship series in 2022. The integration will be fully completed together with the next major Android update in 2022.’
So, the expected OnePlus 10 could be one of the first (if not the first) to receive the new operating system.
On the hardware front, it’s been something of a barren wasteland in terms of rumours. India-based tech leaker Yogesh Brar is one of the only ones to put forward anything of note when he tweeted that the new OnePlus 10 range would be basically the OnePlus 9 with some spit and polish.
So OnePlus is working on series 10 phones which are being pitched as polished series 9 models. Apart from this a bunch of Nord series models are on the roster as well. They are expected to announce some new accessories at the next launch.
— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh)
September 2, 2021
Interestingly, he followed this up with another post that stated the OnePlus 10 range would feature Samsung’s E5 LTPO OLED panels for the displays.
Well since the 9RT renders are out, there isn’t much left to leak.Will try and bring pricing info.
Diverting focus on the next flagship.
OnePlus 10 series units have an E5 LTPO OLED panel which seems to be norm now for flagships. Currently capped at 120Hz
— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh)
October 8, 2021
These are more energy efficient than the E4 panels used on the OnePlus 9 and have been making their debuts on devices such as iQOO8 Pro and Vivo X70. They have a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, but as the OnePlus 9 already boasts that feature, it will be the energy consumption and potential brighter display capabilities that will make the E5 an interesting upgrade.
On the processor side of things, the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro (not to mention the 9RT) all use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chipset. This means that the new models will likely take up the new flagship silicon in the form of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 895/898.
Other than that, how the OnePlus 10 range will line up still remains something of a mystery. We still expect two models – Standard and Pro – with a three camera array for the cheaper model and four on the Pro. These could be bumped up to higher spec sensors, as the optics on the OnePlus 9 were a little underwhelming. Of course, the new software could fix the issues without the need for a hardware upgrade.
OnePlus 10 wishlist
If there’s a few things we’d like to see OnePlus bring to its range, these are top of our list.
Waterproofing
OnePlus has traditionally not had its devices certified with an IP rating for water and dust proofing, before begrudgingly adding it to the Pro models only. Initially, this was thought be a money-saving technique as the devices were competitively priced against other premium phones (gaining OnePlus the ‘flagship-killer’ motif). Now, with the cost of its premium device going up, it’s about time the company guaranteed that the regular OnePlus 10 will survive being dropped in the bath.
Better cameras
As we mentioned above, the OnePlus 9 has issues with its cameras. Even though the company teamed up with the legendary Hasselblad for the cameras, we weren’t impressed with the results. This time around, OnePlus needs to up its game and fix the problems so that its premium phones have premium photographic capabilities.
Get rid of spec-specific colours
One of the dafter decisions OnePlus made with the 9 and 9 Pro was to only offer certain colours depending on the spec configuration you chose. This is beyond stupid, so with the OnePlus 10 and 10 Pro we want all colours available on all models.
To see what the new OnePlus models have to compete with, be sure to read our guide to the best smartphones.
