OnePlus 10 Pro Makes US Debut Without Some Flagship-Grade Features

BY Chandraveer Mathur

Published 31 Mar 2022

OnePlus 10 Pro

OnePlus first revealed the 10 Pro in January. At the time, the device was limited to China. Now it is making its global debut. However, some things have changed, and some features have been trimmed.

To jog your memory, the OnePlus 10 Pro launched in the US comes with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor paired with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The display is a 6.7-inch 120HZ LTPO AMOLED unit with a 3216×1440 resolution. The phone measures 163 x 73.9 x 8.55mm and weighs 201 grams. The phone comes with a massive 5,000mAh battery that can be recharged in a jiffy with the bundled 65W SuperVOOC fast charger. The phone boots Oxygen OS 12.1 based on Android 12.

Right off the bat, the eagle-eyed buyers would notice that the Chinese brand is only offering one configuration of storage and RAM in the US for now. It happens to be the lower-end variant with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage. The company promises that the higher-end models with more storage and RAM will arrive in due course.

Another significant hardware downgrade on the US-spec model is the absence of mmWave 5G connectivity. Although mmWave isn’t helpful most of the time, it is something premium-segment buyers have come to expect from Android smartphones.

The third significant downgrade on the hardware front is support for 65W fast charging instead of the 80W offered in other markets. Using a charger purchased in China won’t help either because reports claim the 65W limitation is linked to the 110/115V US electrical system. Further, the unlocked OnePlus 10 Pro, which can be used with any SIM in the US, does not get an IP rating for ingress protection and water resistance. The variant locked with T-Mobile comes with IP68 certification.

The limitations on the hardware front could be a deal-breaker for some. However, on the bright side, there are improvements on other fronts. Or instance, the second-generation cameras developed in collaboration with Hasselblad do a stellar job even in low light. The camera can capture images in RAW format with 12-bit color depth. An option for RAW+ with computational photography benefits is also included. The wide-angle camera also covers a 150-degree field of view. The phone is also a significant upgrade over the OnePlus 9 Pro.

If you are interested in buying a new OnePlus 10 Pro in the US, you can pre-order it starting today. Devices will begin shipping to customers on April 14. The device is priced at $900.