Camera Quality Review OnePlus 10T 5G Smartphone Price Appearance with Advantages and Disadvantages

Since the launch of the OnePlus 7 series in 2019, OnePlus would launch a Pro model alongside a value-priced non-Pro model and a T variant, but this year the smartphone maker has broken with tradition and does not launched the OnePlus 10. Pro 5G in March. The OnePlus 9 series also had a OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 without a T variant.

That said, OnePlus has always had an edge over smartphone OEMs like Realme, Xiaomi, and Vivo, as they were mostly focused on making budget-centric smartphones while OnePlus was busy launching flagship phones. Then came the OnePlus Nord and other smartphone makers had a window to jump on the same bandwagon of devices and compete with OnePlus in the killer flagship segment.

Going back to the OnePlus T moniker, it could represent a “turbocharged” model in the very capable OnePlus 10 lineup that launched in March. This is notably the first OnePlus T variant since the launch of the OnePlus 8T in October 2020. The starting price of the OnePlus 10T is Rs 49,999 for the 8GB + 128GB storage model, which is lower than that of the OnePlus 10 Pro. What makes the OnePlus 10T 5G a powerful smartphone? Find out in my full review.

OnePlus 10T 5G design, display, look and build

There’s nothing new outside of the OnePlus 10T when it comes to the phone‘s design language, is there? Even though the OnePlus 10T looks like the OnePlus 10 Pro, there are hardware changes such as the omission of the fan-favorite alert slider and no Hasselblad branding on the rear cameras. However, the changes are so subtle that it’s not easy to tell the two models apart. In terms of design material choices, OnePlus has chosen a shiny glossy finish for the Jade Green model of the OnePlus 10T which lacks a premium hand feel. To accommodate the affordability, OnePlus has also downgraded the metal midframe of the OnePlus 10 Pro to a plastic one in the 10T.

The phone launched in another colorway, Moonstone Black, which comes with a textured back rather than a completely glossy finish, like our Jade Green review unit. The textured finish should be able to hold off the fingerprints and scratches that the Jade Green model attracted like a magnet. It is advisable to keep the phone secured in a back cover to protect it from scratches and stains. This is a two-handed device for people with small hands. A good thing is that the volume keys and the power key have good tactile feedback and a firm build.

The OnePlus 10T’s in-hand feel is solid and sturdy and the non-metallic midframe doesn’t make the phone flimsy at all. The back of the phone has a big camera bump that we also saw on the OnePlus 10 Pro and became familiar with. The OnePlus 10T 5G has a flat display instead of the curved panel that comes with the 10 Pro, obviously to cut corners. Personally, I like the flat screen, because curved screens can sometimes lead to accidental touches. The OnePlus 10T’s panel is a 6.7-inch Full HD AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate that can be dimmed to save battery. The panel’s maximum brightness is 950 nits, which is where it scores a little less than the 10 Pro. The screen is large, bright and everything that makes a classic OnePlus screen. The panel also supports HDR10+ which triggers when streaming content on Amazon Prime and Netflix.

The OnePlus 10T comes with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the back and front and misses Glass 6 or Victus to make the phone even more affordable. Many of its rivals in this price range offer newer versions of Gorilla Glass. OnePlus claims that the elimination of the fan-favorite alert slider was to accommodate better antennas, a larger vapor chamber and also the incredibly fast charging technology. Those who have bought and loved OnePlus phones would sorely miss the expensive alert slider that comes in handy for quickly switching between ring, vibrate and silent modes.

OnePlus 10T 5G Camera

The OnePlus 10T sports a 50MP main camera with an 8MP ultra-wide sensor and a 2MP macro sensor. The main camera, when flexed, produces sharper images than the OnePlus 10 Pro. Compared to the clicked images on 10 Pro, the OnePlus 10T images didn’t pop as much, but they were closer to the real thing. I appreciate OnePlus for not mince words and stating that the OnePlus 10T is for performance. As mentioned above, while taking shortcuts, OnePlus also removed the Hasselblad partnership for the 10T’s cameras and that doesn’t necessarily mean a bad thing. The main cameras produced good images with enough detail and good color accuracy. Ultrawide mode is where the camera falters a bit and sometimes produces somewhat blurry images. I also think the ultra-wide sensor didn’t deliver consistently.

That said, the OnePlus 10T’s main camera does a good job of capturing detailed photos with good color accuracy day and night. However, the images clicked at night were slightly inconsistent in terms of producing detail, and some of the images taken in low light were startling. The camera also tends to overprocess the image in low light conditions. The OnePlus 10 pro, by comparison, produces images that pop and are more appealing to the human eye as well as social media. Those looking for such photography should shell out a bit more and invest in the 10 Pro instead of the OnePlus 10T 5G. The lack of a telephoto sensor could put off some potential buyers. The 2MP macro sensor takes several tries to produce a satisfying image, but it gets the job done.

OnePlus 10T 5G battery and performance

OnePlus got it right when it mentioned that OnePlus 10T is all about performance. Equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1, the OnePlus is a beast compared to the 10 pro. Gaming, browsing videos, keeping multiple tabs open in Chrome, streaming music, switching between multiple apps, and everything else was super smooth. Basically, the OnePlus 10T can handle anything thrown at it. The variant I reviewed had 256GB of inbuilt storage and 12GB of RAM along with the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip making it a powerhouse of a smartphone.

To cater to the growing gaming-centric population, OnePlus has added useful features in the 10T 5G. There’s an all-new 3D cooling system that the company says provides twice the dissipation compared to conventional phone vapor chambers. To give gaming an extra boost, the OnePlus 10T gets a HyperBoost game engine that promises to reduce frame rate fluctuations and improve graphics quality. To sum up, the OnePlus 10T comes across as an excellent gaming phone without complaining about heating issues.

Battery talk, which supports the company’s proprietary 150W SuperVOOC charging, is blazingly fast. I managed to charge 80% of the battery after only 15 minutes of plugging in the charger. Charging the phone from 0-100% took around 20-25 minutes which can seriously mess you up. The super fast charging capability of this phone can easily be one of the deciding factors if you are looking for a great battery and equally good fast charging speeds. The battery capacity is 4800mAh and it easily lasted me almost everything on a single charge during moderate to heavy use.

One downside of charging the phone was the charging brick which is bulky and heavy, but considering how quickly it charges the phone, I’m happy to carry it around. Please note that there is no wireless charging support on the OnePlus 10T.

The phone is running the now “Oppo-fied” Oxygen OS 12.1 built on top of Android 12 with the July 2022 security patch out of the box. The handset maker promised it would get Android 13-based Oxygen OS 13 later this year, but it wouldn’t get it until after the 10 Pro. Also, there is no fixed timeline for the rollout of Oxygen 13. In terms of software upgrade, the company said it will provide three years of major updates and four years of updates of security.

Final verdict OnePlus 10T 5G

The OnePlus 10T 5G is a smartphone that offers very good gaming performance, super fast charging speed, powerful performance and decent cameras while compromising in areas such as the iconic OnePlus alert slider, the lack of Hasselblad branding and inconsistent night photography. The company has also compromised on IP water resistance while cutting costs. However, the fast charging, promised Android updates and top-notch performance make it a very good proposition in this price segment. Those looking to buy a better camera phone should invest in the Google Pixel 6a, which clearly compromises overall performance.