The OnePlus 10 never happened, and the company has skipped over that handset to bring us the OnePlus 10T. It’s a step away from the company’s established routine of releasing two phones simultaneously, with one flagship and the other sitting just below with slightly lower specs and a similarly lower price. Now, the brand has brought us the OnePlus 10T six months after revealing the OnePlus 10 Pro.

The OnePlus 10T takes a lot from the OnePlus 10 Pro, especially in design, and it oddly beats the company’s flagship for 2022 in several ways. These include fast charging, RAM, and its chipset. However, the camera isn’t as impressive, and software is still a concern. The OnePlus 10T isn’t a bad phone, though, but notably, this is the company’s biggest step away from its enthusiast image. The OnePlus 10T is a phone made for the masses, but maybe that’s not such a bad thing.

Availability and network

In the US, the OnePlus 10T starts at $650 for a version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Incredibly, that’s a whole $80 cheaper than the launch price for the OnePlus 9. This still isn't cheap enough to be classed a best budget phone pick, but it's great the price is lower than previous generations. If you want more space or power, a version with 16GB of RAM and 256GB of storage costs $750. The phone will be available from OnePlus, Amazon, and Best Buy for pre-order on September 1, but the phone won’t be on sale until September 29.

Oddly, that date is quite late for those in the US. For example, in the UK the phone is already up for pre-order, and it’ll be available on August 25. That’s before those in the US are even able to pre-order their phone. The 128GB version costs £629 in the UK, and the 256GB costs £729.

OnePlus has talked up features that are meant to enhance the 10T’s connectivity, like a Smart Link feature that “works to improve upload signals and speed by acting as an advanced signal navigation system that proactively finds the best way to avoid network congestion,” and a “360° antenna system” that’s supposed to stop your hands from blocking wireless signal. It’s unclear how much any of these features matter; tested on T-Mobile in the US, we saw similar data speeds and signal strength on the OnePlus 10T as on the Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. While OnePlus declined to comment on carrier certification, the 10T's hardware has good 4G support and is compatible with the sub-6 5G bands used by all the major carriers in the US—though it doesn’t support mmWave connectivity.

Design

The OnePlus 10T follows a similar design language to recent phones from the brand, and it probably won’t surprise you to hear it’s most like the OnePlus 10 Pro. The camera module is the most distinctive design element, which sits in a chunky cutout that wraps around the phone's edge. All four rear camera elements sit within this, and it juts out a little from the rear of the phone. It looks distinctive, and I personally quite enjoy the look of the rear of the phone.

You’ve got two color choices for the OnePlus 10T: Jade Green or Moonstone Black. The first is what I’ve been using most, and the second is what you’ve seen pictured in this review. For the Jade Green, the rear is a glass material that feels similar to what you’d expect.

Moonstone Black, meanwhile, has fine grooves running up and down the back of the phone; up close, it almost looks like a vinyl record. The grooves do occasionally hang onto a bit of dirt, but they’re easy to wipe clean. Both handsets have Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, so that will hopefully help protect them from the odd drop.

The right-hand edge of the phone is home to the power button, while the volume rocker sits opposite on the left. The bottom edge features a USB-C slot, speaker, and SIM tray. Notably missing is the alert slider that we associate with OnePlus handsets. The brand omitted the slider for the OnePlus 10T to make room for additional features on the chipset.

These include improved fast charging, a larger battery, and the phone’s new antenna features. It makes sense, but it’s still another unique selling point that the OnePlus brand has lost in this latest iteration. If you're looking for the feature, the OnePlus 10 Pro still has the alert slider.

I found the device easy enough to hold in one hand, but with a 6.7-inch display, you’ll need to use two hands if you want to reach all four corners of the device. Overall, the OnePlus 10T design feels premium, if not relatively as high-end as its Pro sibling. The loss of the alert slider will be hard for many to take, and I genuinely miss this feature you can’t find on any other Android phone. I hope OnePlus hasn’t given up on the feature for good, but only time will tell.

Display

The OnePlus 10T features a 6.7-inch, 2,412-by-1,080 AMOLED display, which equals 394 pixels per inch. That’s an okay resolution, but it doesn’t match a lot of other top-end Android phones right now.

The refresh rate here is adaptive up to 120Hz in some scenarios. That mode is turned on by default. This screen doesn’t drop any lower than 60Hz like some smartphones; instead, it just features 120Hz, 90Hz, and 60Hz. That said, I couldn’t find the 90Hz mode in the settings. Your two options are 120Hz for its high refresh rate, and 60Hz for what OnePlus says is a mode to conserve battery.

I found the display stuttered on odd occasions, and I’m not sure if that’s down to the software. It only seemed to affect specific apps, and it wasn’t something I expected through the rest of the software itself. I’ll keep an eye on this in the rest of my testing to see if it gets sorted in the future.

The screen is notably worse than the 10 Pro, but that’s understandable as this is one of the key differences between the products. Brightness is okay on the OnePlus 10T, but as ever with OnePlus phones, you may find the auto brightness feature is touch over-controlling, so I was often fighting it to find the best mode. Viewing angles are good, too.

The fingerprint scanner on the 10T seemed accurate to me, but the positioning feels a bit off. The scanner sits at the bottom of the display rather than a third of the way up, like on many other phones. Even the 10 Pro does this, so I’m not sure why OnePlus has changed it here. It means balancing the phone in your palm is a touch tougher when you’re trying to unlock the handset.

Other hardware and what’s in the box

Onto the box contents, and unlike many other flagship brands, you’ll find a charger remains in the box here as well as a variety of other accessories. The accessories differ by market, so we’ll run through what you get in the US. There’s the SuperVOOC charger, which is a 160W adapter. I’ll explain the odd situation with this in the battery life section below, but you’ll get a far more powerful charger here than you can use in the US.

There’s also a USB-C cable, Quick Start Guide, Welcome Letter to OnePlus, SIM tray ejector, USB-A to USB-C adapter, as well as a screen protector that’s attached to the phone. There’s something satisfying about getting these accessories included in the box, which isn’t an option with other brands such as Samsung.

Software

The OnePlus 10T comes running Android 12 software in the form of the company’s OxygenOS 12.1. It’s a controversial piece of software that many find frustrating considering OnePlus’s relatively successful software history, especially in the brand’s early days. Some of my colleagues dislike OxygenOS 12 more than I do, but I’m not particularly impressed by the latest software from OnePlus. Most of the frustrations many experienced on the OnePlus 10 Pro remain here.

I didn’t find many of these issues to frustrate me on a day-to-day basis. However, this latest software is undeniably closer to Oppo’s ColorOS software, and that won’t be to everyone’s taste. It’s incredibly frustrating as OnePlus has dropped a number of features, including ones that allowed you to change icons and personalize your status bar on the phone.

OnePlus’s software support is my biggest frustration, as it still lags the competition. You’ll get three years of updates from OnePlus if you buy the 10T, so that’ll take you through to Android 15 on this phone. Android 13 is expected by the end of August 2022, so you won’t be getting much support here. You should also expect OnePlus to take a while to bring that software to everyone.

Samsung’s handsets promise four years of updates, plus five years of security updates. The OnePlus promise only includes four years of updates, and often those are delayed as the company offers security changes once every two months, which also lags behind the competition. If you’re looking for solid software support, you won’t find it on the OnePlus 10T.

Indeed, OnePlus’s software isn’t what it used to be, but I personally wouldn’t let it stop me from buying the OnePlus 10T. You’ll need to decide whether you like the look and feel of the software and whether the limitations here are worth it when options like the Google Pixel 6 exist. The next-gen software from OnePlus is also coming soon. It’s called OxygenOS 13, and the company assures us it’ll be ready for the OnePlus 10T before the end of the year.

Performance and battery life

With its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, the OnePlus 10T is likely powerful enough for any task you’ll throw at it. That’s the chipset we’ve seen powering almost all the top-end phones in the second half of 2022, and the power here matches what we’ve seen elsewhere.

It’s among the most powerful you’ll find on an Android phone, and I didn’t encounter any stress testing issues on this phone. I regularly used split screen mode with two different intensive apps, and the OnePlus 10T was capable. Gaming performance has also been impressive, with fast loading times in Apex Legends: Mobile that would match a similar level to what I’ve experienced on the Google Pixel 6 Pro.

Note that I’ve been using the OnePlus 10T with 16GB of RAM, which is the most expensive variant of the phone. It’s impressively one of the most potent options on the Android phone market, though, and this is the first OnePlus phone we’ve seen jump up to 16GB of RAM. I’ve yet to use the other variants, so I can't comment on their power, but I imagine the 8GB variant is also robust enough for everyday tasks.

As ever, there’s no microSD support on the OnePlus 10T, so choose your storage variant wisely. Your options are 128GB or 256GB, and there’s no 512GB alternative here, so if you want a OnePlus phone with a ton of space, you’ll want to look toward the OnePlus 10 Pro or wait until the OnePlus 11 series.

Battery life on the OnePlus 10T is acceptable, but it isn’t anything particularly notable. I found it lasted through the day, but I had to top up the battery before the end of the day on the odd occasion when I extensively used it. For example, when I used the phone for lots of work tasks one day, I found the battery hit its maximum at about 10 p.m. Luckily, I was heading to bed soon after, but that may have been frustrating if my evening had continued.

It’s not anything particularly damaging, and it’s like what I’ve seen from other flagship phones. The OnePlus 10 T’s battery life certainly isn’t as strong as that of the OnePlus 10 Pro, and you’ll likely find stronger life on some of our best Android phone picks.

Fast-charging technology is one of the enormous benefits of the OnePlus 10T, and the company has included its fastest-ever tech here. Well, it’s actually Oppo’s fastest ever charging tech, and we’ve seen it at work on the Oppo Find X5 Pro. I live in the United Kingdom, so I can reach the top speeds of the 150W fast charger, but that’s not the case for people in the US.

Those in North America will be limited to 125W charging on the OnePlus 10T, which is due to the power sockets available in the US. That said, it isn’t a huge step down here, and my US-based colleague Taylor found the phone still makes it from zero to 100 percent in under 30 minutes. The OnePlus 10T still charges considerably faster than most phones in the US, even at this reduced capacity.

If you travel to Europe, India, or other areas of the world that use 220v electrical systems, you’ll find the charger included in the box will hit 150W. That’s a notable change here for OnePlus, which you’ll likely appreciate if you travel a lot. The OnePlus 10 Pro topped out at 65W in the US, a notable step up. There's no wireless charging to speak of here, unfortunately, but with wired charging so speedy, it's not too hard to get by without.

Cameras

The OnePlus 10T features Sony’s IMX766 50MP main camera that you’ll be using for most of your photography. At 50 megapixels, it looks impressive in a spec sheet, but it’s a midranger through and through, having appeared in such devices as the Nothing Phone 1 and OnePlus’s own Nord 2T. By default, it’s binned down to 12.5 megapixels, but unlike Google, OnePlus does let you shoot at full resolution if you so choose.

There’s also an 8MP ultrawide camera, which has a 119.9 degree field of view, and a dedicated 2MP macro camera. Round the front of the phone is a 16MP selfie camera inside a punch-hole in the middle of the top edge of the screen.

Standard and ultrawide samples.

Absent any flashy Hasselblad-branded color tuning, photos out of the OnePlus 10T’s primary camera are pretty consistent with photos from other midrange phones. In good light, pictures will typically look crisp and vibrant, with colors that are fairly true to life. But in more challenging lighting, like dim or especially contrasty scenes, OnePlus’s photo processing tends to over-brighten dark areas, leading to shots that look washed out and flat. It’s easy enough to edit around, but correcting shoddy processing after the fact shouldn’t be required so often at this price point. The 10T also frequently stumbles around subjects against the sky; note the haloing around the edges of tree leaves in several of our samples.

From ultrawide to 10x (software) zoom.

Photos from the 8MP ultrawide sensor, while lower resolution than even binned shots from the primary camera, are of similar quality. There are some subtleties in color and contrast—the 10T’s ultrawide shots tend to skew cooler than photos from its primary camera, in my experience—but if you’re not comparing images from the two sensors directly, you probably won’t notice much difference. With a field of view of 120 degrees, wide shots aren’t quite as fisheye-like as from the OnePlus 10 Pro’s even wider ultrawide, but they can still get distorted around the edges.

Some shots from the OnePlus 10T's macro camera.

The macro camera, unfortunately, is spec sheet-padding junk. It’s a two-megapixel fixed-focus affair, and in all but ideal circumstances, it takes crummy photos. It doesn’t get in the way, and situations where you can use it to take cool pictures will occasionally arise, but it’s still galling that so many OEMs keep stuffing questionable tertiary cameras in their midrangers. That budget could surely be better spent elsewhere.

Low-light shots are hit or miss.

While you can manually activate the 10T’s night mode whenever you want from the bottom bar in the camera app, the phone also turns it on automatically across every sensor at a certain light threshold. It’s able to wring useful information out of scenes that are quite dark, but it also kicks in unexpectedly sometimes—you might miss an indoor snap of your kid or pet because the phone decided to shoot a two-second exposure when you weren’t counting on it.

Taylor Kerns contributed to the Cameras segment of this review.

Should you buy it?

Maybe, depending on a few elements. The OnePlus 10T isn’t a mind-blowing phone, but it is good, and it’s arguably better value than the OnePlus 10 Pro. The power on display is impressive, the camera works well, it’s designed nicely, and this is some of the fastest charging on offer in the United States.

Dropping the alert slider makes sense, but it’s a shame it had to go as it was one of the truly unique elements on OnePlus phones. The screen here is acceptable, but it isn’t going to be the best you can get for this money. I prefer the screen on the Google Pixel 6, and that phone is cheaper than what the OnePlus costs. The Pixel 6 also boasts better camera performance—and so does the $450 Google Pixel 6a, for that matter.

Then there’s the software situation, which isn’t to everyone’s taste, and it is sure to upset long-term OnePlus fans who miss some of those older features and the original design to OxygenOS. That said, if you like everything else the OnePlus 10T offers, you’re getting a powerful phone with everything you need in 2022.

FAQ

Q: How does the OnePlus 10T compare to the OnePlus 10 Pro?

In some respects, the OnePlus 10T beats the 10 Pro with its faster processor, improved RAM, and dramatically improved fast-charging technology. That said, the 10 Pro still wins in a few different ways with a much higher quality display and a larger battery, and it still keeps the infamous alert slider. If you want the absolute best OnePlus phone, the 10 Pro may still be it, but the differences in this generation are much closer than previously.

Q: How does the OnePlus 10T compare to the Google Pixel 6?

The Google Pixel 6 is one of our favorite Android phones of the last year, and it’s tough competition for the OnePlus 10T. These phones aren’t all that similar, though, as this features a Google Tensor chipset inside, a 6.4-inch display (rather than the OnePlus 10T’s 6.7-inch panel), and far worse fast charging than the OnePlus option. That said, the Pixel 6 features longer-life software support, so you may prefer to go for that over the OnePlus choice.

Q: How does the OnePlus 10T compare to the OnePlus 9?

The OnePlus 10T is a significant step up from the OnePlus 9 with a much more powerful chipset, an improved camera, a larger display, along with various other improvements. However, the OnePlus 9 is now far cheaper than the 10T, so that you may choose that option over the latest from OnePlus.