Now, you can worry less about warranty and servicing problems.
OnePlus is now setting up offices in the Philippines. About time really. When we heard first about the OnePlus 3T back in 2016, we were mindblown by how affordable it was versus other flagships at the time. This was also the time the Pixels were launched and the Nexus series was still a thing.
Times changed. OnePlus changed its perspective from selling flagship products at affordable prices to selling actual premium units. It all started when Carl Pei left the company and Oppo started absorbing the company little by little. These days, OnePlus is just a more premium version of Oppo. The old OxygenOS is gone and the OnePlus 8 series marks a new chapter for OnePlus, a chapter where they start shelling out premium flagships at premium prices. Never settle? That’s gone.
The “flagship killer” subcategory of midrange smartphones was created because of them. When OnePlus left this philosophy, Xiaomi released a phone under the name “Poco” which means “little” in Spanish. The POCO F1 (then known as the ‘Pocophone F1’) was born, and it shocked multiple content creators. How could they fit a flagship processor and flagship-tier cameras in midrange prices? A thing Xiaomi managed to fill. Today, POCO continues this tradition but has also seen some tough competitors such as Realme’s GT series and Motorola’s Edge series. Both of these feature flagship-level specs at midrange prices.
That aside, we’re happy to see that OnePlus is (sort of) returning to their original philosophy. An attempt now seen with the OnePlus 10T. Due to its pricing in the Philippines and specs, we can gleefully consider it a “flagship killer” phone. Something the OnePlus 3T is. OnePlus skipped on the “T” subseries for the 9 but now it’s back, in a new direction.
The design is heavily reminiscent to that of the OnePlus 10 Pro, its more expensive flagship sibling. We talked about that in a previous article so we’ll briefly mention its differences here.
First of all, the colour combinations are slightly different. The demo unit during the event appeared to have a sky bluish or whitish colours but officially, it launches in Jade Green and Moonstone Black. The latter is unique for the OnePlus 10T. Second, its camera bump appears to be made of plastic and it’s less bevelled. Finally, it lacks an alert slider (which may be a disappointment to some) and the camera arrangement is slightly different. Here, the flash is located at the top and the Hasselblad branding is absent. We’re not sure if that’s because Oppo took claim of its partnership, or it’s for budget cuts.
The display on the OnePlus 10T is a 6.7in. FHD+ (2400x1080px) OLED with 120Hz refresh rate. While it launches with OxygenOS 12.1, the wallpaper, the arrangement, and appearance all heavily reminds us of ColorOS. Which is really just a shame. OnePlus is slowly losing its sense of identity.
There are three cameras at the back. Although this time, due to its pricing, some things have to be altered or removed. You don’t get Hasselblad enhancements for example, and you don’t get the telephoto with OIS. Something the OnePlus 10 had. Here, you get the cliche 2MP macro and 8MP ultrawide. We’re happy to see the 50MP Sony IMX766 here, at least it’s not all in vain. The camera has certain software features with OnePlus’ AI enhancements, such as Nightscape 2.0 that uses computational photography to enhance low-light images. It’s not Google’s Night Sight, but it could do.
The front camera is the 16MP Sony IMX471 sensor. At least it’s competitive.
There is a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset inside. OnePlus heavily focused on the performance side of the phone, just like their previous philosophy. It also comes with a modest 4800mAh battery and 150W SuperVOOC charging (sadly, not Dart Charge). This is an ultrafast charging speed that surpasses even in most laptops. OnePlus used to have the slogan “full power in half an hour”. Well this time, it’s faster than half an hour. As OnePlus claimed, this phone can ultimately charge from empty to full in 19 minutes!
To monitor its temperature so that it doesn’t become your next stove (because that camera arrangement does look like an induction cooker), the phone has 13 temperature sensors. It also boasts a smart charging chip that studies the user’s usage to maintain long battery life. The chipset is paired with 8 or 16GB RAM and either 128 or 256GB storage. The former is backed with OnePlus’ memory management called “Always Alive” (not to be confused with “Always On” which is meant for displays). This allows up to 35 applications to run simultaneously without the phone taking a heavy toll on performance degradation. Like many flagships, it features a Vapour Chamber Cooling System that OnePlus calls “3D Cooling System” with a redesigned heatsink.
It features 5G connectivity, Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and NFC. Its antenna bands have been redesigned from the OnePlus 10 Pro so that it can cover more signal areas and prevent sudden signal losses or lagging. Its Smart Link algorithm allows for seamless gameplay and its Amp Connect lowers latency by 60% by improving Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections.
The OnePlus 10T is available starting today, 26th August for a surprisingly affordable Php 35,990 for the 8/128 configuration. There is also the 16/256 configuration, with a price of Php 39,990. OnePlus is traditionally known for not including a MicroSD Card slot and the OnePlus 10T follows this tradition. It also lacks a headphone jack.
As mentioned earlier, it has two colour options: MoonStone Black and Jade Green. It is available via OnePlus’ website and Shopee. On Lazada, it will launch much later, on 9th September. Weirdly, in Lazada and Shopee, the phone is listed as “Nord 10T Eundrance Edition”. It’s still pretty much the same phone and the name is probably there for marketing reasons.
SPECS:
- 6.7in. FHD+ (2400x1080px) OLED, 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+
- Corning Gorilla Glass 5
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 (4nm)
- 3D Cooling System 2.0
- Always Alive RAM management
- CAMERAS:
- 50MP (main), f/1.8, 1/1.56?, 1.0µm, Sony IMX766, OIS
- 8mp (ultrawide), f/2.2
- 2mp (macro), f/2.4
- FRONT:Â 16mp, f/2.4
- 4800mAh, 150W fast charging
- OxygenOS 12.1 based on Android 12
- 5G services, Bluetooth 5.3, Wi-Fi 6/6E, NFC, USB-C, stereo speakers
- Midnight Black, Jade Green
- PRICE:
- 8/128: Php 35,990
- 16/256: Php 39,990
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