It’s been nearly two years since OnePlus last released a ‘T’ version of flagship phones, with the OnePlus 8T debuting October 2020. That phone was perfectly good but not the trailblazer OnePlus T phones used to be. But with the OnePlus 10T officially coming this year, the company is likely looking to relive past glories.
Likely using the OnePlus 10 Pro as a template, the OnePlus 10T is poised to have high-end features like Qualcomm’s latest flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus chip, as well as sport familiar features like super-fast charging and a display with a high refresh rate. We don’t know if the 10T will replace the 10 Pro or provide OnePlus fans with a standard non-pro phone, given the 10 Pro didn’t come with a standard counterpart like previous OnePlus phones.
But with a launch slated for August 3, we’ve not got long to wait to see what OnePlus has planned for the 10T and if it sees OnePlus go back to making competitively-pried phones with a killer specs sheet. So here’s what we know so far about the OnePlus 10T.
OnePlus 10T release date
The OnePlus 10T will be officially launched on August 3, with an in-person event taking place in New York City. That’ll make it the first in-person launch since the OnePlus 7T back in 2019.
The launch will be livestreamed from 7 a.m. PT, 10 a.m. ET and 3 p.m. BST. And you’ll be able to watch that on the OnePlus YouTube channel (opens in new tab).
OnePlus has yet to reveal when the phone will be available for pre-order or release, but we suspect pre-orders will probably go live on the same day with the phone being released a week or so later. It could be an invite-only release, so do be prepared that the OnePlus 10T might not be as easy to get as the OnePlus 10 Pro.
OnePlus 10T price predictions
OnePlus hasn’t hinted at the potential price for the OnePlus 10T. But given it’s set to get a high-end Snapdragon chipset, we suspect it’ll have a price tag that’s closer to the flagship devices on our best phones list than some of the mid-range phones.
The OnePlus10 Pro started at $899/£799, and we’d expect the 10T to have the same price tag. Ideally, we’d like the OnePlus to be more aggressive with the pricing, and bring the 8T into the realms of flagship-killer; we’re thinking $599 like the Google Pixel 6. But high-end OnePlus phones have come with flagship-grade prices for the past few generations so we don’t expect that to change too much.
OnePlus 10T design and display
OnePlus has released a teaser image of the OnePlus 10T but it doesn’t tell us a great deal about the phone’s design. From what we can see it looks broadly similar to the OnePlus 10 Pro, with a gently curved body and a matt finish to its back; so far the only color shown off is black.
We expect OnePlus will go for a 6.7-inch display with the 10T, and equip it with a 120Hz panel that can dynamically adjust from the refresh rate. We don’t expect any major changes here, as the OnePlus 10 Pro has an impressive display, and the 10T is likely to use the same AMOLED panel. But we’d not be surprised if a few tweaks to color and contrast are used to better let the screen adapt to various content it’s displaying.
The rear camera module of the OnePlus 8T was deliberately obscured in the teaser image, which might suggest that OnePlus has moved on from the square rear camera module that wrapped around the left edge of the 10 Pro. Or it could be keeping that design and OnePlus wants to obscure the number of cameras the 10T has.
We don’t get a clear look at the edges either. But we’re hoping the physical alert slider is still there, as that provides a very easy way to kill noisy notifications without tapping at software settings. However, the curved edges of the phone in the teaser image make it look like there are very few external buttons on the edges.
OnePlus 10T specs and battery
The only specs confirmed for the OnePlus 10T is Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 Plus, an upgrade on the 10 Pro’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 1. Given the OnePlus 10 T is carrying the tagline of “Evolve Beyond Speed” we’d expect this to be the core upgrade of the 10T.
Qualcomm’s new flagship chipset offers more power yet is more efficient with its power consumption. Given there’s very little that can bring the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to its knees, we’re not hugely excited about some extra power. But more efficiency should mean better battery life.
Speaking of which, we’d expect the 10T to use the same 5,000 mAh battery as its predecessor, but by tapping into the newer Snapdragon chip the 10T could deliver a battery life that beats the 10 Pro’s excellent 11 hours and 52 minutes. So this phone could definitely make our best phone battery life list.
Charging could jump from 80 watts to 150W fast charging. That’s because the India-only OnePlus 10R got access to sister company Oppo’s 150W SUPERVOOC charging, so an easy upgrade would be to port that over to the 10T. However, OnePlus’ fast charging standard tops out at 65W in the U.S. so America might not benefit from such an upgrade.
RAM is likely to come in 8GB and 12GB versions, with 128GB and 256GB storage options. But there’s a chance OnePlus could give the 10T 12GB of RAM only, which would keep with the performance-centric tagline.
OnePlus 10T cameras
There’s nothing from OnePlus so far regarding the 10T’s cameras. But one rumor claims the rear camera array will comprise a 50MP main sensor, and 8MP and 2MP shooters; these latter cameras are likely to be ultrawide and depth sensor cameras, respectively.
This would be a cumulative downgrade on the OnePlus 10 Pro’s 48MP main, 50MP ultrawide and 8MP telephoto cameras. Given performance and evolution is being touted by OnePlus with the 10T, we don’t expect it to downgrade the cameras. That’s unless it’s planning on making a cheaper handset, which probably wouldn’t track with the use of a high-end Snapdragon chip.
Regardless of the specs, we’re hoping OnePlus has worked on the software side to further improve the performance of its flagship phone cameras. The 10 Pro put in some impressive phone photography performance but we felt OnePlus 10 Pro cameras couldn’t compete with the iPhone, Google or Samsung.
OnePlus 10T outlook
If OnePlus can take the best bits of the 10 Pro and build upon them in the OnePlus 10T, then we could be looking at a new contender for our best phones list. But with the likes of the iPhone 14 Pro and Google Pixel 7 coming this fall, as well as the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra still proving to be a brilliant phone, OnePlus has its work cut out to make a flagship phone that makes waves this year.
Having said that, if OnePlus can aggressively price the 10T and give it some smart features on the software side with OxygenOS 13, then we could see it return to its flagship-killer roots and that would make the 10T a phone worth sitting up and paying attention to.
