A quick search of our database returns 14 OnePlus devices released this year, which is 6 more than last year. Perhaps next year will be different, although it is difficult to predict how the new strategic partnership with Oppo will work out. But what about the devices it released this year? Here are the hots and nots of 2022.
Winner: OnePlus 10T
OnePlus messed up a bit with its 10 series. There is no such thing as a vanilla OnePlus 10 and despite much talk, an Ultra model has never materialized. Instead, the OnePlus 10T followed the OnePlus 10 Pro, but not exactly as another flagship offering, but rather a notch below.
Still, the OnePlus 10T delivered top-notch performance thanks to its Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset and some of the fastest charging in the industry, along with solid battery life. The display is bright and smooth with a 120Hz refresh rate. The phone also has great stereo speakers and a full camera setup.
The lack of the OnePlus alert slider, official IP rating and wireless charging alienated fans, but these are compromises you can live with considering the price. Its popularity alone bears this out.
Loser: OnePlus 10 Pro
The higher you aim, the fewer mistakes you can make. Case in point: the OnePlus 10 Pro. It’s enjoying some popularity as the company’s current flagship offering, but it’s not quite as competitive as the 10T.
Probably the 10 Pro’s biggest flaw is the camera setup. Not only has it not made any significant upgrades over the 9 Pro, it has even shrunk the ultrawide unit down to a smaller sensor with no AF and macro capabilities. It brought the fisheye effect, which is great, but if we were to have only one it would be the 9 Pro’s unit.
Then there’s also the whole unfortunate situation with the ColorOS-ification of OxygenOS, which you can read more about here.
The OnePlus 10 Pro is still a well-rounded phone and perhaps in isolation our opinion would have been slightly better. But he just bit off more than he could chew.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 2T
The OnePlus Nord 2T doesn’t change too much from the Nord 2. But in a mid-range segment heavily affected by supply chain problems it has done just enough to be a success.
It has an attractive double-glass design, a solid 90Hz OLED screen, and great performance thanks to the Dimension 1300 chipset. Also on the list of “pluses”: loud stereo speakers, solid battery life with fast charging, and an excellent camera principal. The alert slider is also present.
Loser: OnePlus Nord CE 2 Lite 5G
Offering cheaper alternatives to your popular phones is a great way to attract more people to the ecosystem, but you have to be careful what corners you cut.
Its 120Hz IPS LCD isn’t particularly good when it comes to performance and inconsistent when it comes to a high refresh rate. The rear lacks an ultrawide camera and technically only has the one usable shooter and that comes with no 4K video capture. And that warning cursor we keep mentioning is also absent here.
Winner: OnePlus Nord 20 5G
In a rather interesting twist, we have the Nord 20 5G in the winners’ corner. A phone that isn’t all that different in terms of raw specs, but it all depends on the context. Unlike the saturated markets that the Nord 2 Lite 5G has to compete in, its sibling the Nord 20 5G should be OnePlus’ affordable option in the US. This is a whole different market where the carriers are king and the Nord 20 5G is a great value proposition on the contract from T-Mobile and Metro.
As we said, the Nord 20 5G is not all that different from the Nord 2 Lite 5G. It has the same Snapdragon 695 5G chipset and a similarly lacking camera setup with no ultrawide and only one actually usable camera. Its battery pack is smaller at 4,500mAh, but it still manages great battery life and fast charging speeds. And it replaces the 120Hz LCD panel with a 60Hz OLED with brighter and more vivid image reproduction, which is a decent little upgrade, hands down.
However, the main point is that phones never exist in isolation and the market makes or breaks them.
Loser: OnePlus 10R/Ace
Two names of the same phone with Ace available in China and OnePlus 10R set for global release. Both are also very similar to the Realme GT Neo 3 and are available in a variant with a 5,000mAh battery with 80W charging or a 4,500mAh battery with 150W charging.
We don’t have much to say about the phone other than that it’s another case of an unfortunate camera downgrade from its predecessor. Additionally, the OnePlus 10R lacks OnePlus suffers from an unfortunate number of software issues such as stuttering and slowdowns. On the plus side, we like the design of the phone. Its display is also great and so it’s the Dimension 8100-MAX that powers it. So, with enough software polish, we could see this moderate loss turn into a moderate win for OnePlus.
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