It has been a hectic year for OnePlus. The brand has been launching one phone after another right through 2022, and August has seen it launch its new flagship, the OnePlus 10T. The phone is, on paper, the most powerful OnePlus phone out there, thanks to its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 processor, and it also packs in very good hardware.
However, we at The Mobile Indian think that you would actually be better off sticking to its predecessor, the OnePlus 10R, which was launched a few months ago. You might lose out on a few features, but you will get almost everything the OnePlus 10T has. And at a much lower price.
These are the reasons why Team TMI feels that the OnePlus 10R is better value for money than the OnePlus 10T (we are considering the Endurance Edition of the OnePlus 10R for this comparison):
Distinct and modern style vs a OnePlus 10 Pro clone
The OnePlus 10T looks like a slightly cheaper version of the OnePlus 10 Pro, without the Hasselblad branding. But the OnePlus 10R looks very different, with its flat and dual-textured back and straight sides. It looks more modern and is actually slimmer and lighter than the OnePlus 10T. The OnePlus 10R also does not have an alert slider, just like the OnePlus 10T, but because it looks so different from other OnePlus devices, its absence is not as surprising. The OnePlus 10T, on the other hand, is so similar from the back to the OnePlus 10 Pro, that you almost expect to see an alert slider on it.
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Similar displays
Both phones seem to have very similar flat Fluid OLED displays – 6.7 inches with 2412 x 1080 pixel resolution and a refresh rate of 120 Hz. They both have the same touch response rate as well – 360 Hz hardware and 720 Hz software. Both also support sRGB, Display P3, 10-bit Color Depth, and HDR10+. The OnePlus 10T might have a few more viewing modes, but take it from us, there is not much difference between the two displays.
Similar cameras
The OnePlus 10R and OnePlus 10T have very similar cameras on the back and the front. On the back, both have a triple camera arrangement with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX 766 main sensor with OIS, an 8-megapixel ultrawide camera and a 2-megapixel camera. And in front, both feature a 16-megapixel selfie camera. Both phones have multi focus and also similar shooting modes. Of course, as the OnePlus 10R and OnePlus 10T have different processors, there will be some difference in camera performance, but in most cases, it would be difficult to say which is better.
More RAM and storage at a lower price
Both the OnePlus 10T and the OnePlus 10R come with LPDDR5 RAM and UFS 3.1 two-lane storage. The point to note, however, is that the 12 GB/ 256 GB variant of the OnePlus 10R is available for much lesser than that of the same variant of the OnePlus 10T – the difference is Rs 15,000 at the time of writing.
Similar charging speeds
One of the much-hyped features of the OnePlus 10T is the 150W Endurance Edition SuperVOOC charging, which charges the phone in under 20 minutes. That’s very impressive, but you know what? The same feature is there on the Endurance Edition of the OnePlus 10R – 150W SuperVOOC charging, and that phone gets charged at about the same time. The 4800 mAh battery on the OnePlus 10T is slightly larger than the 4500 mAh on the OnePlus 10R, but the difference in battery life is very small. Both phones easily last a day of use. Both phones also come with 160W SuperVOOC chargers in the box.
Similar software
We all expected the OnePlus 10T to launch with OxygenOS 2, but it was instead launched with OxygenOS 12.1, which – surprise, surprise – is also the version of OxygenOS running on the OnePlus 10R. In addition, both phones are expected to get OxygenOS 13 and Android 13 via OTA updates in the coming days.
Similar connectivity options
Both have 5G. Both have new versions of Bluetooth. Both have NFC. Both have similar GPS.
Just how big is the Processor difference?
In fact, the only REALLY major difference between the two phones is the processor. The OnePlus 10T runs on the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip, while the OnePlus 10R runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 8100 Max. Speaking objectively, both are flagship processors, and while some might prefer the Qualcomm chip, the fact is that both phones are capable of running games at very high settings without any problems at all. Both come with quick RAM and storage, very good stereo speakers, and special gaming modes. Unless you are the type that sits down and measures each benchmark score, you will not notice any major difference in performance between these two devices.
Not as big as the MASSIVE price difference!
The OnePlus 10R Endurance Edition has only a 12 GB/ 256 GB variant and comes for Rs 39,999 at the time of writing, which is actually Rs 10,000 less than the 8 GB/ 128 GB variant of the OnePlus 10T. The 12 GB/ 256 GB variant of the OnePlus 10T is priced at Rs 54,999, which is Rs 15,000 more than the same variant (Endurance Edition) of the OnePlus 10R. The OnePlus 10T will get a 16 GB/ 256 GB variant also in the coming days at an even higher price of Rs 55,999. All that extra money for a similar display, RAM, cameras, software and charging arrangement. All you get for that premium you pay for the OnePlus 10T is a glass back (which looks like a copy of the OnePlus 10 Pro), a slightly bigger battery, some extra modes on the display, and a newer processor, which does not seem significantly better than the one on the OnePlus 10R in everyday usage.
No prizes for guessing which device Team TMI thinks offers you much more value for your hard-earned money. The OnePlus 10R Endurance Edition is a way better option than the OnePlus 10T in our books.
