OnePlus sells some of the most popular Android phones, but some of the company's recent devices have had issues. The OnePlus 10T was revealed today, and the main upgrade this time is super-fast charging.
The OnePlus 10 Pro was released at the start of 2022 -- confusingly, there was not a non-Pro version, though rumors persisted for a while that it was still in development. Following the company's usual release cycle, the OnePlus 10T is now official, which serves as a mid-cycle upgrade until we get the OnePlus 11 series next year.
The OnePlus 10T is powered by a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, a slight upgrade from the non-plus Gen 1 in the OnePlus 10 Pro. There are three rear cameras, including a 50MP primary lens, an ultra-wide, and a mostly-useless macro camera. OnePlus will sell it in two hardware configurations: 8 GB RAM and 128 GB storage for $649 in the United States ($849 in Canada), or 16 GB RAM and 256 GB storage for $949 ($999 in Canada). That makes the OnePlus 10T cheaper than many other flagship phones, including the Galaxy S22 series and iPhone 13, but still pricier than the Google Pixel 6.
125W SuperVOOC fast charging is available for models sold in North America, with faster 150W charging speed in other regions. That's a significant step up from the OnePlus 10 Pro, which offered 65W in North America and 80W in other countries. OnePlus will also sell an 80W car charger for $39, which is advertised as powering the OnePlus 10T from 1-50% in 11 minutes.
The difference in charging speed for each region is likely for the same reason as last time -- the charging technology was primarily developed for China and Europe, which use 220-volt power, instead of the 110/115-volt outlets found in most of North America. Many electronics use more than 150W from a single outlet in North America, such as desktop computers and microwaves, so the limited charging speed on the OnePlus 10T is more of a design problem than a technical limitation.
Another interesting design choice is the removal of the alert slider, which has been present on all flagship OnePlus phones in recent history and works much like the slider on iPhones. OnePlus says it removed the slider to make room for more battery and other components, and the company mentions it may return on future devices.
OnePlus is releasing the phone right as Google is adding the final touches to Android 13, so the OnePlus 10T will ship with Android 12.1, and an update to Android 13 (OxygenOS 13) will arrive at some point in the future. The phone will receive "three major Android updates and four years of security updates," with the Android 13 update counting as one of the three.
The OnePlus 10T will go on sale September 29, with pre-orders starting on September 1. The phone will be available through Amazon, Best Buy, and OnePlus.com -- carriers might sell it too, but OnePlus isn't sharing that information yet.
Source: OnePlus