OnePlus 10R 5G was launched in India on April 28, 2022. It arrived just a month after the OnePlus 10 Pro 5G. For its entirety, OnePlus has launched its flagship series together with multiple devices. However, this time, the company has launched them separately. The OnePlus 10 Pro 5G (review) was the first arrival; then it was the OnePlus 10R 5G; now, it is soon going to be the OnePlus 10T 5G (August 3, 2022). Don’t understand what’s the strategy there, but here’s the thing - The OnePlus 10R 5G isn’t quite like a flagship device. It's more of a premium mid-range smartphone. Here’s my take on the device.
OnePlus 10R 5G Design, Body and Dimensions Review
The OnePlus 10R 5G is the device I like the least among all the OnePlus smartphones when it comes to design and overall look. The camera bump of the OnePlus 9R was a big turn-off for me, but with the OnePlus 10R 5G, well, the disappointment has just grown. Why is OnePlus not giving its ‘R’ branded smartphones a good design is not understandable! To be honest, the OnePlus Nord 2 and OnePlus Nord 2T are better-looking smartphones than the OnePlus 10R 5G. Well, of course, it is subjective to me, but there’s just no premiumness when you look at the OnePlus 10R 5G.
The body is made of plastic on the front and back. There’s a dual texture at the rear which frankly doesn’t create a difference for me. The OnePlus branding at the bottom right is almost invisible on the black variant, which I had. For lack of a better word, the camera bump is just unsettling for me.
The power button of the smartphone is on the right side, while on the left, you will see volume rockers. The edges are pretty flat and quite thick.
At the bottom, there is a USB Type-C port along with the speaker grill on the right bottom and the SIM tray on the left bottom. I like the fact that the bezels are not too big on all the sides, especially the chin, which could have made the device look really bad. Its dimensions are – 16.33 cm x 7.55 cm x 0.82 cm, and the device weighs only 186 grams, which means it isn’t too heavy. Let’s take a look at the device’s display.
OnePlus 10R 5G Display Review
The OnePlus 10R 5G comes with a pretty big 6.7-inch Fluid OLED display with support for 2412 x 1080 pixels resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. It has Corning Gorilla Glass on top for protection and can switch refresh rates on an adaptive basis depending on the content on the screen.
The maximum brightness supported by this smartphone is pretty decent. Nothing too big but nothing too small either. One thing that I have always said is that OnePlus delivers a great display interaction experience to the consumers. OnePlus is largely able to do this because of the OxygenOS 12.
There is no bloatware, the transitions are pretty smooth, and the touch is super responsive as it comes with 360Hz touch response rate. Watching videos on this smartphone would be a decent experience. The audio output is also pretty sweet. The in-display fingerprint sensor has been pretty responsive whenever I tried unlocking the device.
The display has flat edges, and the device is quite boxy, which can give some people a slightly uncomfortable feeling in holding it for long periods like the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 series.
OnePlus 10R 5G Performance and Battery Review
The OnePlus 10R 5G is pretty good in performance. As mentioned above, OxygenOS 12 makes a huge difference in the quality of experience you get from this smartphone. The OS is pretty well optimised, and it works like butter. There is one area where I wanted the device to be good, but it wasn't.
I wanted it not to overheat fast. But it did when I started playing games or recording videos in high-res, even for five minutes. Multi-tasking is an easy experience with the OnePlus 10R 5G. I will say that it is a very consistent performer, and it will open applications pretty fast and keep them running in the background if you haven’t closed them completely.
The OnePlus 10R 5G is powered by the MediaTek Dimensity 8100-MAX and comes bundled with up to 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage. The battery drains at a normal rate, I would say. It can easily last you a day if you are a light to moderate user.
There are two variants of the OnePlus 10R 5G available. One comes with support for 80W fast-charging and a 5000mAh battery, while the other comes with a 4500mAh battery and support for 150W fast-charging.
It is a 5G smartphone. It can support both SA and NSA bands including - SA: n1/n3/n40/n41/n78/n28A/n5/n8 and NSA:n1/n3/n5/n8/n40/n41/n77/n78.
The performance of the OnePlus 10R 5G is excellent in almost every department. Let’s talk a little about the camera now.
OnePlus 10R 5G Camera
OnePlus 10R 5G has a triple-camera setup at the rear with a 50MP Sony IMX766 primary sensor + 8MP ultra-wide-angle sensor and a 2MP macro sensor. There is also an LED flash at the rear. For selfies, the device has a 16MP sensor at the front. OnePlus 10R 5G’s back camera can support capturing videos and photos in several modes, including – Nightscape 2.0, Super Macro, UltraShot HDR, Smart Scene Recognition, Portrait Mode, Pro Mode, Video Nightscape, Video HDR, Video Portrait Timelapse, and more.
The camera app is very easy to navigate through, and if you have used an Oppo or OnePlus smartphone in the last few years, then you know what you will get with the camera app. The camera shots were pretty good. I would say the lack of Hasselblad cameras didn’t make a big difference, as the pictures were still pretty good and consistent. Take a look at some of the samples below.
OnePlus 10R 5G Review: Price and Overall Conclusion
The OnePlus 10R 5G is available in India in three different memory variants. The first two with 8GB+128GB and 12GB+256GB come for Rs 34,999 and Rs 38,999. Both of these variants come with a 5000mAh battery and 80W fast-charging support.
The third-variant comes with 12GB+256GB but with 150W fast-charging and 4500mAh battery for Rs 39,999. You can purchase this device from the official retail shops, retail partners, the official website of OnePlus India and Amazon India. You can get a Rs 1,000 instant discount on this smartphone if you get it via an ICICI Bank credit card.
Overall, this device is a pretty good value. The only major drawback for me is its design, which I didn’t like at all. But that could definitely be a subjective thing. At this price range, a plastic body doesn’t feel good, and OnePlus should know that. It is supposed to be a OnePlus premium mid-range device, not an affordable entry-level smartphone.
Since the device is a pretty consistent performer, you can always rely on it to get the job done for you. The camera, battery as well as display are decent.
