OnePlus 10 Pro is out but for whatever reason, it’s not just as interesting as it’s supposed to be. One of my many theories is due to the fact that OnePlus has chosen a China-only release with an international debut date yet unknown.

The device’s design on the other hand doesn’t totally look appealing to me. I get it, most smartphones all look alike especially from the front apart from the iPhone thanks to its distinguishing notch which would likely be yanked off this year but that’s another story on its own.

But the device doesn’t look or feel exciting. The OnePlus 10 Pro though “Pro” has no other device to measure it against in order to really know if it’s worth the time and attention but the brand made it even worse by releasing it only in China, for now.

Back in 2021, the OnePlus-Hasselblad relationship that was supposed to surprise us ended with just a “meh!” reaction, and as disappointing as that may be, OnePlus didn’t exactly make so much effort this time around to change the game a little bit.

That said, the packaging of the device comes in the OnePlus-styled black-on-red box and Hasselblad’s engravement is also here as well.

Opening the box, you’ll find the device and other smaller boxes such as the device’s TPU case and a red 80W charging kit.

Am I the only one that thinks that smartphone unboxing experience is getting boring as there isn’t anything to expect anymore? Apple sort of spoilt the game in the name of saving the environment.

The device isn’t exactly unique on the front until you flip it back where you’ll find four circles on a squared glossy panel – three of which are the device’s cameras while the last one is an LED flash.

The design aesthetics of the camera module sort of look similar to that of the Galaxy S21 series. The camera module is made of ceramic materials and it melts to the left side of the device’s frame. Then below it at the center is OnePlus’ logo.

The device will reportedly come only in two color options: black and green.

Away from that, the device’s thickness is about 8.5mm making it feel a little bit bulky when held but it’s definitely not bad. However, the camera module’s protrusion will make the device wobble on flat surfaces.

The back is where all the changes end. Flipping the device back to the front, you’ll be welcomed by its large 6.7-inch LTPO AMOLED panel with an adaptive refresh rate. It’s curved and has a 3216 x 1440 pixel resolution with a hole-punch camera cut-out at the top left corner of the screen.

The display’s peak brightness can reach 1,300-nit and has a 92.7% screen-to-body ratio. The screen is protected with a Gorilla Glass Victus and its viewing angles are great.

Away from that, the new OnePlus 10 Pro features Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset and is paired with both LPDDR5 RAM and a UFS 3.1 storage. The device is also released with ColorOS 12.1 based on Android 12 but reports say ColorOS 12 on a OnePlus is a China-exclusive release as international variants will feature OxygenOS instead.

Advantages of the software update include HyperBoost for gaming and other cool features that are meant to enhance user experience on the device.

In the camera department, the OnePlus 10 Pro comes with a triple rear camera setup such as a 48MP Sony IMX789 sensor with OIS, a 50MP Samsung JN1 sensor with 150 degrees ultra-wide angle capacity, and an 8MP 3.3x telephoto sensor also with OIS.

And that’s it. Nothing really interesting about the camera unless we really try the device’s cameras out ourselves and compare it against other premium flagships in 2022.

As for the front-facing selfie camera, the device makes use of a 32MP Sony IMX615 sensor co-engineered by Hasselblad. It comes with features such as Hasselblad Natural Color Optimization 2.0 and XPan Mode.

Other features of the OnePlus 10 Pro also bring a better interactive experience, including the x-axis linear vibration motor, and the dual stereo speakers with support for Dolby Atmos.

The greatest upgrade on paper is the phone’s power solution. It gets its energy from a 5,000mAh battery. This cell can be filled either by 80W SuperVOOC fast wired charging or 50W AirVOOC fast wireless charging. In addition, it also has support for reverse wireless charging.

As of now, the device is available for about US$737 in China.