The OnePlus 10 Pro is here, and one of its most significant competitors in the flagship phone field is the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus.
What makes this face-off so interesting is that there are few similarities between the two phones drilling down to the fine details. These two manufacturers are doing things quite differently – which is always great to see.
So which of these two phones is the better buy? Let’s take a closer look.
OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: price and availability
The global model of the OnePlus 10 Pro hit shops on April 5. The entry-level model costs $899/£799 for 8GB of RAM and 128GB internal storage. In the UK, you can bump that up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for £899 (which would likely work out to around $999).
The Galaxy S22 Plus hit the US on February 25, Australia on March 3, and the UK on March 11. Pricing starts at $999.99/£949/AU$1,549 for 128GB of internal storage, moving up to $1,049/£999/$1,649 for 256GB.
In the pricing department, then, it’s a clear win for the OnePlus 10 Pro. Like for like, it’s $100/£150 cheaper.
OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: design
We’re big fans of the OnePlus 10 Pro’s revamped design. Following the slightly bland OnePlus 9 Pro, our review praised it as being “distinct without falling into ‘weird’ territory”.
It’s the 10 Pro’s square camera array that really impresses, with its expansive but surprisingly thin dimensions. We also liked the phone’s frosted-glass finish; but it’s only available in either black or green, and those colors are partly tied to the storage capacity you opt for.
On the other hand, our reviewer’s reception of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus’s design was a bit more mixed, stating that we “both love and hate” it. The love was for Samsung’s swooping Contour Cut camera bump, as well as the fact the handset is available in a far more varied choice of colors (white, black, green, pink, gray, cream, pale blue and violet). However, we noted that the phone was uncomfortable to hold and use.
This isn’t so much to do with its size – at 157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6mm, it’s wider but also shorter and thinner than the 163 x 73.9 x 8.6mm OnePlus 10 Pro. It also weighs less at 195g compared to the 201g OnePlus.
However, that considerable width, in conjunction with the phone’s sharp-edged, boxy design, makes it a literal pain to hold at times. OnePlus has opted for a much curvier, and thus more comfortable, form.
In the Galaxy S22 Plus’s favor is its Corning Gorilla Glass Victus Plus-coated display, which is presumably a little tougher than the OnePlus 10 Pro’s Gorilla Glass Victus covering. Both phones offer IP68 dust- and water-resistance.
Only the OnePlus 10 Pro comes with that unique alert slider, though. Being able to switch your phone to silent without powering the screen on is a small but potentially meaningful advantage.
OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: display
The OnePlus 10 Pro packs a 6.7-inch display, while the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus has a fractionally smaller 6.6-inch equivalent. Both have 120Hz refresh rates, so they’re equally smooth.
Both are AMOLED displays, delivering vibrant and accurate colors, with the potential to tweak the tone to your liking. However, the OnePlus 10 Pro screen can stretch to a 3216 x 1440 (WQHD+) resolution if you so wish, while the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus is stuck at 2340 x 1080 (FHD+).
FHD+ is fine for most tasks, of course, and certain video services and games will make the most of the full QHD resolution. But it’s still something we expect to see from non-Apple phones at this price.
Samsung hits back with a higher peak brightness of 1750 nits, with the OnePlus 10 Pro landing way lower at 1300 nits.
OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: cameras
The OnePlus 10 Pro packs a very similar camera system to its predecessor, the OnePlus 9 Pro, while the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus rings the changes.
With the OnePlus 10 Pro you get a 48-megapixel f/1.8 wide sensor, an 8-megapixel 3.3x telephoto, and a new 50-megapixel ultra-wide that can grab 150-degree fish-eye shots.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, meanwhile, leads with a new 50-megapixel f/1.8 sensor, accompanied by a 12-megapixel f/2.2 ultra-wide and a 10-megapixel f/2.4 telephoto for a 3x optical zoom.
OnePlus wins for the sheer size of the main sensor, but the Samsung’s camera takes more consistent shots. Samsung is well known for delivering an even tone across its various sensors, while our reviewer noted that the balancing between the OnePlus 10 Pro’s three cameras was off.
Both manufacturers like to punch their colors up a little. This is a common Samsung move, while OnePlus’s partnership with Hasselblad seems to have led to more vibrant color science of late.
Both phones handle Portrait mode well, but Samsung is perhaps the best in the business by now. It just manages to pick out more of the edge detail from the subject, and it also gets the artificial background blur and the range of effects spot-on.
The OnePlus telephoto gets a tad closer to the action than its rival, but neither is up there with the very best in the business (which would be the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra).
OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: specs and performance
We’d hand the performance win to the OnePlus 10 Pro, simply because its hardware setup is more consistent. You get the blisteringly fast Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip no matter where you are in the world, whereas Samsung splits its provision between the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 and the Exynos 2200.
There isn’t a lot of difference between the two chips in the CPU department, but the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 seems to have the edge over the Exynos 2200 when it comes to the GPU. Or at least, that’s what the benchmarks seem to suggest.
In practice, however, you almost certainly won’t be able to tell the difference. These are both fast flagship phones that can handle anything you throw at them.
Our review of the Galaxy S22 Plus noted that it was “great for gaming since it loads titles quickly, doesn’t stutter during sessions, and lets you load up the top-graphics settings for games.” This is also the case with the OnePlus 10 Pro.
Both phones offer 8GB of RAM as standard, although the OnePlus 10 Pro bumps you up to 12GB if you opt for the higher-capacity model.
Of course, performance is also about the software that sits on top of that hardware, which can often be a matter of perception as much as anything. On that front, OnePlus continues to use its smart and snappy OxygenOS, although it’s now running on Oppo’s ColorOS underpinnings.
Regardless, it’s a sharp and speedy UI, and it certainly feels snappier and cleaner than Samsung’s rather sluggish and busy One UI. OnePlus also includes fewer additional apps and services onto its phones.
Conversely, Samsung has promised four years of software updates to OnePlus’s three years. That’s a win for Samsung, if you’re the sort who keeps their phones way beyond the end of your average contract.
OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus: battery
The OnePlus 10 Pro comes with a 5,000mAh cell, while Samsung equips its phone with a smaller 4,500mAh battery. On paper, that would seem to be an instant advantage to the OnePlus phone.
In practice, both handsets are good for a day of moderate to heavy use, and no more. The Galaxy S22 Plus’s lower-res display likely evens things out here.
There’s no denying which phone wins on the recharging front, however. While OnePlus supplies an impressive new 80W charger in the box, Samsung only supports 45W, and it isn’t included with the phone.
What’s more, in our tests, we simply couldn’t get the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus to charge as quickly as it should. Even with a much faster charger, it still took us two hours to charge the battery to 100%, while the OnePlus 10 Pro was full in 30 minutes.
Wireless charging support stands at 50W for the OnePlus 10 Pro and 15W for the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus, so that’s another win for OnePlus.
Takeaway
Both the Samsung and OnePlus are slick, stylish flagship phones with their own particular strengths, but we have to give the win to the OnePlus 10 Pro overall.
Yes, we scored the OnePlus higher than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus (8/10 beats 7/10), but this is more than a straight numerical comparison.
The OnePlus 10 Pro is cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus by $100/£150, yet has a fresher and more comfortable design, a sharper display, faster charging (with that charger being bundled in), and snappier software.
Conversely, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Plus has a more consistent camera system, a higher peak screen brightness, and an extra year of software updates. Totted up in this way, the OnePlus 10 Pro simply offers you more for your money.