OnePlus 10 Pro vs. iPhone 13

Fresh from a merger with Oppo, OnePlus has released its flagship smartphone for 2022, the OnePlus 10 Pro. It features a rejigged new design, but aside from incorporating elements of Oppo’s ColorOS, it largely continues in the tradition of previous OnePlus models. This means it treats users to a large, beautiful screen, a versatile camera, very fast charging, and reliably quick performance. As a “Pro” model, it positions itself as a premium flagship, yet with no OnePlus 10 on the horizon, it also finds itself in competition with “standard” devices such as the iPhone 13.

How does it compare to the latter? Well, we find this out in a OnePlus 10 Pro versus iPhone 13 head-to-head. We weigh up each device’s specs, performance, design, display, camera, and software, determining which is the better device overall.

Specs

Design, display, and durability

The OnePlus 10 Pro has much the same edge-to-edge display as previous models, yet its rear benefits from something of a refurbishment. The camera module has been rejigged to have a nice 2×2 squarish form, while its panel fits snugly to the rest of the phone. It looks distinctive yet also discreet, providing the kind of sophistication you’d want from a phone costing at least $899.

With the iPhone 13, Apple has kept the same basic design as the iPhone 12. That said, there is a narrower notch on the front, while the two rear camera lenses now have a diagonal formation. Whether this is aesthetically superior to the vertical alignment of previous generations is up for debate, but it does at least serve to let everyone know you have the latest iPhone.

While preferences as to design are arguably a matter of taste, the OnePlus 10 Pro definitely has a better display. Its 6.7-inch Fluid AMOLED screen contains 3216 x 1440 pixels, which works out at 525 ppi. The iPhone 13, on the other hand, has a 6.1-inch Super Retina OLED that carries 2532 x 1170 pixels, or 460 ppi. This gives the OnePlus 10 Pro a heightened sharpness and vividness compared to the iPhone, while its support for 120Hz also means you also enjoy extremely smooth scrolling and animations.

On the other hand, there’s no doubt that the iPhone is more durable than the OnePlus 10 Pro. It carries an IP68 rating, indicating the ability to withstand immersion in up to 1.5 meters of water for half an hour. Unfortunately, the OnePlus carries no such rating, so even though it does boast a superior display, the lack of durability puts this round back in the balance.

Winner: Tie

Performance, Battery Life, and Charging

The OnePlus 10 Pro runs off the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, which is manufactured using a 4nm process, meaning it’s faster than earlier chips that used 5nm or 7nm transistors. The iPhone 13 uses the A15 Bionic chip, which uses a 5nm process. This would suggest that, in theory, the OnePlus is faster than the iPhone, particularly when you consider that the former uses 8GB of RAM and the latter has 4GB. However, given the differences in how Android and iOS maximize the use of RAM, you’ll find that both phones are comparably fast.

It’s kind of a similar story with the batteries of each phone. The iPhone 13 takes its power from a 3,240mAh battery, while the OnePlus 13 Pro uses a bigger 5,000mAh cell. Again, this might give the impression that the OnePlus provides more use time between charges, but our reviews for both the iPhone 13 and the OnePlus 10 Pro found that they can each manage around a day and a half under a regime of moderate use.

However, what sets the OnePlus ahead is that it enables fast charging at either 65W (if you’re in the United States) or 80W (if you live anywhere else). This means you can go from, say, 40% to 100% in around 15 minutes. This kind of convenience isn’t something the iPhone can match, so while the two phones are otherwise closely matched, this round goes to OnePlus’ device.

Winner: OnePlus 10 Pro

Cameras

The OnePlus 10 Pro has three cameras: A 48MP main camera, an 8MP camera for telephoto scenarios, and a 50MP ultrawide lens. By contrast, the iPhone 13 has only two rear camera lenses, a wide and an ultrawide. As with previous rounds, this makes the OnePlus look better in theory, yet in this case, it’s certainly the iPhone that comes off better in practice.

Sure, the 12MP main and 12MP ultrawide lenses on the iPhone may be comparatively small. Nevertheless, thanks to a combination of sensor-shift OIS (optical image stabilization) and dual pixel PDAF (phase-detection autofocus), as well as Apple’s software prowess, the photos taken by both lenses are almost always well-balanced, colorful, and pleasingly dynamic. The same can largely be said for the OnePlus 10 Pro’s main camera lens, which does indeed take some very attractive shots. On the other hand, its ultrawide and telephoto lenses are relatively inconsistent and require plenty of work and careful framing in order to capture shareable pictures.

To some extent, OnePlus’s inclusion of an interesting 150-degree ultrawide mode does make it a versatile and quirky camera phone. The thing is, when it comes to the fundamentals, the iPhone 13 does it a little better and will provide more of what the vast majority of smartphone users will actually want.

Winner: Apple iPhone 13

Software and Updates

The OnePlus 10 Pro ships with Android 12 and OxygenOS 12. In previous years, OxygenOS has been one of the best Android skins around, yet the merger with Oppo doesn’t seem to have done it too many favors. Most annoyingly, the OS now confronts the user with a fairly regular stream of interruptions, while some users may find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer range of customizations available whenever trying to make a feature more usable. There are also reliability issues, such as WhatsApp and Line ignoring incoming messages, as well as a tendency to display old notifications even when new ones have arrived.

With the iPhone 13, it runs on iOS 15, which is tangibly more reliable. It also provides, in contrast to iOS 14, new focus modes, updates to native apps, and enhanced sharing and social features. Normally, we always sit on the fence whenever it comes to Android versus iOS, but given the issues faced by OxygenOS 12 (which appears to have adopted some of the weaknesses of Oppo’s ColorOS), there is a clear winner in this case.

The same goes for updates. This is despite the fact that OnePlus guarantees three years of core software updates for the 10 Pro. This is pretty good by Android standards, yet you can expect the iPhone 13 to be supported for a good six years or so.

Winner: Apple iPhone 13

Special Features

Both phones support 5G, yet the OnePlus 10 Pro supports only the slower sub-6Hz bands. Unlike the iPhone 13, it doesn’t support the faster mmWave frequencies, meaning users miss out on the quickest possible speeds of which 5G is capable.

Other than that, the OnePlus arguably has a few more special features than the iPhone 13. Its 150-degree ultrawide camera mode is fun to play around with, while OnePlus’ partnership with Hasselblad for the camera also provides a few other helpful features (such as the RAW mode that lets you capture a natural shot and then edit it later). With the iPhone 13, you do get some useful features such as Face ID, but these have pretty much been around for several years now, so they no longer seem that special.

Winner: Tie

Price and availability

The OnePlus 10 Pro starts at $899 and can be ordered from OnePlus. It’s supported by T-Mobile in the U.S. and will be widely available through third-party electronics retailers.

The iPhone 13 retails for $799 for the 128GB model and is available right now. All major carriers in the U.S. support it, and it’s sold by pretty much every retailer that carries smartphones.

Overall winner: iPhone 13

There’s no mistaking that the OnePlus 10 Pro is a solid all-around phone, but the iPhone 13 beats it in just enough areas to take home a clear win. Its more consistent camera and software, as well as its longer-term support, are all big differences that put it ahead of the OnePlus device. Still, if you are an Android fan, the 10 Pro’s beautiful screen, strong performance, and sharp design may be enough to sway you away from Apple’s latest phone.

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