OnePlus is getting rid of two features from the 10T that have been important to these phones for a long time: the Hasselblad association and the famous alert slider.
If you have read (and watched) ours OnePlus 10 Pro reviewyou’ll know we’re fans of the simple alert slider interface and Hasselblad-influenced camera system.
As confirmed The Virgin, the last of these is especially odd since it’s been part of OnePlus phones for nearly a decade. So why have they disappeared from the OnePlus 10T? Let’s take a look.
See you soon, Hasselblad
On board the OnePlus 10T, you’ll find a 50MP Sony IMX766 main sensor. Those familiar with the sensors that OnePlus uses will know that it is not the IMX789 used in the 10 Pro. Simply put, this is no Hasselblad camera.
(Image credit: OnePlus)
The legendary camera company stepped in to help OnePlus with some of its troublesome camera traits like color science, so why isn’t it present here? OnePlus chief designer Hope Liu said the company “wanted to deliver a top-performing flagship smartphone at the price of the device’s choice.”
To translate this carefully worded phrase into simple terms, it was a cost-cutting move. What’s interesting, though, is that it’s (on paper) a small upgrade from 48MP to 50MP. There’s still support for 10-bit color and what OnePlus calls “enhanced HDR photography.”
Arrivederci, alert switch
I remember my first experience with the OnePlus alert switch with the 7T Pro, and how much I liked its convenience compared to having to hit the volume rocker.
The 10T ends a long streak of this being an integral part of the OnePlus experience by doing away with it altogether. My first reaction was an eye roll followed by a rather loud exclamation of “why”. But now that I’ve calmed down, the reason given by OnePlus seems logical.
Liu said this was to make room for “high power charging, large battery capacity and better antenna signal”. The alert switch takes up 30mm² of the device’s motherboard area, which is valuable space needed for the “two charging pumps” that will be used for the rumored 150W charging support, along with with the 15 antennas integrated into the phone to improve the signal.
perspective
Do these omissions mean the OnePlus 10T is compromised? We won’t know for sure until we get our hands on one to review.
All the news points to this being business as usual for the OnePlus T line: a performance upgrade with some strategic cuts to deliver it all at a flagship price.
Rootmygalaxy.net found an Amazon listing that leaked the price of the 10T at £799, with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chipset, 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, along with that 50MP sensor as part of a camera system without Hasselblad.
Will this be the right decision? Time will tell.
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