OnePlus 7 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus: almost equal opponents
The OnePlus 7 Pro is one of the best smartphones of 2019. The new device from the Chinese manufacturer aims to take on its major competitors, especially Samsung. The Galaxy S10 Plus could be in serious trouble with the arrival of OnePlus 7 Pro. Here's why.
OnePlus' Samsung display has an extra edge
This year, OnePlus has gone with a display without notch and 'steals' (so to speak) Samsung's Edge feature. In fact, both the OnePlus 7 Pro and the Galaxy S10 Plus have a curved display on both sides, but the Chinese company's display, in addition to being physically larger, also reaches a higher screen-to-body ratio due to the absence of notches or holes, the latter a feature of the Galaxy S10 Plus.
Another feature shared by both screens is the HDR10+ certification, but the OnePlus 7 Pro has a feature that Samsung does not have and that you can normally only find on gaming smartphones, namely a 90Hz update rate. Of course, it can not be used everywhere though, as only some apps support it.
As we said before, this year OnePlus has finally managed to eliminate the notch using a solution very popular with many fans - placing the front camera inside a mechanism that automatically appears from the top edge of the smartphone. On the contrary, as we have been able to admire since the end of February, Galaxy S10 Plus owners have to live with the hole in the upper right part of the display.
A neck and neck hardware duel
From a hardware point of view, the OnePlus 7 Pro and the Galaxy S10 Plus can compete practically on equal terms. Both are equipped with the latest flagship SoC available on the market, Qualcomm's Snapdragon 855, or Samsung's European counterpart, the Exynos 9820, supported by 8GB of RAM and with internal storage starting at 128GB. However, the OnePlus device enjoys faster read and write speeds thanks to the adoption of the new UFS 3.0 type storage.
Apart from that, both smartphones are very similar under the hood, but it is worth noting that the Galaxy S10 Plus boasts IP68 certified water resistance, wireless charging (including reverse functionality), a 3.5mm headphone jack and a microSD slot to expand the storage, all features that OnePlus fans have become accustomed to doing without.
On the battery side, on the other hand, the OnePlus 7 Pro boasts a 4,000 mAh module, a nice advantage over the 3,700 mAh of the previous generation, but which is at a slight disadvantage, at least in terms of capacity, compared to the 4,100 mAh battery of the Galaxy S10 Plus. However, we expect, as usual, that OnePlus will outperform the competition with its software optimization that guarantees two days of battery life.
Finally, OnePlus 7 Pro supports the Chinese manufacturer's 30W Warp Charge technology, while the Galaxy S10 Plus can recharge at up to 18W. This is certainly a plus point for OnePlus.
Cameras that promise results
This year, Samsung has shown great results with its camera thanks to AI support, improved image processing software and the addition of a new ultra-wide-angle lens that has made the whole industry more versatile and fun than it has been in previous years.
The configuration chosen by Samsung this year is as follows:
- 12MP Dual pixel main sensor with OIS and variable aperture
- 16MP ultra-wide-angle sensor with a viewing angle of up to 123 degrees
- Telephoto lens with 2x optical zoom capability
Hidden inside the holes of the front panel you can find two more cameras, one 10MP (f/1.8) and the other 8MP (f/2.2) which is mainly dedicated to the detection of depth of field.
OnePlus, on the other hand, relies on a completely revamped photography department and aims to correct past mistakes. In fact, one aspect that fans of the brand have always complained about is the quality of the images, especially in low light conditions, a problem that arose from the lack of attention to the software and that many have solved by installing the Google camera app.
However, this year's OnePlus 7 Pro benefits from the incredible capabilities of the Sony IMX586 48MP sensor, accompanied by a 16MP ultra-wide-angle lens with a field of view of up to 117 degrees, and finally an 8MP telephoto lens that achieves 3x optical zoom. The front camera, which pops up from the both, features a Sony IMX471 16MP sensor.
We expect, therefore, to see results on a par with (or better than) competing devices using the same sensor, including Xiaomi, OPPO and Honor.
OnePlus reigns once again thanks to the price
We come to the end of this comparison with the topic that is certainly most important to customers: the price. In fact, from this point of view, there is a big difference and, as always, the Galaxy S10 Plus is the more expensive device of the two with its list price starting from $999 for the 8/128GB variant and reaching up to $1599.99 for the extreme 12GB version of RAM and 1TB of storage. However, in the US in particular, the pricing is slightly more complicated, with price reductions already kicking in for the S10 Plus and the availability of the OnePlus 7 Pro not as widespread.
On the other hand, the OnePlus 7 Pro can be purchased from 21 May in the following configurations and colors:
The new Pro model will be available in the three colors Mirror Grey, Almond and Nebula Blue.
- The version with 6 GB RAM and 128 GB memory is only available in Mirror Grey and costs $669.
- All three color variants are also available with 8 GB RAM and 256 GB storage for $699.
- The max memory configuration of 12 GB RAM and 256 GB memory will only be offered in Nebula Blue for $749.
It looks like we have a new competitor for the category "best cameras / video", the superior features being excellent. It remains to be seen a comparison of 7 Pro, S10 Plus and P30 Pro, which will demonstrate once again that the performance of the cameras is at a sensational level. Because on the processing side I do not even remember, the phones (!) themselves are really small computers.
I bought the OnePlus 6T in November. Good phone, but that was the UPPER limit where I draw the line on pricing. Oppo had a good business model. Sell the Oppo phones for BIG bucks, sell the OnePlus phones for a smaller profit. Now they've gone all "flagship crazy" with their pricing. In another year, they'll be up with the apple/samsung/LG/HTC nonsense.
S10 pricing will be under pressure. As it stands now, I wouldn't buy either phone. $500 is where I draw the line.
I use the s10plus and enjoy all the premium features. But for the money this pro model is an excellent purchase. It offers many very good features!