OnePlus has recently launched the OnePlus 10 Pro. It packs a lot of interesting specifications and features, making it one of the best Android smartphones you can buy for under $1,000 right now. But you might wonder whether your money is better spent on a different and flagship smartphone: The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. We’ve compared both of these phones to help you decide whether you should save some money and get the OnePlus 10 Pro, or go for Samsung’s more expensive offering instead.
Specs
| OnePlus 10 Pro | Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | |
| Size | 163 x 73.9 x 8.6mm (6.42 x 2.91 x 0.34 inches) | 163.3 x 77.9 x 8.9 mm (6.43 x 3.07 x 0.35 inches) |
| Weight | 201 grams | 228 grams |
| Display | 6.7-inch AMOLED | 6.8-inch AMOLED |
| Screen resolution | 3216 x 1440 pixels (525 pixels per inch) | 3088 x 1440 pixels (500 ppi) |
| Operating system | Android 12, OxygenOS 12.1 | Android 12, OneUI 4.1 |
| Storage space | 128GB, 256GB | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB |
| MicroSD card slot | No | No |
| Processor | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB | 8GB, 12GB |
| Camera | 48-megapixel wide, 50MP ultrawide, 8MP telephoto rear 32MP front |
108MP wide, 12MP ultrawide, 10MP telephoto, 10MP periscope telephoto rear 40MP front |
| Video | 8K at 24 frames per second, 4K at 30/60/120 fps, 1080p at 30/60/240 fps | 8k at 24 fps, 4K at 30/60 fps, 1080p at 30/60/240 fps |
| Bluetooth version | Bluetooth 5.2 | Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Ports | USB-C | USB-C |
| Fingerprint sensor | Yes, in-display | Yes, in-display |
| Water resistance | T-Mobile version only | Yes |
| Battery | 5,000mAh | 5,00mAh |
| App marketplace | Google Play Store | Google Play Store |
| Network support | T-Mobile | All major carriers |
| Colors | Volcanic Black, Emerald Forest | Phantom Black, White, Burgundy, Green, Graphite, Red, Sky Blue |
| Price | $899 | $1,199.99 |
| Buy from | T-Mobile | Samsung |
| Review score | 4 out of 5 stars | 4.5 out of 5 stars |
Design, display, and durability
- 1. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra looks more like a device from the company’s Note series, rather than a member of the S22 range. Being about 9mm thick and weighing 228 grams, it’s a bulky and heavy mobile. Also, it’s wider than most of the smartphones out there, making it hard for people with small hands to use it with just one of them. The OnePlus 10 Pro’s dimensions in comparison are all but similar to its predecessor, the OnePlus 9 Pro. It’s somewhat lighter, thinner, and narrower than Samsung’s phone; however, it still feels chunky to hold — especially for people with tiny hands.
Both these phones look quite different from the rear. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s cameras don’t sit in a dedicated module and are housed directly on the phone’s back panel. In contrast, the OnePlus 10 Pro has a big camera module at the rear with Hasselblad branding on the left side.
On the front, both smartphones use an HDR 10+ certified screen with LTPO 2.0 technology, for an adaptive refresh rate of 1Hz to 120Hz. These are among the best displays you’ll find on smartphones available today. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra sports a 6.8-inch dynamic AMOLED panel with a screen resolution of 3088 x 1440 pixels. Its peak brightness touches a maximum of 1,750 nits, so using the phone under direct sunlight should be fine. OnePlus’s display is no less impressive either. It comes equipped with a negligibly smaller 6.7-inch fluid AMOLED screen with a screen resolution of 3216 x 1440 pixels. You don’t get S22 Ultra-like crazy high brightness levels, but it goes up to a respectable 1,300 nits.
To protect your smartphone from scratches and minor drops, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra boasts the latest Corning Gorilla Glass Victus+ protection on both the back and front sides. The OnePlus 10 Pro, on the other hand, comes with Gorilla Glass Victus on the front and Gorilla Glass 5 on the rear. Also, the Galaxy S22 Ultra has an IP68 rating for protection against dust and water. The OnePlus 10 Pro also has an IP68 rating, but only if you purchase it from T-Mobile.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra wins this round since it’s got an IP rating no matter where you buy it from, a brighter display, and newer-gen Gorilla Glass protection.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Performance, battery life, and charging
Both the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro are powered by Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, paired with an Adreno 730 GPU, and either 8GB or 12GB of RAM. You can expect top-notch performance from these smartphones.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is available in a variety of variants. It comes with either 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, or 1TB of internal storage. The OnePlus 10 Pro misses out on the 1TB storage variant and comes in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB options. Though, as of now, only the 128GB variant is available in the U.S. Furthermore, there’s no expandable storage in both these phones, so make sure to choose the one that’s sufficient for you.
Talking about battery life, you get a 5,000 mAh cell in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro. Both these smartphones last a day or two depending on your usage, and you can expect the Galaxy S22 Ultra’s battery life to be on a bit better side.
However, the OnePlus 10 Pro takes the lead in charge time — it gets 65W fast-charging support in the U.S. markets, whereas the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra’s fast charging tops at just 45W. The former takes around 35 minutes to juice up, and the latter charges fully in about an hour.
Samsung’s Galaxy S22 Ultra gets more internal memory than the OnePlus 10 Pro, and the battery lasts longer. However, the latter takes almost half the time to fully charge. More importantly, performance should be similar, so this round’s a tie.
Winner: Tie
Camera
- 1. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra camera
- 2. OnePlus 10 Pro camera
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra carries a quad-camera setup at the back, consisting of a 108-megapixel wide-angle lens, a 12MP ultrawide sensor with a 120-degree field of view, and twin 10MP telephoto lenses for up to 3.3x optical zoom. On the OnePlus 10 Pro’s rear, you’ll see a triple-camera setup comprising a 48MP primary lens, a 50MP ultrawide sensor with a 150-degree field of view, and an 8MP telephoto for up to 3.3x optical zoom. The front side of the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra has a 40MP selfie shooter, while the OnePlus 10 Pro gets a 32MP camera.
According to our reviews of these devices, the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra stands out as one of the best camera smartphones out there. The camera hardware is mostly similar to last year’s Galaxy S21 Ultra, but regardless of that similarity, the phone captures beautiful-looking images with vibrant colors and great balance. At 3x and 10x zoom, however, color accuracy and exposure could have been a little better. Overall, the cameras do not fail to impress.
By contrast, the OnePlus 10 Pro’s main camera with Hasselblad for Mobile software does a great job of capturing attractive images full of details and vibrant colors. There’s room for improvement in images captured from other cameras (ultrawide and telephoto) though, as they may sometime lack vibrancy and contain noise.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra wins this round, as it has a more dependable camera system that captures better images, and can zoom all the way up to 100x.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Software and updates
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro, both ship with Android 12 out of the box. The former runs Samsung’s One UI 4.1 on top, while the latter runs OxygenOS 12.1. OxygenOS has received plenty of praise from users over the years, but since it has been merged with ColorOS now, the experience has become worse. Samsung’s One UI, though, remains one of the better Android skins.
When it comes to software updates, Samsung’s flagship smartphones are ahead of almost all other Androids. The company promises four years of Android updates and five years of security patches, and the same is the case with the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Also, Samsung’s smartphones are usually among the first ones to receive security patches every month.
The OnePlus 10 Pro in contrast will receive three years of software updates and four years of security patches. And, unlike the Galaxy S22 Ultra, the phone will get bimonthly security patches.
Thanks to better software support, Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra wins this round.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Special features
Similar to Samsung’s now discontinued Note series, the Galaxy S22 Ultra comes with an in-built S Pen. Its predecessor, the Galaxy S21 Ultra, also supported one, but it didn’t have an in-built slot for housing the stylus. Compared to it, the S22 Ultra’s S Pen has a 70% lower latency, so writing or scribbling on the phone should feel more natural and better.
Winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
Price and availability
The OnePlus 10 Pro costs $899 and only comes in the 8GB/128GB variant as of now. You can get your hands on the phone as it’s available for purchase via T-Mobile. There’s also an unlocked version, which is available on Amazon and Best Buy, but it will miss out on an official IP rating.
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is priced on the higher side, as it starts at about $1,200 for the 8GB/128GB variant, and can be bought from all major carriers and retailers.
Overall winner: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is a better smartphone overall, as it has better cameras, a brighter display, an in-built S Pen stylus, better software support, and is more durable. The OnePlus 10 Pro charges the phone faster, but that’s the only thing it does better. However, this doesn’t mean the OnePlus 10 Pro is a bad smartphone. For its price, it offers a lot, which makes it worth considering, too.
