A Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro comparison feels a little odd at this point, mainly because we're still waiting on the new OnePlus phone to arrive in the U.S. even though it debuted nearly a month before Samsung's latest device. That's because the OnePlus 10 Pro launched in China first, so while we know all about the specs of this new flagship, we've yet to experience it first-hand.
That's not the case with the Galaxy S22 Ultra, where we've had extensive time to use the phone — so much so that our Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra review is already live. The latest Ultra isn't a big departure from its predecessor, but that's not a bad thing since that device was rated among the best phones that came out last year. What changes Samsung has made — the S Pen is now included with the S22 Ultra and the cameras are more powerful than before — position the Galaxy S22 Ultra to take on all comers.
We'll be able to declare a winner in the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro clash once we get our hands on the OnePlus phone for as much extensive testing as we've enjoyed with the S22 Ultra. For now, we can take a closer look at how these two premium phones compare, and whether OnePlus can give Samsung's latest a run for its money.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro specs
| Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra | OnePlus 10 Pro | |
| Screen size | 6.8 inches (3080 x 1440) | 6.7 inches (3216 x 1440) |
| Refresh rate | 1Hz - 120Hz adaptive | 1Hz - 120Hz adaptive |
| CPU | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 | Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 |
| RAM | 8GB, 12GB | 8GB, 12GB |
| Storage | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB | 128GB, 256GB |
| Rear cameras | 108MP (f/1.8) main, 12MP (f/2.2) ultrawide, 10MP (f/4.9) 10x telephoto, 10MP (f/2.4) 3x telephoto | 48MP (f/1.8) main, 50MP (f/2.2) ultrawide, 8MP (f/2.4) 3.3x telephoto |
| Front camera | 40MP (f/2.2) | 32MP (f/2.2) |
| Battery size | 5,000 mAh | 5,000 mAh |
| Charging speed | 45W, wired; 15W, wireless | 80W, wired; 50W, wireless |
| Size | 6.4 x 31. x 0.4 inches | 6.4 x 2.9 x 0.34 inches |
| Weight | 8.1 ounces | 7.1 ounces |
| Colors | Black, White, Green, Burgundy | Black, Green |
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro price and availability
The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra is now available for preorder, with a starting price of $1,199. That gets you a phone with 8GB of memory and 128GB of storage. To get the 12GB of RAM, you'd have to upgrade to the 256GB version of the Galaxy S22 Ultra, which costs an extra $100. There are 512GB ($1,399) and 1TB ($1,599) versions as well. The Galaxy S22 Ultra ships on February 25, and we're following the best Samsung Galaxy S22 deals to find ways to save on the Ultra.
The only OnePlus 10 Pro price we have is what the phone costs in China — 4,699 yuan for the base unit with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. Upgrading to the 12GB/256GB model costs 5,999 yuan. We don't have a U.S. price yet, but considering the price in China is less than what OnePlus charged for the OnePlus 9 Pro, it's probable that the phone won't be as expensive as last year's $1,069 flagship phone. (The $969 model never materialized in the US.) That would also mean the OnePlus 10 Pro would be available for less than the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
As for a OnePlus 10 Pro release date outside of China, all the phone maker has told us is that the new flagship will come to other markets "later in 2022." However, OnePlus' own history of releasing phones in the U.S. combined with rumors about the phone's release suggest that the device is going to arrive in March, at which time our Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro comparison can begin in earnest.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro design
If you've seen the OnePlus 9 Pro, you have a pretty good idea of what the OnePlus 10 Pro will look like when it arrives in the U.S. However, OnePlus did make one substantial change to the phone's look by converting the once-rectangular camera array into a big square block. The block then blends into the side of the phone, a design element we can't help but feel that OnePlus borrowed from Samsung's contour-cut look on its Galaxy S flagships. It looks like a stovetop.
But here's the thing — the Galaxy S22 Ultra doesn't look like those other Galaxy S models. Instead, its design is more reminiscent of the Galaxy Note series, right down to the built-in slot for an S Pen. (More on the S Pen's inclusion later.) The S22 Ultra's cameras aren't housed in a big array, blending more seamlessly into the back of the phone. The display curves a little bit, too.
Samsung uses Gorilla Glass Victus Plus on both the front and back of the Galaxy S22 Ultra and houses its phone in an armor aluminum frame. The end result should be a more durable device that can withstand the occasional drop, though we'd still recommend turning to one of the best Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra cases for added protection.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro display
No matter which phone you buy, you can expect a big screen — 6.8 inches in the case of the Galaxy S22 Ultra and 6.7 inches for the OnePlus 10 Pro. Both phones also support an adaptive refresh rate that can scale all the way up to 120Hz when you're playing a game, watching video or scrolling through a web page; the displays can then slow down to 1Hz when the activity is more static. Even with OnePlus calling out LTPO 2.0 technology that promises even smoother scrolling for the OnePlus 10 Pro, it sounds like the panels on both phones are evenly matched when it comes to refresh rate.
Where Samsung figures to stand out is with the brightness of its OLED panel. The screen on the Galaxy S22 Ultra promises a maximum brightness of 1,750 nits. We measured peak brightness at 1,359 nits with a light meter, but that's still much brighter than competing flagship phones. You'll certainly have no trouble seeing the Galaxy S22 Ultra outside, and the phone's Vision Booster technology promises automatic adjustments, not just to brightness but also color tone to account for ambient light.
That's going to be a big hill for the OnePlus 10 Pro to climb. We look forward to stacking the two phones side by side to see how the brightness and colors of their displays compare.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro cameras
Considering that Samsung devices usually wind up among the best camera phones, a Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro camera comparison would seem like a mismatch. But OnePlus has made great strides recently when it comes to improving its cameras, thanks to a partnership with lens specialist Hasselblad that dramatically improved the photo capabilities of the OnePlus 9 series.
That partnership continues with the OnePlus 10 Pro, which features an updated Hasselblad Pro mode that allows you to shoot in 12-bit RAW format to provide more editing data. All the cameras on the OnePlus 10 Pro are capable of shooting in 10-bit color for more natural tones when capturing images.
Speaking of the cameras on the OnePlus 10 Pro, you'll get a 48MP main shooter, joined by a 50MP ultrawide angle camera and an 8MP telephoto lens. The ultrawide camera offers a 150-degree field of view, compared to 120 degrees on the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
The S22 Ultra boasts some formidable cameras in its own right, led by a 108MP main shooter. While that's the same megapixel rating as the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Samsung went with a larger sensor on this year's model to let in more light. The main camera also benefits from a Super Clear Glass lens that's meant to reduce lens flare at night. Other cameras included on the Galaxy S22 Ultra include a 12MP ultrawide angle shooter and a pair of telephoto lenses with respective 3x and 10x optical zooms.
Samsung has also improved the camera software on its new flagships, with a special eye toward improving the Night mode as well as photos taken in low light. To that end, adaptive pixel technology combines nine pixels into one for sharper low-light images. You can also expect enhanced AI high-res processing and 4x faster multi-frame processing.
In other words, both phone makers have sunk a lot of time and effort into improving the cameras on their latest phones. Comparing the photos produced by the Galaxy S22 Ultra and OnePlus 10 Pro figures to be one of the more intriguing aspects of this face-off, once the OnePlus device lands in the U.S.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro performance
Expect a closely matched battle here. Both the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the OnePlus 10 Pro use a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. (That's true of the Samsung phone in the U.S. at any rate; in other markets, Samsung uses the Exynos 2200 to power its flagship phones.) Even the base models of the Galaxy S22 Ultra and OnePlus 10 Pro feature 8GB of RAM, so there's no instance of either phone enjoying a little extra boost over the other.
For the record, our Galaxy S22 Ultra benchmark testing found modest improvements over the Snapdragon 888 that powered most of last year's best Android phones. The A15 Bionic chip powering Apple's iPhone 13 lineup still outperforms the latest Snapdragon silicon, though. We're not expecting the OnePlus 10 Pro to diverge from those results.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro battery life and charging
Here's an area where the OnePlus 10 Pro could really get a leg up on Samsung's phone. While our battery testing of the Galaxy S22 Ultra continues, initial results weren't that impressive for a phone boasting a 5,000 mAh battery.
The Galaxy S22 Ultra turned in a better-than-average time of 10 hours and 18 minutes on our battery test in which we have phones endlessly surf the web until they run out of power. But to get that result, we had to turn off the S22 Ultra's adaptive display. With that feature enabled, battery life fell to a little less than 9 hours — a very disappointing result for this kind of premium device.
The OnePlus 10 Pro has a 5,000 mAh battery of its own. So, if it manages power consumption even a little bit more efficiently than the Galaxy S22 Ultra, it should be able to outlast Samsung's phone, much like the OnePlus 9 Pro did last year.
While we'll have to wait for the OnePlus 10 Pro to arrive to confirm that, we're pretty confident that OnePlus' new phone will charge much faster than the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The OnePlus 10 Pro now supports 80W wired charging, nearly twice as fast as the improved 45W charging Samsung added to its phone. For wireless charging, the OnePlus 10 Pro is capable of 50W speeds versus 15W for the S22 Ultra.
Samsung says you can get to a 50% charge in just 20 minutes when the S22 Ultra is plugged into a 45W charger, but the OnePlus 10 Pro should be fully charged in around half-an-hour. OnePlus is including a 45W charger with its phone, while Samsung doesn't ship any charger alongside the Galaxy S22 Ultra.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro software and special features
Both phones ship with Android 12, and that means the latest version of their respective skins for Google's software. For the Galaxy S22 Ultra, that means One UI 4.1, which we think does a pretty good job of putting Android 12's emphasis on widgets and customization front and center. The OnePlus 10 Pro features Oxygen OS 12, which once enjoyed a pretty solid reputation among Android fans. But OnePlus is in the process of merging Oxygen OS with the Color OS of parent company Oppo, so that's causing some trepidation. We'll have to wait and see how that pans out. So far, we haven't been impressed.
One thing that's clear right now is that the Galaxy S22 Ultra stands out by including an S Pen after last year's Ultra model treated the stylus as an optional accessory. This is a new-and-improved S Pen, as well, as it promises lower latency to make scribbling notes on your S22 Ultra's screen feel like putting pen to paper. Handwriting-to-text conversion is more accurate, too, and there are now shortcuts to save notes into Microsoft Office docs and emails.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro outlook
The outcome of any Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro remains up in the air until we've reviewed OnePlus' phone. But Samsung has really thrown down the gauntlet with all the enhancements and improvements packed into the Galaxy S22 Ultra. The OnePlus 10 Pro sounds like an impressive phone in its own right, but it will have to really deliver if it hopes to challenge the S22 Ultra for smartphone supremacy.
Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra vs. OnePlus 10 Pro: How the top Android phones compare - Tom's Guide
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment