OnePlus 7 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S10 - which one should you buy? 5 reasons

OnePlus on Tuesday unveiled the OnePlus 7 Pro in India, along with with the OnePlus 7 and OnePlus Bullet Wireless 2 earphones. With the launch of this premium smartphone, the Chinese smartphone manufacturer makes a move into the premium smartphone segment, currently dominated by South Korean electronics giant Samsung and Cupertino-based technology giant Apple.

From a QHD+ resolution display operating at 90Hz refresh rate to triple camera module on the back, the OnePlus 7 Pro seems to be a well-packaged proposition in its segment. Here are five reasons to (or not to) consider this premium smartphone over the Samsung Galaxy S10 and Apple iPhone XS.

Price

Priced at Rs 48,999 for the base model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, the OnePlus 7 Pro is the cheapest flagship smartphone. It's top-end variant, priced at Rs 57,999, also undercuts the price of the Samsung Galaxy S10 (Rs 66,900) and the Apple iPhone XS (Rs 99,900) base storage variant by a fair margin.

However, Samsung is currently offering Rs 5,000 instant cashback and Rs 6,000 cashback to HDFC card holders on the 128GB variant, bringing down the effective cost to Rs 55,900. At this price, it seems to be a close match between the OnePlus and Samsung.

Storage

The OnePlus 7 Pro comes in two storage variants – 128GB and 256GB – with no provision to expand it via microSD card. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy S10 also comes in two storage options with double the storage space in premium edition (512GB). Moreover, the S10 also has a dedicated microSD card slot for storage expansion. The iPhone XS, on the other hand, comes in three storage models -- 64GB, 256GB, and 512GB. Like OnePlus, the Apple phone also does not support memory expansion.

Camera

The OnePlus 7 Pro boasts a triple camera module on the back, featuring a 48-megapixel primary sensor, 16MP ultra-wide sensor, and 8MP telephoto lens capable of 3x optical zoom. The Samsung Galaxy S10 also boasts a triple camera module on the back, featuring 12MP primary sensor, 16MP ultra-wide, and 12MP telephoto capable of 2x optical zoom.

Clearly, the OnePlus 7 Pro has an advantage in terms of megapixel count of the primary sensor and the zoom capability of the telephoto lens. As a result, the phone scored 111 in the DxOmark camera benchmarks – two points more than the Galaxy S10. The Apple iPhone X, on the other hand, has dual 12MP cameras on the back.

Battery and charging technology

The OnePlus 7 Pro has a 4,000 mAh battery, supported by company’s proprietary 30W Warp charge technology for fast charging. The Samsung Galaxy S10 has a 3,400 mAh battery, which supports fast charging; albeit at a slower rate of 15W. However, the Galaxy S10 supports wireless charging and reverse wireless charging – features that OnePlus 7 lacks. The iPhone XS also supports wireless charging.

Water and dust resistance

Ingress protection (IP) rating has become a norm in premium smartphones and both the Galaxy S10 and iPhone XS boasts IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. However, the OnePlus 7 Pro lacks any such rating, and it is not water or dust resistant phone.
 

OnePlus 7 Pro key specifications and features

Display: 6.67-inch fluid AMOLED | QHD+ resolution | 90Hz refresh rate

Design: Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back | Metallic chassis

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 855

RAM and storage variants: 6GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB, and 12GB/256GB

Rear camera: 48MP wide angle (OIS) + 16MP ultra-wide + 8MP telephoto (OIS) | 3x optical zoom

Front camera: 16MP | Pop-up mechanism

Battery: 4,000 mAh

Price: 6GB/128GB: Rs 48,999 | 8GB/256GB: Rs 52,999 | 12GB/256GB: Rs 57,999