Perhaps the most controversial aspect of the OnePlus 10T 5G is the lack of an alert slider, so let’s talk about that first. Android phones have become fairly homogenized over the past few years, and the slider has been one brand differentiator since the first OnePlus model. Losing it in some of the value-focused Nord models was understandable, but here the company is clearly showing that it is willing to abandon what longtime users really like.
The slider allows you to quickly switch between alert profiles, just as you once did on your iPhone or BlackBerry. If you use it often, you’ll probably miss it. But since I almost always have my phone on silent, I didn’t use it much; OnePlus says the removal was necessary to make room for a better antenna, 150W charging circuitry, etc., which, given how small the surface-mount switch is, is a credible stretch. The company admits that this is a polarization decision and says the slider is not permanently dead .
The 10T arrives in the familiar bright red cardboard box, also full-size; it is stamped 160W, but as noted, the maximum output is only 150W. In the U.S., the output is capped at 125W, too – disappointing. The charger also supports USB PowerDelivery and will output up to 45W from the USB-C port.
A protective case is not included, but OnePlus sent us two from the case roster, which we can purchase for an additional fee. One of them is black and mimics the sandstone texture of the company’s earlier models – something from when they were still something to stand out from the pack. The other is a cooling type, similar to what we saw on the Oppo Find X5 Pro. It has stripes cut into it, and if you use your imagination, you might be able to see stylized lightning bolts there.
The OnePlus 10T earns only limited points for durability. It uses Gorilla Glass 5 on the front and back, but it is not as tough as the Gorilla Glass Victus used on rival Android flagship phones. Also, in typical OnePlus fashion, there is no official no IP rating – only a promise that the phone is “splashproof.” Hopefully this phone won’t take a dip in a lake or a pile of gravel and this doesn’t need to be put to the test, but given how basically every other flagship phone manufacturer guarantees IP68 resistance, it’s odd that OnePlus does.
This very OnePlus 10 mobile cocktail is quite an interesting proposition. As we said earlier, its appearance is very similar to the OnePlus 10 Pro. The front is a 6.7-inch fluid AMOLED display, but this one is flat rather than curved as seen on the 10 Pro, with a punch-hole notch in the upper center rather than the upper left corner. The back is smooth-finished glass, with a jet-black camera enclosure rectangle like the 10 Pro (but without any Hasselblad branding).