If the OnePlus 10 Pro sounds like too much phone for your needs or budget, then you'll be happy to hear of this new rumor that makes a base OnePlus 10 seem more likely.
An image posted by Weibo user I'm Fat Chuan and published by LetsGoDigital has shown what looks to be the back panel of an unknown OnePlus phone. Chuan, in a message to their source also included in the image, identifies the phone as the basic OnePlus 10.
There are black and white versions of the same backplate, but they’re otherwise identical. In the top left corner of the slightly curved panel there's a glossy rectangular camera block housing one large camera at the top with openings for up to another three smaller ones beneath it, plus a flash module. A OnePlus logo and regulatory information are printed below, as is normal for OnePlus phones.
The design doesn't share much with the look of the OnePlus 10 Pro, with its larger matte camera block that flows over the edge of the phone. That doesn't mean this leak is inaccurate, as some phone models in the same family bear little resemblance to each other; for example, the Samsung Galaxy S22 and the Galaxy S22 Ultra. However, perhaps this could be a new OnePlus Nord series phone instead, say a sequel to the OnePlus Nord 2, which is currently still using the rectangular camera bump design.
When the OnePlus 10 Pro was being announced, we asked where the standard OnePlus 10 was. As much as we like our best phones picks to have the best possible features, cheaper models are important for users who don't want to spend as much on their handsets, or who prioritize good value over a top-notch specs sheet. If this phone is genuinely the vanilla 10, that would be great news.
For those who do want a maxed-out phone, there have also been rumors of a OnePlus 10 Ultra coming in the near future, which would build on the 10 Pro by adding a more powerful telephoto camera and possibly OnePlus' newly announced 150W charging system. We've yet to see any clear sign of this phone's impending launch though.
OnePlus just announced that the OnePlus 10 Pro, and only the OnePlus 10 Pro, will be launching by the end of March globally. It sounded from what OnePlus said that it won't be surprising us with a base OnePlus 10 any time soon, but that doesn't mean it can't appear later in the year as a separate launch. We'll find out how good the OnePlus 10 Pro’s new Hasselblad cameras and 80W charging are first though before we do any more wishing for a non-Pro version.
