Yikes! OnePlus 10 Pro snaps in half way too easily

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OnePlus 10 Pro has a potentially fatal design flaw

A screenshot from JerryRigEverything's durability test of the OnePlus 10 Pro, showing the phone's damage from a bend test. We see the phone side on from above, with the top third of the phone snapped into a right angle towards the host's hands.
(Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

You can't buy the OnePlus 10 Pro in the U.S. or U.K. yet, but if you plan to do so keep one thing in mind: don't keep the phone in your back pocket.

In a rather dramatic video from YouTube smartphone teardown channel JerryRigEverything, host Zack Nelson ends his durability test, and the OnePlus 10 Pro, with a bend test that snaps the phone shockingly easy into two. It does technically take two bends in opposite directions to get the OnePlus 10 Pro looking like a metal and glass sun lounger, but the first one still does serious damage to the phone, creating a network of cracks down the spine of the phone and separating the back from the side rails.

No smartphone is indestructible, but excluding actual foldable phones, it should take a lot of force to bend and/or snap a phone or tablet. It definitely shouldn't take only the strength of two hands to turn a $1,000 phone into scrap electronics.

A screenshot from JerryRigEverything's durability test of the OnePlus 10 Pro, showing the phone's damage from a bend test. The phone is seen side-on from above, with the body bent at a slight angle away from the host's hands

The damage to the phone from the first bend, seen from the side. (Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

It's possible that OnePlus' new design is to blame. The 10 Pro uses a large camera bump that flows over the edge of the phone, and it just so happens that the bottom edge of that bump is where the phone snapped from. That line also features the volume button on one side and an antenna line on the other, and the battery beneath it, all of which would also weaken the structure at that point.

A screenshot from JerryRigEverything's durability test of the OnePlus 10 Pro, showing the phone's damage from a bend test. The back of the phone has significant cracks down the center and across the width.

The damage to the phone from the first bend, seen from the back. (Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

Aside from the break, the OnePlus 10 Pro does as well as any modern smartphone in Nelson's other tests. Its display scratches at the expected level of hardness; the sides stand up to a stroke from a razor knife (other than the paint); and the fingerprint sensor still works through a scratched-up display. Plus, breaking the phone open gives the chance to check out its innards, like its dual-cell 5,000 mAh battery that supports 80W charging and the three rear Hasselblad-tuned cameras.

A screenshot from JerryRigEverything's durability test of the OnePlus 10 Pro, showing the phone's damage from a bend test. We see the front of the phone, with the top third bent almost at a right angle and the broken display is lit up in orange below the break line.

The damage to the phone from the second bend, seen from the front. (Image credit: JerryRigEverything)

It's too late for OnePlus to take the 10 series back to the drawing board and redesign the phone to be tougher. So it'll be up to users to reduce the risk of the phone snapping, by keeping the phone in a tough case or by keeping away from areas where it's likely to get sat or leaned on.

We're still excited to try out the OnePlus 10 Pro when it gets its global launch later this year, and particularly the speedy charging, the updated cameras and the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1-powered performance. However we'll be making sure to treat our review handset with care when it arrives.

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Richard Priday
Richard Priday
Assistant Phones Editor

Richard is based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, tablets, gaming, and whatever else people need advice on. Following on from his MA in Magazine Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's also written for WIRED U.K., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's likely thinking about how to brew the perfect cup of specialty coffee.