[Updated] OnePlus 10T Brings a Bit of OPPO to the U.S.

Context

Mobile tech enthusiasts often lament that the carrier-driven U.S. market misses out on the dozens of high-value smartphone options found in China, Asia, and Europe. While BBK is not bringing its Vivo, OPPO, or Realme brands to the U.S., it is capitalizing on OnePlus’ U.S. retail shelf space to build phones that share many of its sibling brands’ characteristics. Techsponential first wrote about this strategic change back in in April 2021. In the process, OnePlus is shifting away from targeting the budget-oriented spec enthusiasts who initially propelled sales, to a larger lineup of mid-tier (Nord) and premium (OnePlus numbered) phones with broader appeal. While not every phone gets picked up by U.S. carriers at retail (see below), the strategy is working; sales are up year-over-year in the U.S. and India.

Analysis

In its design consideration, the OnePlus 10T is more OPPO than classic OnePlus. Gone are the iconic alert slider and minimalist software overlays. The Hasselblad camera branding on the OnePlus 10 Pro is absent as well. However, the OnePlus 10T provides incredibly fast charging, solid display specs, and the latest flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 plus Gen 1 silicon, all at a remarkably competitive price. When it comes to the value proposition, the OnePlus 10T is actually a bit of a throwback to past OnePlus phones, prioritizing processing specs at a more affordable $650 price. That price will almost certainly mean that the OnePlus 10T cannibalizes sales of the (originally $900, now $800) OnePlus 10 Pro with Qualcomm’s earlier chipset, but it is better to cannibalize your own sales than let someone else do it.

Competitive Assessment

At $650, the OnePlus 10T will have plenty of competition in Europe and Asia, but in the U.S., the closest rival is Google’s $600 Pixel 6 (and possibly the Pixel 7, though pricing and full specs on that phone have yet to be announced). Google has better imaging and software, but the OnePlus’ new Snapdragon should have performance advantages over Google’s Tensor in some situations, such as gaming. Samsung’s base Galaxy S22 starts at $800, but is often discounted by U.S. carriers, and has a richer ecosystem of hardware and software. Samsung also has a brand that U.S. consumers ask for at retail, whereas OnePlus is mostly limited to direct sales and T-Mobile. However, given T-Mobile’s growth rate, that’s not the worst place to be.

[Updated Sept 1, 2022] North American Availability

In a first for OnePlus, the OnePlus 10T has been certified on all three national U.S. 4G and 5G networks (AT&T 5G certification is a first). Only T-Mobile is expected to offer the OnePlus 10T at retail, but Verizon PR reached out to me to note that its C Band 5G network is supported, so OnePlus is getting at least some support behind the scenes.

U.S. — AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon: 4G & 5G

Canada — Bell, Tellus: 4G & 5G; Rogers, Freedom: 4G

The OnePlus 10T is going on sale September 29 at OnePlus.com, Amazon, and Best Buy. There are two storage variants and pre-orders can get free accessories or the higher storage variant for the lower $650 price.

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