Rumours have been building about a potential top-of-the-range new smartphone from OnePlus that brings a periscope camera and plenty of flagship features. Here’s all we know so far about the OnePlus 10 Ultra.
When will the OnePlus 10 Ultra be released?
Details about the OnePlus 10 Ultra are sketchy at the moment, with only some patent listings and a few leaks giving clues about the very existence of the device.
From what we can tell, it seems that the Ultra will sit above the OnePlus 10 Pro in the company’s smartphone range. As the OnePlus 10 Pro was only launched in spring 2022, it could still be a while before we see the Ultra model.
Usually, OnePlus releases new flagships every six months, so if the Ultra turns out to be a successor to the 10 Pro rather than a different strata of device, then it could make its debut around September 2022.
That matches our first leak on the release date, with tipster Yogesh Brar nodding to a launch in August or September.
How much will the OnePlus 10 Ultra cost?
As this is potentially a new tier in the OnePlus range, there’s no information about the price tag that may be attached. We can use the OnePlus 10 Pro as a guide though, with that model costing as follows (based on the announced prices in China):
8+128GB – ¥4,699 ($740/£540/€650/₹56,699)
8+256GB – ¥4,999 ($785/£575/€690/₹60,299)
12+256GB – ¥5,299 ($830/£610/€730/₹63,999)
12+512GB – ¥5,799 ($915/£670/€805/₹69,999)
If the Ultra is a more expensive device, then it may stray above the £1,000/$1,000/€1,000 mark that we’ve seen become the norm with flagship smartphones in recent years.
What features and specs will we see in the OnePlus 10 Ultra?
As OnePlus has yet to confirm anything about the 10 Ultra, you should take the details laid out below with a pinch of salt, although we will update this article as more information becomes available. So far, these are the rumours that surround this mysterious new device.
A periscope camera
In February, TechInsiderBlog posted on its Twitter feed (which has since been suspended) details about a patent application that had been made by OnePlus for a device that was very similar to the OnePlus 10 Pro.
The main difference was a more advanced camera system. While the placement on the upper left side of the rear panel is the same as the OnePlus 10 Pro, and the top two cameras are also seemingly identical, the lower section replaces the third camera and flash found on the 10 Pro with a recessed camera and empty panel to its right.
The flash has been changed to a small rounded rectangle as opposed to the circle on the 10 Ultra. This is also moved to sit next to the dual cameras in the upper section.
Thankfully, you don’t have to imagine all of this, as you can view the patent application and its images online via the Lets Go Digital site. Helpfully, it also posted mock-up images from graphic designer Jermaine Smit (also know as Concept Creator) which look fantastic.
Here is what the OnePlus 10 Ultra could look like:
The current theory is that the recessed camera could be something along the lines of a 5x zoom equipped camera that would allow users to capture distant images without the loss of quality you usually have to give up when using digital zooms.
Yogesh Brar has since tweeted that he “can confirm periscope,” for the phone, so it looks increasingly likely that some level of periscopic camera will be included.
It’s also thought that OnePlus will use the MariSilicon X Imaging NPU from Oppo, which made its debut in the Oppo Find X5 Pro.
This was echoed by Brar on Twitter who posted about a new OnePlus flagship coming in the second half of 2022 with Oppo technology onboard.
Technology sharing between OnePlus & Oppo is in Full swing, Find X5 series gets Hasselblad treatment and I’m hearing that MariSilicon will be seen on a OnePlus Flagship in the 2nd Half of this year.
There are rumours of an Ultra flagship from OnePlus in the EVT phase right now.
— Yogesh Brar (@heyitsyogesh)
January 25, 2022
The new imaging technology is powerful stuff, with Oppo stating that it enables ‘high-quality 4K AI Night Video and live preview on Android smartphones for the first time…20 bit ultra-high dynamic range, real-time RAW processing, and Enhanced RGBW Pro Mode.’
If this turns out to be true, then the OnePlus 10 Ultra could have some serious optics onboard when it arrives.
General specs
Aside from the cameras, it seems that the design and most of the specs will be the same as on the OnePlus 10 Pro. It’s possible that the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 found in the Pro is replaced by a newer variant in the Ultra, with Brar pointing to the rumoured 8 Gen 1+, but at the time of writing Qualcomm has yet to confirm when any updated silicon will appear.
Here’s a breakdown of the technical specs for the OnePlus 10 Pro:
6.7in LTPO2 AMOLED display with 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, 1440×3216 resolution
Qualcomm SM8450 Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC
8GB RAM
128GB Storage
48 MP, f/1.8, 23mm (Wide) with OIS
8 MP, f/2.4, 77mm (Telephoto), with OIS and 3.3x optical zoom
50 MP, f/2.2, 14mm, 150˚ (Ultrawide)
32 MP, f/2.2, (Wide) selfie camera
WiFi 6
5G LTE
Bluetooth 5.2
NFC
GPS
5,000mAh battery with 80W Fast Charging and 50W Wireless Charging
163 x 73.9 x 8.6 mm
200.5 g
You can check back regularly to this article for any updates we discover and in the meantime be sure to read our guides to the best phones in 2022 and best Android phones to see what kind of competition the OnePlus 10 Ultra will have to fend off when it launches.
