The OnePlus 10 Pro is the best phone I won’t recommend to most people

Last week, I published my review of the OnePlus 10 Pro and gave it a 7/10, which it solidly deserves. The hardware is lovely, performance is up there with some of the best Android phones, and it’s priced just right at $899. Take a look for yourself — you can hear all of my ramblings and see it in action on our YouTube channel now.

There’s a lot I like about it, but there are two major strikes against the 10 Pro that keep me from recommending it to most people: the camera system and the fact that it doesn’t work on AT&T 5G. The cameras aren’t bad, but you can get noticeably better image quality from similarly priced competitors. And AT&T is one of the few major wireless carriers we have in the US. A top-tier phone really should work on its next-gen network.

I think the 10 Pro deserves recognition as a good device, and I do think there are some people who would really love it. But it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Even though high-end Android competition in the US is really down to just two players — Google and Samsung — those companies make really good phones, and the 10 Pro just doesn’t do enough to warrant a recommendation. What I hope I’ve done is provide enough analysis and context around its strengths and weaknesses so you can decide if you’re one of those people who would really love this phone.