OnePlus confirms the absence of the Alert Slider and Hasselblad’s photo expertise on its OnePlus 10T, the presentation of which will take place in early August. The brand also provides some explanations for these choices.
The summer of 2022 definitely promises a great battle for the titles of the best smartphones. Thus, at the beginning of August will notably see the presentation of the OnePlus 10T. To generate excitement upstream, the brand shares various elements on its phone. Recently, OnePlus shared new images relayed by The Verge – which confirm the design already leaked in the past. On this occasion, two major absences were revealed. On the new model, you don’t see Alert Slider nor sign of the partnership with Hasselblad.
The Alert Slider takes up too much space
Recall that theAlert Slider is a switch that we have very often found on the edge of OnePlus smartphones. It allows you to quickly switch between silent, ring and vibrate modes. Hope Liu, chief designer within the brand, explains to The Verge that the OnePlus 10T needed to get rid of that little latch so it could free up enough space inside for other components needed to “ high power charging, large battery capacity and better antenna signal“.
Although the Alert Slide appears to be a very small component, it actually has a relatively large impact on the surface of the device’s motherboard — taking up 30mm². In order for the OnePlus 10T to perform in the areas most important to our users…while retaining the Alert Slider, we would have had to stack the motherboard of the device, which would have made the device thicker.
Hope Liu also mentions that it was a necessary omission to reach the charging speed. If the spokesperson is careful not to specify what power we can expect, some sources mention a 150 W charger. Anyway, the chief designer points out that the OnePlus 10T has two “charge pumps while the OnePlus 10 Pro only had one. The phone will also be equipped with a 15-antenna system to optimize the signal when the device is horizontal (when you play for example). And that too requires space.
Could this decision disappoint some fans? Without being an essential feature, the small switchis one of those practical little options that have made the user experience of OnePlus smartphones so special and enjoyable. And some may indeed be concerned to see that theAlert Sliderhas an uncertain future and could even become the prerogative of its cousin brand Oppo (which also belongs to the Oplus group).
No Hasselblad, no overpriced smartphone?
On the photo side, the choice to do without Hasselblad’s expertise on the OnePlus 10T is a little more anecdotal. This collaboration with the Swedish specialist brings some interesting functions, but the general public should be able to easily do without it. Especially since, according to Hope Liu, OnePlus wants to offer a smartphone with high performance – with a Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 – but at a fair price. He thus suggests that small compromises had to be made to adjust the tariff to an acceptable level.
Note, however, that at the latest news, the OnePlus 10T could cost more or less the same price as the OnePlus 10 Pro – while the T series is rather known for its more aggressive prices. With the very high inflation that affects the whole world, this would not be very surprising after all. Even by wanting to reduce costs as much as possible, the company is probably struggling to contain the rise in the price of all raw materials. See you on August 3.
To follow us, we invite you to download our Android and iOS application. You can read our articles, files, and watch our latest YouTube videos.