OnePlus announced its future phone rollout strategy towards the end of last year. The Chinese manufacturer’s numbered flagship series is at the peak of its products, with the R series models — the OnePlus 9R and 9RT — aimed at regional markets. The Nord and Nord CE series are aimed at the mid-range market, while the Nord N models are intended for the entry-level market.

In 2022, OnePlus is doing things a little differently to reflect this shift. The OnePlus 10 Pro is already available in China, where it will be released three months ahead of schedule. The flagship is expected to arrive in worldwide regions in early Q2, alongside two other OnePlus 10 models: the normal OnePlus 10 and the OnePlus 10R.

The OnePlus 10 was rumored to include MediaTek’s Dimensity 9000 chipset earlier this month, but that is not the case. The OnePlus 10R will be powered by the Dimensity 9000, according to a source close to the company. This is the same source that revealed that the Nord 2 is powered by the Dimensity 1200, therefore I’m confident in the accuracy of this information.

Specifications of the OnePlus

For the first seven years of its history, OnePlus only offered Snapdragon chipsets on its phones, but with the Nord 2, it transitioned to the MediaTek Dimensity 1200. That wasn’t an unique instance; OnePlus had already committed to adopting the Dimensity 9000 in the OnePlus 10R by the time the Nord 2 was announced.

The Dimensity 9000 is intriguing because it has the potential to compete with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 on a level playing field. The Cortex X2 is present alongside A710 and A510 cores on the chipset, as well as a Mali-G710 shader core with ten shader cores.

It has to do with North America because OnePlus is employing the Dimensity 9000 in the OnePlus 10R rather than the OnePlus 10. The Dimensity 9000 includes an integrated 5G modem with worldwide 5G bands, but it’s only good for Sub-6 and doesn’t support mmWave. The lack of mmWave connectivity rendered the Dimensity 9000 a non-starter for OnePlus in the region, with US networks reliant on it for 5G coverage and OnePlus keen to extend its ties with T-Mobile and Verizon.

As a result, the processor will make its debut in the OnePlus 10R, which will only be available in Asian markets. The OnePlus 10R will sport a 120Hz AMOLED display, at least 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage, as well as other features. I should have the camera information soon, so stay tuned.

Date and cost of the OnePlus 10R
According to my source, the OnePlus 10R will be released towards the end of Q2 2022. The reason for the delay is the OnePlus 9RT; OnePlus had planned to launch the device in India in October 2021, but difficulties with OxygenOS 12 caused the launch to be pushed back to January.

For the time being, OnePlus is pitching the 9RT as the go-to device in the $500 to $600 price range, and as a result, the company has delayed the debut of the 10R to avoid cannibalizing sales of the 9RT.

In terms of availability, the OnePlus 10R will launch in China and India, and I haven’t received any indication that it will be available in other countries at this time.

In India, the OnePlus 9R sold well, and by using MediaTek for the 10R, OnePlus will be able to be a little more aggressive on the pricing front, giving it a significant advantage against Samsung and Xiaomi’s top mid-range phones.

We’ll have to wait a while to find out how much the 10R will cost, but what we’ve seen so far with the OnePlus 10 Pro — which costs $50 less in China than the 9 Pro — suggests OnePlus is focused on value as a key distinction this year.