Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: which new flagship phone is best?

By George Storr

Published: Friday, 22 April 2022 at 12:00 am

The Xiaomi 12 Pro and the OnePlus 10 Pro are two of the stand-out flagship phone releases of 2022 so far. They aim to go toe-to-toe with the iPhone 13 and the Samsung S22 Series, but how do they compare to those market leaders? And how do they compare to each other?

We’ve tested both phones extensively and gave both generally positive reviews, with one or two notable caveats. Thanks to these small hitches and the comparative strengths of the two smartphones, there isn’t necessarily a black and white answer to which one is best. However, we can advise you on which phone is best for particular use cases.

For our in-depth analysis of the Xiaomi 12 Pro in isolation, you can read our full Xiaomi 12 Pro review, or alternatively try out our full OnePlus 10 Pro review.

Read on for our in-depth analysis of these two phones, as we decide which is the best purchase for you — whether you’re a gamer, a power user, or just want a fantastic flagship smartphone for day-to-day use.

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Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Key differences at a glance

  • Xiaomi 12 Pro is £248 more expensive
  • Xiaomi 12 Pro can overheat
  • Both phones feature the same processor
  • OnePlus’ Oxygen OS is smoother than Xiaomi MIUI operating system
  • Xiaomi 12 Pro has 8GB of RAM, the OnePlus 10 Pro has 8GB or 10GB
  • Xiaomi 12 Pro feels more premium and marks up less
  • OnePlus 10 Pro offers less megapixels and very slightly less camera performance

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Design

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The Xiaomi 12 Pro

The first you’ll notice in terms of the design of these two handsets is their eye-catching camera arrays. That of the OnePlus 10 Pro is a little more unconventional than the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s camera bump and has split opinion. Personally, our testers preferred the look and feel of the Xiaomi handset, but it ought to feel slightly more high end, given its higher price point.

Both handsets are as slim and light as you’d expect, but the Xiaomi 12 Pro has a little more of an authoritative heft to it. It’s not a bad thing and it’s not heavy by any stretch of the imagination, but the handset has a real premium feel to it.

Likewise, when it comes to marks, the Xiaomi 12 Pro just doesn’t pick them up. It’s one of the best phones we’ve ever tested in dodging that ‘fingerprint magnet’ label. You won’t find grubby finger marks and scratches all over the handset after a day’s use and while that feels relatively minor, it was a noticeable plus of our time with the handset. The OnePlus 10 Pro doesn’t fare badly in these stakes, but we found that the built-in screen protector picked up marks and the matte-finished back could pick up scratches from keys and similar items quite easily, just from rumbling around in your pocket or bag,

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Specs and features

Both of these smartphones are powered by the cutting edge Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chipset. It’s the latest flagship processor from Qualcomm and most of the top-end phones on the market right now use it. This gives both handsets the ability to handle complex tasks and to multi-task with ease.

Both handsets max out at 256GB of storage, with the OnePlus 10 Pro also available in a 128GB version. The larger OnePlus comes with 12GB of RAM, rather than the 8GB offered by the Xiaomi.

When it comes to camera specs, the Xiaomi 12 Pro packs three 50MP snappers on the back and a 32MP selfie camera on the front. Conversely, the OnePlus’s Hasselblad triple-camera array is made up of a 50MP, a 48MP and an 8MP camera. On the front, there’s a 32MP selfie camera.

Both handsets also have 5G support and come with impressive wired fast chargers. The Xiaomi’s is a touch quicker. It’s also worth noting that both phones are capable of 50W wireless fast charging and that the OnePlus packs a 5000mAh battery compared to the 46000mAh battery of the Xiaomi.

Of course, the OnePlus 10 Pro comes with OnePlus’s signature operating system, Oxygen OS 12.1. That’s a win for the OnePlus as Xiaomi’s MIUI 13 is slightly clunkier. Scrolling and navigation is much cleaner and smoother on the OnePlus.

One notable performance issue that disappointed us was the Xiaomi 12 Pro’s ability to overheat during particularly demanding tasks. That means that, if you’re a keen mobile gamer, then the Xiaomi 12 Pro is not the phone for you! The phone suffered well-documented issues with overheating during gaming stress tests and similar ordeals, with the OnePlus 10 Pro encountering no similar issues.

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Price

The OnePlus 10 Pro is the cheaper of the two handsets. The version with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage costs £799. Or, 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage for £899.

For the Xiaomi 12 Pro, it’s £1049 and the handset comes with 256GB of storage and 8GB of RAM.

There’s also the standard Xiaomi 12 to consider, which is available for £849.

We can see from these price ranges that Xiaomi intends the 12 Pro to be an altogether higher class of phone, happily breaking the £1000+ mark. The touch and feel of the Xiaomi handset certainly is more premium, but how does it stack up elsewhere?

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Storage

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OnePlus 10 Pro

Both handsets max out at 256GB of storage, with no SD card slot for additional memory. Of course, additional memory card slots aren’t the norm in handsets of this price point, but it means that some users will have to take to the cloud for their extra storage needs.

This storage capacity is pretty much par for the course. It’s the same max storage capacity offered by the Samsung Galaxy S22 and S22 Plus and while the S22 Ultra goes up to one terabyte of storage, it’ll cost you much more to do so.

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Battery life

It’s the OnePlus 10 Pro that offers a larger battery, 5000mAh to the 4600mAh of the Xiaomi 12 Pro.

When it comes to efficiency, getting the most battery life out of either of these phones depends on you turning that display refresh rate down from the 120Hz max. During our tests of both handsets, we found this little tweak made a big difference to battery life. Neither phone is best in class when it comes to battery life, but both are passable. The real stand out feature in the battery stakes is the fast charge facilities on offer.

The Xiaomi comes with a 120W fast charger that can charge the battery from 1-100% in around 25 minutes. That’s hugely impressive and one of the best offerings on the market right now.

Conversely, the OnePlus comes with an 80W fast charger, which can take the battery from 1-100% in around 35 minutes, which is still hugely impressive. During our testing we charged the battery from 60-100% in just 18 minutes, meaning it’s easy to quickly top up your battery, even if you’ve only got a short window to charge these phones.

During our testing of the OnePlus 10 Pro, we did get left high and dry with an empty battery on one occasion, during a day of very heavy use. Again, this could have been avoided had we adjusted the settings. During our time with the Xiaomi 12 Pro, the battery just about hung in there, despite its small size.

In our experience, the Xiaomi comes out slightly on top here despite the smaller battery. However, for the lower price, the OnePlus 10 Pro still offers a large, solid battery that performs well enough and charges fast.

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Camera

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On the numbers side of things, the Xiaomi 12 Pro puts more megapixels on the table, but that doesn’t always mean better photography.

In this case, the Xiaomi phone has three 50MP cameras on the back and a 32MP selfie camera on the front. We found the camera responsive and easy to use and enjoyed the time we spent testing it.

OnePlus made a big noise about the OnePlus 10 Pro‘s Hasselblad camera array, packing a 50MP, 48MP and 8MP camera on the reverse, plus a 32MP selfie camera on the front. However, we found that the ‘Hasselblad-ification’ of the camera didn’t feel like it made too much of a difference. Sure, there were some nice extra settings to tweak and ways to shoot, but in terms of the camera’s base performance, we weren’t left with the impression that the partnership with an iconic photography brand left this phone miles in front of its phone camera competitors.

There’s not too much to split these two and we found both were feature-packed, easy to use and delivered great colour and detail — without beating the equivalent Samsung Galaxy S22 — but on balance, the more expensive Xiaomi probably just takes this one.

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: Display

Both handsets offer an adaptable 1-120Hz refresh rate to give you a smooth scrolling experience while simultaneously saving battery where possible. Honestly, during testing, both displays were a joy to use and worked well across a wide variety of use-cases, from streaming to social media scrolling and video calls.

However, during our testing periods, the built-in screen protectors on both handsets did experience some minor issues, with small air bubbles appearing, or marks becoming visible. We found that the Xiaomi experienced these issues marginally less.

Xiaomi 12 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: 5G connectivity

As flagship offerings, both of these phones come with 5G connectivity built-in. Increasingly it’s available as standard, even on more affordable phones.

However, whether or not you get 5G connectivity while using the phone depends entirely on your provider, your contract and the area you’re in.

During testing, we experienced no connectivity issues with either of these handsets. Both were consistent and reliable.

Our verdict: Which flagship phone should you buy?

As much as we liked both of these phones, the Xiaomi 12 Pro‘s overheating issue has to be raised straight away. If you’re a power user or a keen gamer, the phone’s capacity to overheat completely rules this phone out for you. The phone can overheat and shut down apps during particularly demanding tasks. That’s a rare and major issue.

However, if you’re a standard user and you want general day-to-day use including social media, streaming, web surfing and photography, then the Xiaomi 12 Pro will beat the OnePlus 10 Pro in a lot of categories. The fact that the Xiaomi is much more expensive though and still overheats is definitely a concern though.

Ultimately, the OnePlus 10 Pro is a better all-rounder thanks to its operating system, price and performance. It performs pretty well across the board, but if you want more premium, tactile touches and a slightly better camera, then the Xiaomi 12 does win in those selected categories.

However, given that these phones are no longer the ‘flagship killers’ that these brands used to offer, then it’s also worth considering the flagships on offer from the big boys in this market — Apple, Google and Samsung. We’ve included links to the OnePlus 10 Pro, the Xiaomi 12 Pro and those key competitors below, plus listed some of the latest deals.