Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Pixel 6 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro: which is best for you?

Apologies for being presumptuous, but you’re probably reading these words because you typed something along the lines of “Samsung Galaxy S22 vs Pixel 6 Pro vs OnePlus 10 Pro” into Google. If you did, that’s great. You’re exactly where you want to be. If you didn’t, that’s okay too. Feel free to stick around. Or check out some other fancy gadgets. Your call.

Still here? Then strap in, because we’re going to compare all three of these high-end handsets to help make your buying decision that little bit easier. From breaking down their designs to covering their camera setups, you should hopefully know which handset you’re leaning towards by the end.

Before we jump in, it’s worth noting that at the time of writing, we’ve reviewed the Google Pixel 6 Pro. The Galaxy S22 has only just been announced, and the OnePlus 10 Pro is yet to officially launch (though its specs have been revealed. As a result, this comparison will be based on what we know about all three devices through a combination of our hands-on experience and specs.

Naturally, we’ll update this comparison article accordingly once each phone has had the full in-depth Stuff review treatment.

Got it? Good. Let’s go.

Price and release date

The Google Pixel 6 Pro has been on sale since its launch on 28 October, starting from £849 for the 128GB version, or £949 for the 256GB model. In contrast, the Galaxy S22 and S22+ will start at £769 and £949 for their respective 128GB versions, bumping up to £819 and £999 for the 256GB storage options.

The OnePlus 10 Pro is currently only available in China, starting at 4699 yuan (£544). That’s slightly cheaper than the Chinese launch price of the OnePlus 9 Pro, so we’re crossing our fingers for a UK launch price that’s a little cheaper than the £829 price tag of the OnePlus 9 Pro. As for a release date? The current official OnePlus line is that the 10 Pro will launch in the UK “this spring”, so it could land as early as March.

Design

In a world where most smartphones are just copy/paste rectangular slabs of glass, it’s somewhat refreshing to see three handsets that actually look relatively different to each other. Well, sort of. 

While the Pixel 6 Pro looks unlike any flagship we’ve seen before (more on that in a sec), the OnePlus 10 Pro appears to have taken (at least a little) inspiration from the Galaxy design book. Both handsets share a similarly prominent rear camera housing, with rows of lenses surrounded by a protruding section. The Galaxy S22 and S22+ differ in that this section goes all the way up to and around the corner, while the OnePlus 10 Pro opts for a clean distinction between the camera housing and the rest of the phone. Which one you prefer will of course be down to personal preference, but for what it’s worth, this author is a little more taken with the OnePlus 10 Pro’s interpretation.

And then we have the Pixel 6 Pro, which tears the smartphone design rulebook out the window with its gargantuan protruding camera housing strip. Some people love it, others hate it. We think it’s bonkers enough to work, and enjoy how it stands out from the crowd while being instantly recognisable.

Camera housings aside, there’s little else to really distinguish the phones beyond their colour options, as they’re all slathered in some form of scratch-resistant glass. Bar the 6.1in S22, all handsets are around the same size too. The S22 and S22+ feature the most colour options — namely, white, pink, black and a fetching green — while the OnePlus 9 Pro sticks to plain black and, again, a rather fetching green. The Pixel 6 Pro sticks to black and white too, but throws a welcome spanner in the works with a “Sorta Sunny” two-tone pale yellow/orange colour, which we personally love.

With all that said, having experienced all previous versions of flagships from these companies, the build quality is sure to be exceptionally premium. If looks are your number one priority, you definitely won’t be disappointed with any of these, as they’re all handsome in their own way.

Screen

The 6.1in Galaxy S22 has the smallest screen out of this round-up, while its larger 6.6in S22+ brother is practically identical in size to the 6.7in Pixel 6 Pro and 6.7in OnePlus 10 Pro. Both of Samsung’s offerings sport FHD+ resolutions (2,400 x 1080), while the Pixel 6 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro bump this up to QHD+. On paper the higher resolution screens are of course better, but in a practical, real-world sense, you’re not going to notice a difference in sharpness unless you’re on a magnifying glass-led mission.

All three handset ranges support 120Hz refresh rates for a super-slick and responsive experience, and can cleverly adjust this refresh rate depending on what you’re doing, to help preserve battery life. They can, for example, use the max 120Hz when gaming, or dial things right down for static content like an ebook. The OnePlus 10 Pro is the king here, capable of slowing things right down to just 1Hz, with the Galaxy S22 range slowing things down to a respectable 10Hz. The Pixel 6 Pro only has a 60HZ minimum refresh rate in comparison.

All three handset ranges have AMOLED displays which means true, deep blacks and rich, bold colours, so expect a similarly pleasant viewing experience across the board. The Galaxy S22 and S22+ appear to quite literally outshine the competition though, thanks to their respective peak 1,200 nit and 1,750 nit brightness ratings. The OnePlus 10 Pro’s peak brightness is 1,300 nits in comparison, while the Pixel 6 Pro brings just 800 nits to the table. 

At the risk of sounding dull, you’re unlikely to be disappointed with the screen on any of these handsets. If we had to pick one winner though, it would be the super-bright screens of the Galaxy S22 and S22+ which give them the edge, on paper at least.

Camera

This is where things get interesting, with all handsets offering multiple cameras for snapping photos in different situations. We’ll go through all the photo smarts on offer, with the caveat that until we personally review and test each phone, these are purely on-paper judgements until this feature is updated with our real-world findings.

Let’s kick the specs off with the Galaxy S22 and S22+, both of which share identical rear triple-camera setups consisting of a 12MP ultra-wide camera, a 50MP wide camera, and a 10MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom. The Pixel 6 Pro also has a triple-cam setup on the rear, with a 50MP wide camera, 12MP ultra-wide camera, and a 48MP telephoto camera with 4x optical zoom. As for the OnePlus 10 Pro? It’s packing a 48MP wide camera, 50MP  ultra-wide, and 8MP telephoto camera with 3.3x optical zoom. On the selfie cam front, we have a 10MP, 11.1MP and 32MP front-facing camera for the Galaxy S22/S22+, Pixel 6 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro, respectively. 

That’s a lot of numbers to digest, so let’s distil things a bit. With three cameras across the board, all three phones offer flexibility, providing you with the tools to take regular shots, wide shots for cramming more into a frame, and the ability to zoom in to capture details from a distance. Megapixels and lenses alone don’t share the full story though. 

The Galaxy S22 and S22+, for example, have 23% larger sensors than the already impressive sensor found in the Galaxy S21, which means they suck in even more light for improved nighttime and low-light photography. On that note, having fully reviewed the Google 6 Pro, we were very impressed with its low light performance, where it captures excellent detail in challenging conditions. The OnePlus 10 Pro promises to perform well too if our review of last year’s OnePlus 9 Pro flagship is anything to go by.

It’s safe to say that none of these handsets are going to take shoddy photos, but the Pixel 6 Pro has set the bar pretty damn high. It’s obviously impossible to choose an outright winner at this point until we’ve reviewed both the Galaxy S22 and OnePlus 10 Pro, so we look forward to updating this feature when we’ve snapped all the shots we can.

Power and battery life

These are 2021/2022 flagships handsets. We haven’t lacked power in an Android flagship for years. In other words, you won’t be left wanting for more oomph from any of these handsets. Having said that, it’s worth listing just what’s underneath their sleek glass bodies, even if it’s just to please loyal spec fiends.

The Pixel 6 Pro notably uses Google’s own Tensor chip, while OnePlus has predictably gone for the absolute most-powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon processor around (the SM8450, to be precise). In contrast, Samsung’s S22 range is powered by its own Exynos 2200 processor. All phones are available in 128GB or 256GB configurations, with OnePlus and Google offering 12GB RAM options, while the S22 range maxes out at 8GB. With Android 12 loaded up across the board, there’s not a single user who will feel any sluggishness in any situation with any of these handsets. It’s a win-win-win either way.

As for battery life, we can’t comprehensively say which one is best without having reviewed all three, but the on-paper show that the S22 and S22+ have 3,700mAh and 4,500mAh batteries respectively, while the Pixel 6 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro sport 5,003mAh and 5,000mAh offerings. Clearly Google and OnePlus win on paper, but we’ll reserve our judgements for the real world. There’s no doubt about the charging speed champ though — The OnePlus 10 Pro serves up incredibly fast 80W charging, while the Pixel 6 Pro, S22 and S22+ can only offer paltry 30W, 25W and 45W charging speeds, respectively.

Verdict

At this early stage, we can’t declare an outright winner until we’ve properly tested the Galaxy S22/S22+ and the OnePlus 10 Pro. What we can say though, is that all three handset ranges are definitely worthy of your consideration, with more than enough power for anyone’s needs.

The key decision-makers will come in the camera and battery life tests, though you’re of course more than welcome to pick whichever one you like the look of right now if you like. Stay tuned for more updates when our expert reviewers have the full lowdown.