OnePlus 10 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22 vs iQOO 9 Pro: Which is India's best Android flagship in 2022?

The OnePlus 10 Pro was recently unveiled in India’s flagship smartphone market. The OnePlus 10 Pro price in India is set at Rs 66,999 for the base model and Rs 71,999 for the top-end variant. However, it isn’t the only flagship to make its way to India in 2022.

The launch of the OnePlus 10 Pro follows the arrival of the iQOO 9 series and Samsung Galaxy S22 series in the country. Among the two flagship line-ups, the iQOO 9 Pro and Galaxy S22 are best suited to compete with the OnePlus 10 Pro, given their respective pricing. So, let’s compare the specifications of all three flagships and see which one comes out on top.

OnePlus 10 Pro vs iQOO 9 Pro vs Samsung Galaxy S22

In terms of design and build, all three smartphones make little-to-no compromises. The Galaxy S22 has a clean design, while the OnePlus 10 Pro and iQOO 9 Pro both have unique camera islands that give them a more edgy look. The one downfall of the iQOO 9 Pro here is that it lacks an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. Additionally, iQOO and OnePlus have opted for curved displays, while the Galaxy S22 has a flat panel with sharper edges.

While the Galaxy S22 has an excellent display, the OnePlus 10 Pro and iQOO 9 Pro one-ups it with their QHD+ resolution. However, it isn’t easy to make out the difference considering the smaller screen sizes here, but the OnePlus 10 Pro and iQOO 9 Pro do have better screens, at least on paper. Additionally, the iQOO 9 Pro also has a much higher touch sampling rate, which should enable smoother gaming.

All three phones offer flagship performance, courtesy Snapdragon chip. However, the OnePlus 10 Pro does it better than the Galaxy S22, while the iQOO 9 Pro has a leg up on both its competitors. The compact design of the S22 leaves less room for cooling and as a result, the phone runs hot under pressure.

I didn’t come across any heating issues on the OnePlus 10 Pro but given the iQOO 9 Pro is more tailored towards gaming, it certainly has a clear advantage in the performance department. Additionally, the iQOO 9 Pro has an intelligent display chip onboard that works with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 to offer improved gameplay.

Of the three devices, the Galaxy S22 has the smallest battery, and it tends to show, with the phone is unable to run through an entire day under heavy use. The iQOO 9 has the second-largest battery and offers solid all-day battery life. The OnePlus 9 Pro has the biggest battery of the three devices and the best battery life as well. However, iQOO comes back with its super-fast 120W wired charging support. Both OnePlus and iQOO include a supported charger in the box with their respective devices, Samsung doesn’t.

While the iQOO 9 Pro and the OnePlus 10 Pro do have better camera specifications, what Samsung lacks in hardware is more than makes up for in software, and it doesn’t lack all that much in hardware. The iQOO 9 Pro and Galaxy S22 produce more saturated photos as compared to the natural-looking photos on the OnePlus 10 Pro, while detail and dynamic range are well maintained across all three phones.

After testing all three phones, it does feel like the S22 has a leg up against the iQOO 9 Pro and OnePlus 10 Pro. And while the S22 might only be slightly ahead when it comes to the rear cameras, that advantage is extended when moving to the front camera. There’s no doubt that OnePlus and iQOO still have some catching up to do if they want to compete with Samsung in the camera department.

When it comes to software support, Samsung is the king as it offers four years of major OS updates, followed by three on the OnePlus 10 Pro, and two on the iQOO 9 Pro. While OxygenOS has retained a relatively clean interface, it has been bogged down with a few issues popping up in recent times.

Samsung’s OneUI, on the other hand, has been getting better with excellent software support, a relatively clean interface, and tons of customisations. iQOO’s skin is modelled on Vivo’s Funtouch OS 12, which needs a lot of refinement, a cleaner interface, and much better software support.

If you are solely interested in having the best cameras on an Android smartphone at this price, then the Samsung Galaxy S22 is the best option. While I found almost all aspects of the S22 perfect, the phone did tend to heat up pretty fast and battery life didn’t suit heavy usage.

However, in terms of the ‘best performance’, I’d say the iQOO 9 Pro is the way to go. Everything about the iQOO 9 Pro says ‘fast’, be it charging, gaming, or multi-tasking. However, the cameras and software still aren’t up to the mark. And the lack of an IP68 rating was a major letdown considering the price range it operates in.

The OnePlus 10 Pro, on the other hand, strikes the right balance between performance and camera quality. The handset still performs well and doesn’t disappoint in the camera department. The one area where OnePlus can improve is on the front camera, although much of the experience on the 10 Pro is too similar to that on the OnePlus 9 Pro.