Ultimate top-tier comparison: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs OnePlus 8 Pro in a battle of titans—so close it’s hard to call

We wouldn’t be true fans of Chinese brands if we didn’t put two of the most powerful flagship phones from well-known manufacturers Xiaomi and OnePlus head-to-head. Their top smartphones this year, Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro, are already available and we compared their technical specifications.

Many shared features point to today’s trends

Both devices have more in common than we would expect. You could say they set the standard for a high-end smartphone of today, which is probably why they share so many features. However, we did find a few differences and we’ll try to evaluate them.

Comparison of core specifications in a table:

Design rating

In a recent comparison of the cheaper versions of flagship phones Xiaomi Mi 10 vs OnePlus 8, when rating the design we had a similar issue. Even the Pro-labeled versions more or less kept the look of their cheaper variants, but the OnePlus model has grown a bit.

The two smartphones we’re comparing are far too similar, and it’s hard at first glance to clearly tell which one has the upper hand. For purely subjective reasons, we lean more toward the OnePlus model, because its design is optically slimmer. We also like how its cameras are aligned in a single line across the middle of the body.

The technical specifications also back up OnePlus: it has up to 9 grams lower weight.

OnePlus 8 with IP68

In this category, we also include the durability of the phone’s body, which makes up its visual “side”. OnePlus 8 Pro earned a IP68 certification, thanks to which it should withstand water pressure at a depth of 1.5 m below the surface for 30 minutes without damage. Mi 10 Pro doesn’t match that splash resistance, even though we’ve already seen that it can do more unofficially.

The overall design, lower weight, and water resistance decided it for us—so in this category we’re giving OnePlus 8 Pro a thumbs-up.

Score after the first round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 0:1

Display

The OnePlus maker seemed to have deepened their pockets, and their premium model is equipped with a truly top-notch display with above-standard specs. Xiaomi has no chance against it. Both are super AMOLED panels, but the display on 8 Pro delivers much finer resolution and an incredible refresh rate of 120 Hz. It also has a dramatically higher sampling rate and a maximum brightness value.

The OnePlus 8 Pro display also received a DisplayMate A+ rating, along with 13 more records in this category—earning it the title of the best display in the world.

The protective standard is, for the “eight,” Gorilla Glass 6, and in Xiaomi it’s one class lower than the same protection grade.

Visually, the displays are quite similar. For one, they’re both slimmer-looking thanks to the curved edges, and also because of the punch-hole for the front camera. Both smartphones also have a fingerprint sensor placed under the display.

Score after the second round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 0:2

Power

Both brands have hardware-equipped smartphones that are almost the same. The only extra is Mi 10 Pro, in the form of the 512 GB storage version, which is missing on 1+. The measured performance of both devices is downright massive, landing them at the top of the world rankings across all brands.

So the performance difference can come down to software optimization. However, these variations are negligible for everyday use. The user would basically have to have both smartphones side by side and test how they respond. Still, the visual difference may come more from the better-equipped OnePlus display with faster reactions than from a performance discrepancy.

We also found one comparison video, where OnePlus 8 Pro, it seems, comes out on top:

However, when evaluating performance, we’ll rely on the measured scores from the AnTuTu performance test—plus the higher-memory version that the Mi 10 Pro model has. In this category, this smartphone earns the point.

Score after the third round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 1:2

Cameras

Comparing the camera setups of flagship phones that we haven’t had a chance to test yet isn’t easy. We can rely only on specifications, but those can be misleading commercially. What’s certain, though, is that Mi 10 Pro topped the ranking of the renowned DxOmark evaluation at the time of its launch. OnePlus hasn’t been rated by that team yet.

From a specifications point of view, Xiaomi’s smartphone is also the better choice—especially thanks to its large 108 MPx sensor with eight lenses. The photographic setup in Mi 10 Pro is also better in terms of optical zooming and video creation in high resolution up to 8K.

The front camera also has higher resolution, which once again puts Mi 10 Pro in the spotlight. Still, we’re convinced both smartphones shoot exceptionally well, and in real-world testing the spec differences become less obvious. In the end, you can see it for yourself in the next video:

At the very end, you can choose any of these smartphones. We think you won’t be disappointed by the photos or videos. On the contrary. After comparing the specs, Mi 10 Pro performs better — and thanks to its DxOMark rating, we give it a point in this category.

Score after the fourth round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 2:2

Additional equipment

The extras on both devices are almost the same, just a few details differ. OnePlus 8 Pro is a Dual SIM smartphone for customers worldwide, while Mi 10 Pro in its global version only has a slot for one SIM card — and we consider that a minus.

Mi 10 Pro also has an infrared port, which offers remote control options for other devices. OnePlus, in turn, has the faster USB C version of the connector. We don’t find any more differences in the standard included equipment.

Both Xiaomi and OnePlus support 5G networks, WiFi 6, dual GPS, and Bluetooth 5.1. OnePlus gets our point for the Dual SIM version.

Score after the fifth round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 2:3

Battery and charging

When comparing the batteries, we also find rare agreement. However, Xiaomi wins thanks to significantly faster wired charging with power up to 50 W. It also has a higher reverse charging capability, and since the battery capacities are almost the same, the winner is clear.

Final score after the sixth round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 3:3

As we expected, it turned out to be a very closely matched showdown, and the last category is now in front of us: a comparison of selling prices. Will the final decision come down to which one has the better prices, and will that determine the overall winner?

Price comparison

This is where it gets a bit tricky, because in the currently available lowest prices we couldn’t find the same memory version of both smartphones. However, we’ll also compare the official prices and somehow decide the outcome.

In its global version, the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro was launched on the European market at €999 (8 GB RAM + 256 GB storage). Right now, though, the Mi 10 Pro isn’t available for sale, but its price on Banggood was around €800. If it becomes available, we’ll definitely let you know.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is available at the official price of €899 (8 GB RAM + 128 GB storage). However, you can get it in both memory versions for much lower prices from our trusted global sellers, as you can see in our price box below.

In the end, it’s a bigger mess than we expected, but we’ll still lean toward one of them.

For us, it’s OnePlus 8 Pro, due to the lower launch price, where the difference is up to 100 €. Currently, only OnePlus 8 Pro is available from global sellers for pre-order, and Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro is not in stock.

Final score after the seventh round: Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro vs. OnePlus 8 Pro – 3:4

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Updated 24. 1. 2022 at 13:53

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Assessment

Our point rating of each parameter roughly matches our subjective decision. Even though OnePlus 8 Pro won by only a narrow margin, we’d choose this smartphone. And why?

OnePlus’ new flagship has the best display in the world. It’s the part of the smartphone that users interact with most often, and OnePlus has made it undeniably better than anyone else.

Aside from the fact that we like the design more, we have to say it doesn’t lag behind in the other specs either. That is, except for the camera specifications — but you definitely won’t be disappointed with OnePlus either. The slightly slower fast charging won’t hold you back much, and the more favorable prices are just the cherry on top. Our winner is OnePlus 8 Pro — and which smartphone won for you?