OnePlus 10 Pro render takes a page from the Galaxy S21 book

With almost all of this year's most notable phones finally out of the way, the rumor mill has started turning to the early newcomers for the first half of 2022. Samsung might be the one the fires the opening salvo, but it won't be alone eventually. OnePlus is also expected to make a big splash in the months ahead with the OnePlus 10 and OnePlus 10 Pro. And based on these early design renders, it's changing its visual identity yet again.

There is almost a culture of constant change in the smartphone market, at least as far as Android phones are concerned. Every year brings about big changes not just in specs but also in design. Contrast that to the early days of Android phones and the iPhone, where a brand's design language often remains constant across generations.

The renders of the OnePlus 10 Pro provided by @OnLeaks and Zouton show a distinctly different design from the OnePlus 9 Pro. Given the company's practice, it will most likely be a bit different from the base OnePlus 10 model as well. What's a bit interesting here is that the camera bump design seems to be inspired by the Galaxy S21's Contour Cut style, except that the bump doesn't go all the way to the top and only wraps down to the side.

This design is admittedly unique and looks a bit like an eye patch. OnLeaks does warn, however, that this is based on an early prototype of the OnePlus 10 Pro, and the company iterates over multiple prototypes before settling on the final design.

What might not change is the triple camera system, one less compared to this year's OnePlus flagship. That would be a strange downgrade that will hopefully be compensated by better sensors and lenses. As for the rest of the OnePlus 10 Pro's specs, the company hasn't exactly veered away from standard hardware, so it's pretty easy to guess what it will be packing next year, even if things aren't set in stone yet at this point in time.