In our previous article, we talked about the OnePlus 9R, which is the cheapest offering from the brand under the all-new 9-series. Well, alongside that phone, we got the siblings as well, i.e., the OnePlus 9 & the OnePlus 9 Pro. At the launch event, one thing that OnePlus highlighted the most was its partnership with Hasselblad to improve the cameras on its flagships. Well, the 9 and 9 Pro are the first OnePlus phones which benefit from this $150 million partnership between the two brands.
Starting off with the OnePlus 9, there isn’t anything new to talk about the design since the company itself revealed it way before the launch. In a nutshell, take the OnePlus 8T, slap that new camera module design on it, and boom! You got yourself the OnePlus 9. There is the same flat display on the front with a hole-punch cutout on the top left corner and the same port and button placement. In fact, just like in the case of the 9R, the display on the 9 is the same as on the OnePlus 8T. So it is a 6.55-inch 120Hz Fluid AMOLED panel featuring Full-HD+ resolution. Now using the same display as on the 8T of last year is not bad at all because that panel was excellent.
Under the hood, there is the new Snapdragon 888 chipset which is the latest and greatest flagship SOC from Qualcomm for this year’s flagships. It is paired with 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. There is a 4,500mAh battery underneath, which can be charged rapidly, thanks to the Warp Charge 65T support. So yeah, the battery size and the charging speed are the same as well. There is no Wireless Charging support or IP rating.
Let’s talk about those cameras because OnePlus talked a lot about how much improved the cameras are on its newest flagships. OnePlus 9 has three cameras on the back that include a primary 1/1.43″ 48 Megapixel Sony IMX689 sensor with f/1.8 aperture, and surprisingly, there is no OIS. Some features of this sensor include 2×2 OCL, 12-bit RAW, dual native ISO, and 3-HDR. It is paired with a 50 Megapixel 1/1.56″ Sony IMX766 sensor with a Freeform lens, and finally, there is a 2 Megapixel Monochrome sensor. There is support for 8K 30fps and 4K 60fps video recording. There is Hasselblad Pro Mode as well.
On the front, there is a 16 Megapixel Sony IMX471 sensor with a 1-micron pixel size.
Finally, OxygenOS 11 runs out of the box, which is based on Android 11, and there are Stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos, 5G, improved haptics, an in-display fingerprint scanner, NFC, and more. There is no official IP rating, something the Pro version has.
There are three colors in which the device comes, and they are named Arctic Sky, Astral Black, and Winter Mist. There are two storage options, and here is the pricing for various markets –
- 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM – $729 / EUR 699 / Rs 49,999
- 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM – $829 / EUR 799 / Rs 54,999
Coming to the OnePlus 9 Pro now, it looks almost the same as the OnePlus nine, except for the fact that there is one more camera on the rear, and the display on the front is slightly curved on the edges. Just like last year, the Pro version also features Wireless Charging and IP68 rating.
One of the biggest upgrades is the display. There is a 6.7-inch Fluid Display 2.0, and it is an LTPO panel which means the display can adjust the refresh rate dynamically based on the content on the screen. It can go as low as 1Hz and as high as 120Hz. The resolution of this panel is Quad-HD+, and some other features include 10-bit color depth, 525ppi pixel density, 1,300 nits of peak brightness, Hyper touch, etc.
Just like the OnePlus 9, 9 Pro has Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SOC paired with 8GB or 12GB LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. Interestingly, the battery size is also the same, i.e., 4,500mAh. There is support for 65W Fast Wired charging and 50W fast wireless charging. While you get the 65W adapter in the box itself, you’ll have to buy the 50W wireless charger separately.
Speaking of the cameras, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a primary 48 Megapixel 1/1.43” Sony IMX789 sensor with OIS and f/1.8 aperture lens. It is paired with a 50 Megapixel 1/1.56″ Sony IMX766 sensor with a Freeform lens, and it is the same ultrawide unit that is there on the OnePlus 9. There is an 8 Megapixel telephoto unit with OIS and 3.3X Optical Zoom, and finally, the phone has a 2 Megapixel monochrome sensor. The primary rear camera can shoot 8K 30fps and is capable of shooting 12-bit RAW photos. On the front, there is a 16 Megapixel Sony IMX471 sensor.
OnePlus 9 Pro comes in three colors named Morning Mist, Stellar Black, and Pine Green. Here is the pricing for various markets –
- 8GB RAM + 128GB ROM – $969 / EUR 899 / Rs 64,999
- 12GB RAM + 256GB ROM – $1,069 / EUR 999 / Rs 69,999