Following the company’s usual lineup, OnePlus just unveiled its new 9 Series smartphones. The line includes a midrange OnePlus 9 and a flagship OnePlus 9 Pro. The series also showcases the first results of the company’s new partnership with Hasselblad, a world-known Swedish camera manufacturer.
OnePlus 9 Pro
The OnePlus 9 Pro is the company’s new flagship, incorporating a Snapdragon 888 chipset and an Adreno 660 GPU with 5G connectivity all in one package. The company claims that this makes their new lineup significantly faster than the previous 8 Series, with 25% faster CPU performance, and 35% faster graphics rendering, to be exact. The base model will come with 8GB of RAM of LPDDR5 RAM and 128GB of UFS 3.1 storage, with 12GB of RAM and 256Gb of storage option. In both cases, it is not expandable.
The Hasselblad Camera
The company has partnered with Hasselblad for months to calibrate its devices’ sensors to meet strict requirements for color performance and image processing. This brought about Natural Color Calibration which is supposed to improve the color performance of the OnePlus 9 Pro’s camera system. The new solution is claimed to bring perceptually accurate and natural-looking colors to photos.
In terms of hardware, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a 48MP main camera featuring a custom-designed 1/1.4″ Sony IMX789 sensor with 12-bit RAW, dual native ISO, and DOL-HDR. The smartphone manufacturer claims faster focus speeds, four-times more color information for greater color accuracy, reduced motion blur in videos, as well as cleaner daytime and night shots.
There is also a new 50MP 1/1.56″ Sony IMX766 sensor acting as the ultrawide attached to what OnePlus is calling Freeform Lens, a special lens that will minimize the edge distortion present in ultrawide shots. This allows the OnePlus 9 Pro’s system to capture high-quality macro photos as close as 4 cm away from the subject.
The OnePlus 9 Pro’s 8 MP telephoto camera offers 3.3x zoom with OIS to reduce blur and 30x digital zoom. There is also a 2MP monochrome camera that will work in conjunction with the main camera to add detail and layering. Its main camera can shoot a 4k 120fps video with DOL-HDR to maximize performance in all environments. Meanwhile, its ultrawide will be capable of creating time-lapses even when walking.
Fluid Display 2.0
The OnePlus 9 Pro boasts the second generation of what OnePlus calls Fluid Display. It keeps the same 120 Hz refresh rate from previous models, but now it can automatically adjust the refresh rate from 120 Hz all the way down to 1 HZ, depending on the scenario. Additionally, it brings what they are calling the Hyper Touch technology, which increases responsiveness by increasing the touch sensitivity to 360 Hz, up from 60 Hz in previous models.
It has a resolution of 1440p and is capable of 1,300 nits of peak brightness, 10-bit color, and HDR10+. OnePlus also boasts its accurate and natural color reproduction with a JNCD (Just Noticeable Colour Difference) of less than 1.0, making it “visually indistinguishable from perfect.” This new display earned an A+ rating from DisplayMate.
Warp charging
The company has developed a reputation for having some of the fastest charging technologies in the smartphone world, and this generation is no exception. With this new line-up, the company introduced Warp Charge 65T, which it claims is capable of charging the OnePlus 9 Pro’s 4500 mAh battery from 1-100% in 29 minutes, thanks to a dual-cell design that reduces resistance and heating while charging.
The OnePlus 9 Pro also comes with warp charging 50 wireless, which they claim is their fastest wireless charging technology ever. By charging both cells at 25W simultaneously, for a total of 50W, it is capable of charging from 1-100% in just 43 minutes. However, you will have to buy the wireless charger separately.
One Plus 9
The OnePlus 9 is powered by the same Snapdragon 888 CPU and an Adreno 660 GPU with 5G connectivity. The base model will have the same 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, with 12GB of RAM and 256Gb of storage option. It is meant to be the midrange option, with the same top-notch specs its bigger brother, but some compromises to bring that price down.
Display and camera
The display in the OnePlus 9 is the same 6.55″ 1080p 120Hz Fluid Display as the previous OnePlus 8T. But just because it was recycled from its predecessor does not mean that it is bad. That display received a DisplayMate A+ rating. It is still a very solid option, it is HDR10+ certified, and it can go up to 1,100 nits of brightness. OnePlus claims industry-leading color accuracy and improved automatic brightness control.
The camera in the OnePlus 9 brings the same calibration and algorithms developed with Hasselblad as the OnePlus 9 Pro. This means that it will also see the same improvements in picture color. It also uses the same 50MP ultrawide camera with Freeform Lens as its Pro version.
For the main camera, the OnePlus 9 will use a 48MP 1/1.43″ Sony IMX689 sensor, the same as the OnePlus 8 Pro, with 12-bit RAW, dual native ISO, and 3-HDR. It also has a monochrome camera, but it will not have a telephoto camera. OnePlus claims that these improvements result in 64 times more color information compared to traditional 10-bit sensors which allow for improvements like higher dynamic range in videos.
Battery
The OnePlus 9 comes with the same dual-cell design 4,500 mAh battery as the 9 Pro, also compatible with Warp Charge 65T. This means that this phone will also be capable of the same claimed 1-100% charge in 29 minutes. There is also 15W wireless charging, but it is not capable of fast wireless charging.
OS and availabilities
As OnePlus updates its line of smartphones, they released the most recent version of OxygenOS. Based on Android 11, OnePlus claims that they maintained their efficient and intuitive Android experience while improving smoothness and customization.
A new feature is the Turbo Boost 3.0, a memory optimization tool that compresses RAM and manages it more efficiently, allowing it to have 25% more apps open. It also features Pro Gaming Mode, which optimizes the CPU and GPU for gaming and blocks notifications to let users make the most of the mobile gaming experience.
The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are available for pre-order and will go on sale on the 26th of March. The OnePlus 9 Pro starts at a $969 base version and increases to $1069 for the upgraded version. Meanwhile, the OnePlus 9 will start at $729 which is $240 cheaper than the Pro. The upgraded spec with 12GB of Ram and 256GB of storage will come in at $829.
YouTube: OnePus 9 Series – Your Best Shot
Photo credits: The images used are owned by OnePlus and have been provided for press usage.
