It’s no secret that OnePus has struggled with consistency with its smartphone cameras through the years, however it goals to place an finish to all of the damaging press with its new OnePlus 9 sequence. The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro’s new digital camera sensors have been co-developed below the guiding hand of Swedish digital camera producer Hasselblad, which guarantees to convey its iconic color science to OnePlus’ telephone cameras. Hasselblad, well-known for its medium format cameras that captured the lunar landings throughout NASA’s Apollo missions (which explains the teasers), has entered a long-term partnership with OnePlus.
It’s not unusual to see smartphone producers associate with big-name digital camera or lens makers so as to increase the credibility of their merchandise. When achieved proper, it might result in excellent outcomes that really profit the tip person, for example Sony’s lengthy standing partnership with Zeiss and Huawei’s partnership with Leica. Among all of the OnePlus smartphones I’ve examined up to now, I can confidently say that the OnePlus 8 Pro got here the closest to having a terrific digital camera setup, barring its selfie digital camera.
OnePlus hopes to raise its cameras to true flagship stage, particularly with the 9 Pro, and the corporate has Apple and Samsung in its sights. Apart from the cameras, the 9 Pro can also be a true-blue flagship with all of the cutting-edge options and specs one would usually anticipate. It’s time for OnePlus to place its cash the place its advertising is. We’re about to seek out out simply how a lot of a profit you may anticipate from the OnePlus-Hasselblad partnership and the way a lot of it’s simply hype.
OnePlus 9 Pro worth in India and variants
The OnePlus 9 Pro is on the market in two variants in India: one with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage priced at Rs. 64,999, and the opposite with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage worth at Rs. 69,999. OnePlus despatched me the latter variant for evaluate within the Morning Mist color. The RAM and storage used on the OnePlus 9 Pro are LPDDR5 and UFS 3.1.
The new greater pricing makes the OnePlus 9 Pro a correct flagship and a full-fledged competitor to Samsung’s S sequence and Apple’s yearly iPhone refreshes. The OnePlus 8 Pro shed the “flagship killer” picture final 12 months when it went all out by way of options, placing it on par with the massive weapons. OnePlus has been steadily bumping up its pricing through the years, however in comparison with the 8 Pro’s modest enhance in worth final 12 months, it is a sizable soar of almost Rs. 10,000 over the earlier mannequin. A number of elements have contributed to this such, as the brand new Hasselblad partnership and materials prices, to not point out native taxes.
I suppose the massive query is, are followers keen to pay almost Rs. 70,000 for a OnePlus telephone?
OnePlus 9 Pro design
OnePlus hasn’t gone too loopy with the design of the OnePlus 9 Pro, which could be a good or a nasty factor, relying on the way you see it. I do not actually thoughts it. The core form and dimensions make this telephone much like the OnePlus 8 Pro, nevertheless the 9 Pro is barely thicker at 8.7mm and a bit lighter (197g). It has an aluminium body, and Gorilla Glass on the curved back and front. It appears to be like and feels premium, however I’d advocate the Pine Green or Stellar Black colors which have matte finishes, versus the mirror gloss end of the Morning Mist trim that I’ve.
The OnePlus 9 Pro has related dimensions because the 8 Pro, however with a brand new rear design
The OnePlus 9 Pro is a tall smartphone however I rapidly obtained used to the position of the quantity and energy buttons. Tactile suggestions is nice and the alert slider works as anticipated. There’s no headphone jack however the dual-SIM tray, USB Type-C port (USB 3.1 Gen1), and bottom-firing speaker are in the identical positions as they’re on the 8 Pro. The OnePlus 9 Pro retains the IP68 mud and water resistance ranking of its predecessor however will get an upgraded 50W (up from 30W) wi-fi charging system. More on this later.
OnePlus has switched to an LTPO OLED show for the OnePlus 9 Pro, which the corporate claims cuts energy consumption by as much as 50 % in comparison with the earlier mannequin. It’s a 6.7-inch show with a QHD+ decision, 120Hz refresh charge, and HDR10+ certification. The refresh charge is variable primarily based on the app getting used. You additionally get a brand new function known as Hyper Touch, which when enabled, is alleged to enhance contact response for sure video games equivalent to Call of Duty: Mobile.
The field contents of the OnePlus 9 Pro features a 65W charger, Type-C to Type-C knowledge cable, SIM eject software, stickers, case, and the standard documentation. It’s good to see the quick charger and different equipment nonetheless included with the telephone, in contrast to the sparse contents of Samsung and Apple’s flagship telephone bins.
OnePlus 9 Pro specs and software program
OnePlus has picked Qualcomm’s greatest present SoC, the Snapdragon 888. Announced in late 2020, this new beast of a chip was initially seen within the international variants of Samsung’s Galaxy S21 sequence. In India we briefly skilled it within the Asus ROG Phone 5, however this will likely be our first full evaluate. The Snapdragon 888 makes use of an identical CPU construction because the Samsung Exynos 2100, however we’ll see how efficiency truly differs between the 2. It’s constructed on a 5nm course of and options Qualcomm’s built-in X60 5G modem.
The OnePlus 9 Pro makes use of a brand new LTPO OLED show with the identical QHD+ decision because the 8 Pro
The OnePlus 9 Pro offered in India helps simply two 5G bands (N41, N78) for each SA and NSA modes, which is lower than in different areas such because the US and Europe. This won’t be such a giant deal now given the state of 5G in India, however it’s one thing to remember.
Other than the speedy RAM and storage that I discussed earlier, the OnePlus 9 Pro additionally options dual-band Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, NFC, stereo audio system, an in-display fingerprint sensor, and a number of satellite tv for pc navigation programs. The firm additionally says it has used a bigger vapour chamber, thicker graphite sheets, and a bigger copper coil within the OnePlus 9 Pro — all for the only goal of managing greater temperatures higher.
OxygenOS continues to be a pleasure to make use of, and it nonetheless is among the greatest Android skins round. My OnePlus 9 Pro evaluate unit shipped with barely buggy firmware however I did obtain an OTA replace which mounted a lot of the points I had. I nonetheless suppose a number of extra updates are wanted to iron out some leftover bugs. For occasion, the 9 Pro’s always-on show will get actually dim intermittently, to some extent the place it is barely seen. The framerate within the digital camera viewfinder appears to be caught at 30fps even after you choose 60fps, which wasn’t the case earlier than the replace.
This is Oxygen OS 11, which is predicated on Android 11. It appears to be like and feels very acquainted to what we final skilled on the OnePlus 8T. Other than a number of unique settings for the 9 sequence equivalent to ‘Ultra-high video decision’ and ‘Hyper Touch’, there’s not rather a lot that is new.
Oxygen OS 11 on the OnePlus 9 Pro wants a little bit of polish however in any other case, the expertise may be very acquainted
OnePlus’s excessive gaming mode, known as Fnatic Mode, has been renamed to Pro Gaming mode since its partnership with Fnatic has ended. However, I nonetheless discovered remnants of Fnatic Mode branding, together with the hidden wallpapers, within the firmware that I used to be utilizing.
OnePlus 9 Pro efficiency and battery life
The fast and snappy efficiency of the OnePlus 9 Pro ought to come as no shock, given the sort of {hardware} it is packing. The show is good, producing wealthy and vibrant colors with wonderful legibility in any lighting. Scrolling menus and lists feels fluid, and even easy issues like dismissing apps and multitasking are extremely responsive. Video content material on this show is an actual deal with because the brightness is great and colors look energetic.
I used to be proud of the accuracy of the in-display fingerprint sensor, though I needed it had been positioned a bit greater up like it’s on the 8 Pro. You have to carry out some finger acrobatics to achieve it in case you’re holding the telephone. The Customisation choice within the Settings app enables you to tweak the look of the OnePlus 9 Pro, together with the clock faces on the ambient show, fingerprint sensor animations, and edge lighting for incoming alerts. I additionally like the truth that the sides of the show are barely much less curved in comparison with the OnePlus 8 Pro, which helps in stopping unintentional touches.
The Snapdragon 888 is a really highly effective SoC and has greater than sufficient energy to deal with at present’s apps and video games. Benchmark numbers had been strong, particularly in AnTuTu, during which it simply beat the Exynos 2100 with a rating of 6,86,911 factors in comparison with 5,95,576 factors.
The OnePlus 9 Pro’s bodily design is kind of ergonomic and simple to deal with for on a regular basis use
Games ran exceptionally nicely too. Call of Duty: Mobile, Asphalt 9: Legends, and Riptide GP: Renegade appeared gorgeous with their graphics settings maxed out. Most of the video games I examined ran at 60fps, aside from some equivalent to Fortnite and Brawl Stars which might benefit from the excessive refresh charge on the OnePlus 9 Pro.
I did not discover any heating when enjoying video games for brief durations, nevertheless, something over 15-20 minutes and you will really feel warmth alongside the steel body and glass again. I additionally acquired an overheating warning when utilizing the digital camera outdoor on a sunny day. The telephone refused to let me shoot even nonetheless images until after it cooled down. It’s not unusual for telephones to warmth up with heavy digital camera use, however I have not come throughout this extreme a problem since most likely the Sony Xperia Z sequence days.
The Hyper Touch choice is alleged to extend the contact responsiveness of the show by as much as six occasions in choose video games equivalent to PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty: Mobile, League or Legends, and Brawl Stars. I’m not a heavy cell gamer so I personally did not discover a lot of a distinction with it on or off, however your expertise could fluctuate.
Audio efficiency can also be price noting on the OnePlus 9 Pro. The backside speaker and the earpiece collectively produce high-quality stereo sound which is enhanced with Dolby Atmos. I discovered the stereo impact to be excellent, be it when gaming or watching movies.
The new ‘Ultra-high video decision’ show choice goals to enhance the readability of movies in sure apps equivalent to Instagram. In my expertise, video posts do seem a tiny bit sharper however you actually need to have a eager eye to identify any distinction.
Compared to the OnePlus 8 Pro, I discovered the OnePlus 9 Pro a little bit simpler to stay with. The diminished weight, smaller digital camera bulge, and milder curvature of the show would possibly appear to be small modifications however they do affect usability in a giant manner.
Battery life was fairly passable through the evaluate interval. The OnePlus 9 Pro has a 4,500mAh battery which is an identical capability to that of the OnePlus 8 Pro. There’s additionally help for 65W quick charging, like with the OnePlus 8T (Review). OnePlus calls this Warp Charge 65T now, which similar to on the 8T, prices two smaller battery cells as a substitute of a single giant one for a faster top-up. This enables you to cost the OnePlus 9 Pro absolutely in about half an hour.
The OnePlus 9 Pro helps the corporate’s new Warp Charge Wireless 50 quick charging tech
What’s new is quicker wi-fi charging. OnePlus has launched its Warp Charge 50 wi-fi charger, which because the title suggests, can now wirelessly cost the 9 Pro at as much as 50W. OnePlus despatched me the charger as nicely, and in my testing, I used to be capable of cost the 9 Pro fully in roughly 45 minutes, which is fairly neat. The 9 Pro additionally helps reverse wi-fi charging, which helps you to cost different Qi-compatible gadgets with the telephone.
Even with heavy use, I constantly managed to get a full day’s price of battery life, which I believe most individuals needs to be very proud of. In our HD video loop check, the OnePlus 9 Pro ran for simply shy of 16 hours.
OnePlus 9 Pro cameras
Before we dive into the efficiency of the cameras, let’s dissect OnePlus’ partnership with Hasselblad to know the extent of its involvement. You’ll discover the Swedish digital camera maker’s branding in every single place, from the packaging to the again of the telephone. Based on the best way OnePlus has been advertising this partnership, many would assume that you just’re getting Hasselblad sensors or at the very least lenses with the OnePlus 9 sequence, which is definitely not the case. For these two telephones, Hasselblad has solely helped tune the color processing algorithms of JPEG images while you shoot in Auto or Pro mode.
Hasselblad’s color science has improved pores and skin tones on the OnePlus 9 Pro, in comparison with the 8 Pro
The color distinction is noticeable in images of individuals, as pores and skin tones look hotter and a bit extra pure in comparison with the colors produced by the OnePlus 8 Pro. This distinction is amplified when taking pictures portraits of individuals below synthetic gentle. For landscapes or different topics, the distinction is much less pronounced.
Hasselblad’s affect is seen within the design of the digital camera shutter button too, which is now an orange dot, similar to on Hasselblad cameras. However, this appears to be the extent of the profit you may anticipate from this partnership on the 9 sequence. We may see deeper integration of Hasselblad’s experience in future OnePlus smartphones, however that is all conjecture for now.
The OnePlus 9 Pro does have model new rear sensors, that are stated to be custom-developed with Sony. The major digital camera has a 48-megapixel Sony IMX789 sensor with options equivalent to twin native ISO, 2×2 on-chip lens for faster focus, and DOL-HDR for higher dynamic vary in backlit photographs for each stills and video. It can even seize 12-bit RAW recordsdata, as a substitute of 10-bit, for elevated color data. You’ll nonetheless want a third-party app equivalent to Adobe Lightroom to edit RAW recordsdata on the OnePlus 9 Pro, because the default gallery app does not help it.
The new digital camera sensors within the OnePlus 9 Pro ofter delicate however helpful enhancements in comparison with the OnePlus 8 Pro
Next up is a model new ultra-wide digital camera with a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 sensor with a freeform lens to chop barrel distortion (fish-eye impact) on the {hardware} stage even earlier than the picture is processed. It has autofocus and can be utilized for macro images too. The telephoto digital camera has an optically stabilised 8-megapixel sensor with 3.3X optical zoom and 30X digital zoom. There’s a brand new Tilt-Shift taking pictures mode for simulating the miniaturising impact of a tilt-shift lens.
Sadly, the selfie digital camera remains to be the identical Sony IMX471 from the OnePlus Eight sequence, which is now lengthy overdue for an improve. The OnePlus 9 Pro additionally has a fourth monochrome digital camera (2-megapixels) which is used solely when you choose the black-and-white filter within the digital camera app.
Let’s begin with the ultra-wide digital camera, which captures wonderful particulars and colors through the day. There’s barely any seen distortion on objects, particularly across the edges of the body. Exposures and colors had been barely higher in comparison with what the OnePlus 8 Pro’s ultra-wide digital camera can handle. Objects in the direction of the sides of the body had barely higher particulars in comparison with the ultra-wide cameras of the iPhone 12 Pro Max (Review) and Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (Review).
OnePlus 9 Pro major digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
OnePlus 9 Pro ultra-wide digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
OnePlus 9 Pro macro digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
OnePlus 9 Pro close-up digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
The digital camera app will robotically change to the ultra-wide digital camera in case you go shut sufficient to your topic for macro images. Thanks to using this lens and sensor, macro photographs pack in wonderful particulars. Even in low gentle, the ultra-wide digital camera captured excellent particulars, colors appeared pure, and distortion was at a minimal.
The new sensor within the main digital camera of the OnePlus 9 Pro gives improved particulars in comparison with photographs taken with the 8 Pro, and the standard you can anticipate comes near what current-gen flagship telephones from Apple and Samsung can handle. Close-ups have wonderful sharpness, and colors have pleasing ranges of saturation. Portrait mode works very nicely too, although you continue to can’t alter the extent of background defocus earlier than or after taking the shot. The new Tilt-Shift taking pictures mode is a enjoyable addition, which can lead to some attention-grabbing images.
OnePlus 9 Pro low-light major digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
OnePlus 9 Pro ultra-wide Nightscape digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
The OnePlus 9 Pro additionally captures spectacular low-light images. It robotically reduces the shutter pace a bit so you do not have to change to Nightscape mode manually to get a great publicity. It may use a bit extra tweaking although, as textures can look a bit grainy while you enlarge images all the best way.
The telephoto digital camera on the OnePlus 9 Pro has the identical specs as that of the 8 Pro, aside from an extended focal size. This means you get 3.3X optical zoom, versus 3X. At this focal size, the 9 Pro captures good particulars, though I discovered colors a bit muted when taking pictures below daylight, in comparison with the 8 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and even the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Images are nonetheless usable when captured at 10X zoom, however something past that typically has weak particulars and colors.
OnePlus 9 Pro telephoto comparability
OnePlus 9 Pro telephoto digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
The Galaxy S21 Ultra remains to be the grasp of zoom, as even at 30X, it manages vastly superior images in comparison with what the OnePlus 9 Pro can produce. In low gentle, the 9 Pro will truly use the telephoto digital camera for stills, as a substitute of simply digitally zooming in with the primary digital camera. Autofocus is a bit sluggish, however the closing picture high quality could be excellent relying on the lighting.
Compared to the brand new rear sensors, the selfie digital camera is disappointing. Skin tones look hotter than they do with the OnePlus 8 Pro, which is nice, however faces lack the pure look of, say, an iPhone. The colors of different objects equivalent to clothes are sometimes unnaturally saturated. Selfies taken in low gentle look a bit grainy, and textures aren’t nicely outlined. You cannot use Nightscape with the entrance digital camera, and movies are nonetheless restricted to 1080p. The selfie digital camera was certainly one of my major gripes with the OnePlus 8 Pro, and sadly, nothing has but been mounted.
OnePlus 9 Pro low-light selfie digital camera pattern (faucet to see bigger picture)
Thanks to its highly effective SoC, the OnePlus 9 Pro’s video capabilities have gotten a neat improve. You can now shoot 8K 30fps stabilised movies or as much as 4K 120fps. Oddly, there is no 1080p 120fps choice. During my testing, I seen that the 9 Pro was capable of solely shoot a single 5 minute 8K clip, and it stopped recording mid-way by way of the subsequent clip as a result of overheating. This occurred when recording at 4K 120fps too, however decrease framerates at 4K and under did not appear to set off any alarm bells. While I initially seen this drawback when taking pictures outdoor through the day, it occurred indoors a number of occasions too. The telephone cooled down after a couple of minutes however this is perhaps a problem in case you plan on doing a variety of video work with the 9 Pro.
The high quality of movies was excellent when taking pictures through the day and likewise at night time. Stabilisation works very nicely at 4K, with no jitter or shakiness even in low gentle. At 4K 30fps, you may change between the primary and ultra-wide cameras, however not the telephoto (any zoom will likely be digital solely). However, at 1080p, hitting the three.3X button will change to the telephoto digital camera. When taking pictures at 8K, or 4K 60fps and above, you are restricted to 5 minutes per clip. You get Nightscape for video, which improves the publicity in very darkish conditions but in addition introduces noise. HDR in movies is enabled robotically when taking pictures backlit topics at 1080p or 4K at 30fps, due to the DOL-HDR function of the primary sensor.
Verdict
OnePlus already had a reasonably strong basis to construct the OnePlus 9 Pro upon. The OnePlus 8 Pro nonetheless is among the greatest telephones the corporate has made up to now, and the 9 Pro is an evolutionary replace of it. The newer 5G SoC, sooner wired charging, and improved cameras are all capabilities we had been anticipating it to have, and it positively delivers. The model new options embrace 50W wi-fi charging and a extra power-efficient OLED show. All these enhancements make the OnePlus 9 Pro one more strong OnePlus flagship, worthy of its Pro badge.
The Hasselblad partnership is after all the primary speaking level every time OnePlus mentions the cameras of the 9 sequence, however I do suppose what makes the rear cameras excellent has extra to do with the {hardware} than anything. Certain colors equivalent to pores and skin tones have improved in comparison with the 8 Pro, however different options such because the 12-bit RAW, DOL-HDR, and distortion-free ultra-wide images are all all the way down to the {hardware}. The selfie digital camera is probably the weakest hyperlink in an in any other case well-rounded digital camera setup.
The OnePlus 9 Pro telephone is not with out its points although. There are fairly a number of bugs within the software program that want ironing out, it does overheat with heavy digital camera use, and maybe a greater telephoto implementation equivalent to a periscope lens would have been becoming for the value.
Speaking of which, costs for the OnePlus 9 Pro are a lot greater than you may need anticipated – you will must pay Rs. 69,999 in case you go for the 12GB variant. A Rs. 10,000 soar in worth in comparison with the 8 Pro will likely be a little bit exhausting to digest for a lot of followers, however wanting on the larger image, that is nonetheless decrease than Samsung and Apple’s flagship pricing. If you do not want issues like 8K recording and 50W wi-fi charging, the OnePlus 8 Pro remains to be nice worth, much more so if you should buy it on sale for lower than its launch worth.
There’s additionally the OnePlus 9 to contemplate, beginning at Rs. 49,999, which may show to be the extra well-liked mannequin of the 2. And what does OnePlus have in retailer for us with the OnePlus 9R? We’ll have the reply to that query, and plenty of others, very quickly.
Has the Redmi Note 10 Series raised the bar within the price range telephone market in India? We mentioned this on Orbital, our weekly know-how podcast, which you’ll subscribe to through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or simply hit the play button under.
