The OnePlus 9 Pro is a real flagship phone that is truly competitive with the best Android phones in the market, at least in terms of features and quality. Yet it is still designed to be a niche device for the small group of enthusiasts seeking a particular elegance on their Android device in terms of the market and mental sharing. Fast after seven years and thousands of telephones, OnePlus has developed into a brand that can manufacture great telephones which are major alternatives. The $969 OnePlus 9 Pro accomplishes this goal with only a few noteworthy compromises.
OnePlus’ flagship phones still come with a laundry list of top-of-the-line specs, but what makes the OnePlus 9 Pro special is how well those specs translate into one of the best Android experiences available. The OnePlus 9 Pro’s hardware design is the most seamless and elegant that the company has created to date. It is, of course, enormous. It has a 6.7-inch screen that extends from edge to edge in a body that is narrow enough that a person can only use it with one hand. With no seams, the glass on the front and backbends into the aluminium rail on the corners. It’s well-balanced, lovely, and sturdy.
OnePlus 9 Pro specs:
- 7 inch AMOLED display with 1440 x 3216p at 525 ppi and smart 120 Hz refresh rate
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 with 8/128 GB and 12/256GB options
- 48MP main camera + 50MP ultra wide + 8MP telephoto and 2MP monochrome + 16MP front camera
- 8K video recording at 30fps | 4500 mAh battery with Warp Charge 65T (10V/6.5A) Warp Charge 50 Wireless
- OxygenOS based on Android 11
197g.The standout feature of OnePlus is its proprietary charging technology. A 65W charger is included in the box, and it can charge the phone very quickly. The phone’s 4,500mAh battery is actually split in two, which lets it charge at 25W faster. However, since the battery is split, charging at 25W is technically the same as charging at 50W wirelessly. With the phone entirely dead, it is charged in 45 minutes. It takes a little longer with ambient mode enabled in Google Assistant, but it is still lightning fast compared to other wireless chargers.
Following wireless charging, the 6.7-inch screen is the OnePlus 9 Pro’s next standout feature. OnePlus, like Samsung, has migrated to an LTPO style of OLED, which is more power-efficient and gives the company more control over the refresh rate. Depending on what is happening on the display, the LCD will go from 120Hz to 1Hz. OnePlus has branded the screen’s touch response rate as “Hyper Touch,” which is clocked at 360Hz for some games.
The camera system is solid, but it can’t compete with the quality of an iPhone 12 Pro Max or a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, both of which are more expensive than the OnePlus 9 Pro. It performs admirably in a wide range of environments. The primary camera employs a new Sony 48-megapixel sensor. The telephoto camera has a zoom of 3.3 xs, which isn’t particularly impressive. The camera system is solid, but it can’t compete with the quality of an iPhone 12 Pro Max or a Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, both of which are more expensive than the OnePlus 9 Pro.
OxygenOS is the OnePlus’ version of Android, and it is currently at version 11. The company has taken Samsung’s notion of moving content down to meet your thumb and added support for an always-on ambient display. The animations are smooth, and OnePlus has learnt the painful lesson of having apps close in the background too often. OnePlus has committed to two main OS upgrades and three years of bi-monthly security updates, putting it ahead of brands such as LG but trailing Samsung and Google.
The OnePlus 9 Pro does not qualify as a “flagship killer.” It’s the company’s flagship. Although it is slightly less expensive than its top-tier rivals, it is still a costly phone that makes a lot of promises. It mostly delivers on them. Even though OnePlus phones are purchased by a small percentage of consumers when compared to Apple and Samsung, the company has maintained a track record long enough to warrant its status as an established brand. The rationale to choose the 9 Pro over the normal 9 is similar to why you’d choose an OnePlus phone over a Samsung phone in the first place: it’s just a little nicer and different than what everyone else has in their pocket.
