New Delhi: OnePlus has seen steep growth in the India market over the years, building a fan base that swears by the brand. The launch of the new 9 series is all set to further cement its position as a “flagship killer”.
The launch of OnePlus 9 Pro with a focus on an improved camera technology developed in partnership with Swedish company Hasselblad sends a strong signal to its competitors that it is ready to take on the big guns.
The pricing is a statement in itself. The phone comes in two variants. While 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage variant was launched at Rs 64,999, the 12+256GB variant was introduced at Rs 69,999.
After using the 12GB+256GB variant of the phone in Morning Mist colour for a brief period, it becomes abundantly clear that the company has worked hard to justify the cost.
When it comes to the specifications, the phone is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, making the device suitable for heavy use.
This also makes the phone a delight for gamers. Moreover, it comes with an improved gaming-grade cooling system, OnePlus Cool Play, to help with heat dissipation during intensive gaming.
To allow users to fully dive into their favourite mobile games, the “Pro Gaming Mode” lets one unlock the power of the phone’s CPU and GPU and blocks app notifications, calls and other distractions.
As already mentioned, the focus, of the phone, however, is in the camera technology. The partnership with Hasselblad, prominently displayed at the protruding quad camera set up at the back, has helped the device bring more accurate and natural-looking colours to smartphone photography.
We found that the phone camera really gives users a chance to have a realistic picture of what they want to capture – both during the day and at night.
The 48MP main camera features a custom-designed IMX789 sensor, co-engineered with Sony, with a large 1/1.4-inch sensor and its 50MP ultra-wide camera helps lower the noise. What will delight photography lovers is that the camera technology significantly brings down the distortion at the edge of photos.
For capturing photos during the night, the Nightscape mode is a real boon. The device also has a 16MP front camera.
When it comes to design, OnePlus 9 Pro really stands out with its bezel-less curved edges and aluminum frame on the sides and glossy mirror-finish at the back.
With its low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) technology, the OnePlus 9 Pro’s display automatically adjusts the refresh rate from 120Hz all the way down to 1Hz depending on usage, leading to lower power consumption.
The 6.7-inch screen with Fluid AMOLED display is a big plus for enjoying your entertainment sessions or gaming.
Backed by a 4,500mAh battery, the device supports 65W wired fast charging technology and a 50W wireless charging, dramatically reducing the time spent on charging the phone.
The sound quality and volume that the dual stereo speakers of the phone produce is really laudable.
However, in camera department, iPhone 12 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra still appear to have the edge when compared to the OnePlus 9 Pro.
We have found that despite being a camera-focused phone, the device appears to have paid less attention to the concerns of the selfie lovers, especially when it comes to taking pictures with the front camera in low-light conditions.
But it must also be mentioned that even with the front camera, the pictures appear more realistic than what is possible with many other Android phones.
Conclusion: Overall, we think that the OnePlus 9 Pro is an extremely elegant device built to deliver superior performance for those who look for class in Android devices.