OnePlus 9 review: Get the OnePlus 9 Pro instead

My temporary opinion on the OnePlus 9

The OnePlus 9 is available in two configurations: a base 8/128GB variant and a pricier 12/256GB choice priced at €719 and €819, respectively. In Europe, this interprets to a marginal worth improve of €20 over the OnePlus 8, and €120 over the OnePlus 8T. At these costs, the OnePlu 9 finds itself competing in opposition to the superb Xiaomi Mi 11 (which I just lately reviewed) – and to not point out, the Samsung Galaxy S21 - which my colleague Ben took an in depth take a look at in his evaluate.

The OnePlus 9 comes powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset, will get a 6.55-inch, 120Hz AMOLED show, the identical 50MP “free-form” ultra-wide-angle lens as discovered on the OnePlus 9 Professional and a largish 4,500 mAh battery. The cellphone lacks a telephoto digicam and will get the “outdated” Sony IMX689 fundamental sensor (versus the IMX789 on the Professional), simply 15 Watts quick charging functionality (in comparison with 50 Watts on the Professional), and the dearth of IP68 certification.

Particular be aware to our readers from India. The OnePlus 9 variant that may go on sale there won’t function wi-fi charging in any respect!

To sum issues up, OnePlus has, like each different Android producer on the market, has churned out this “vanilla” mannequin to cater to people on the lookout for an inexpensive flagship. Within the course of, it additionally makes the OnePlus 9 the least fascinating smartphone in its high-end catalogue. To be very trustworthy, I did discover it tough to love this smartphone as a value-for-money proposition because it didn’t provide an excessive amount of enchancment over its high-end smartphones that have been launched in 2020.

Not a really unique design however sports activities a really good coloration

Just like the
OnePlus 9 Professional
, the OnePlus 9 contains a pretty traditional design for a flagship handset. I additionally thought that the colour scheme was nicely executed and actually made the smartphone stand out.

Briefly, I favored:

• the pinkish Winter Mist color and its mirror impact
• the fairly slim digicam module

Briefly, I didn’t like that it has:

• no microSD reminiscence card slot
• a really conventional design
• no IP68 certification
• a flat show (that is subjective, I do know)

My evaluate unit got here within the Winter Mist color with purple/purple tones whose reflections create a really good pink mirror impact. I additionally had the impression that the coating on the again was meant to ship a visible feast once you take a look at it from completely different angles. Relying in your perspective, the again’s floor displays a special depth of color, and it’s definitely a magnificence to behold.

The show of the OnePlus 9 is flat in contrast to that of the OnePlus 9 Professional, however its again is barely curved with a slope that’s just like that of a Samsung 2.5D glass. We discover the very useful change or “Alert Slider” on the appropriate aspect of the OnePlus 9, which is one thing that has grow to be a OnePlus signature through the years.

The triple digicam module is organized vertically on an oblong island. Not essentially the most unique design, nevertheless it has, at the least, the benefit of not making a nuisance out of itself by protruding in an unpleasant method. Tipping the scales at 192 grams, the OnePlus 9 has a well-balanced weight for a flagship gadget.

Alternatively, the dearth of a microSD reminiscence card slot is a disgrace, whereas skipping on IP68 certification grates on me much more, since this can be a flagship gadget that ought to include the latter on the very least.

General, the OnePlus 9 sports activities a very typical design which doesn’t impress me. There is not an excessive amount of to separate it from the earlier 12 months’s fashions. Nevertheless, the very good coloration and metallic results are worthy of a premium smartphone.

A really good AMOLED 120 Hz show

The OnePlus 9 packs a 6.55-inch Fluid AMOLED show with a Full HD+ 2400 x 1080 pixels decision at 402 ppi (pixel density) in a 20:9 side ratio.
There’s additionally an adaptive 120Hz refresh fee, a most brightness degree of 1,100 nits, and a contact sampling fee of 240Hz.

Briefly, I favored the:

• 120 Hz refresh fee
• most brightness of 1,100 nits

Briefly, I did not just like the:

• “sensible” adaptive refresh fee
• contact sampling fee is proscribed to 240 Hz with out HyperTouch mode

The AMOLED show boasts of fantastic high quality, nevertheless it doesn’t profit from the Fluid Show know-how that’s discovered on the OnePlus 9 Professional. This cellphone additionally missed out on LTPO know-how on the Professional variant that supposedly makes the OnePlus 9 Professional’s show much less power-hungry along with delivering extra contact sensitivity and secure framerate.

I additionally remorse to see that the OnePlus 9 skipped the HyperTouch mode that’s discovered on the Professional mannequin, which will increase the contact sampling fee from 240 to 360 Hz. This implies we’re caught on 240 Hz in perpetuity. Players may discover this to be extra of an annoyance than an everyday smartphone person.

I am additionally a bit sceptical concerning the claimed adaptive refresh fee. By activating the native FPS counter of Android 11, I might see that we dropped from 120 Hz on Name of Obligation: Cell to 60 Hz on YouTube or Netflix. OnePlus even claimed that the refresh fee may even drop all the best way to as little as 1 Hz in terms of studying textual content or viewing images.

Strive as I might, I by no means skilled a 1 Hz refresh fee all through my evaluate. In truth, the bottom refresh fee I achieved was 30 Hz, and that was solely attainable once I was utilizing the keyboard in sure messaging apps or simply utilizing the search bars on Google, Maps, Spotify, or YouTube.

General, I discovered the OnePlus 9’s show to be excellent, interval. And on the similar time, there is no have to make an enormous deal out of it or write a prolonged ode about it. I am not absolutely satisfied by all of the advertising hype surrounding adaptive and sensible refresh charges. Nevertheless, for a flagship gadget that runs on Android, this AMOLED show does, certainly, ship.

The Snapdragon 888 is highly effective however runs scorching

The OnePlus 9 packs the Snapdragon 888 chipset, which is the most recent high-end 5G SoC from Qualcomm.
We discover the tri-cluster construction with one Cortex-X1 clocked at 2.84 GHz, three Cortex-A78 clocked at 2.42 GHz, and 4 Cortex-A55 at 1.8 GHz working beneath the hood.

Briefly, I favored:

• the general gaming expertise supplied
• the sheer energy of Snapdragon 888

Briefly, I didn’t just like the:

• Fnatic mode that doesn’t improve efficiency considerably
• actually unstable framerate after half-hour of recreation time
• aggressive thermal throttling

Just like the Xiaomi Mi 11, some graphics benchmarks do not work as they’re just too outdated to correctly benchmark the Snapdragon 888 chipset. However you’d suspect that by way of uncooked energy, the OnePlus 9 ranks proper on the very high tier.

I used to be even stunned to acquire higher scores than the OnePlus 9 Professional, when every had Fnatic and Gaming Professional modes enabled.

I additionally seen a really sturdy tendency of the OnePlus 9 to allow thermal throttling very early on at any time when the temperature begins to rise slightly. Thermal throttling is a security mechanism inside a chipset that limits efficiency to stop overheating. It’s a double-edged sword however an important one and works finest if correctly carried out. The smartphone didn’t really feel as if it was overheating shortly upon touching it, however the inside temperature does rise fairly shortly.

In our 20-minute take a look at session of the Wild Life Stress Check benchmark, the OnePlus 9 went from 35 to 43°C, which was not irregular, nevertheless it was unable to take care of a secure framerate, oscillating between 13 and 42 FPS. In truth, as quickly because the smartphone reached 40°C, the framerate plummetted and remained under 20 FPS.

Once more, I wish to remind you that these Wild Life benchmarks simulate unrealistic and actually intense utilization that almost all smartphone customers won’t expertise within the first place. Nevertheless, I would fairly OnePlus enhance its cooling system than throttle its efficiency to keep away from overheating.

The Hasselblad digicam module

The OnePlus 9 packs a triple digicam module co-developed with Hasselblad with the next specs:

• 48 MP wide-angle prime lens: Sony IMX689, 1/1.43″ (sensor dimension), 2.24μm (pixel dimension with 4-in-1 binning), EIS, f/1.8 aperture, 23mm equal
• 50 MP ultra-wide angle lens: Sony IMX766, 1/1.56″ (sensor dimension), freeform lens, f/2.2 aperture, 14mm equal
• 2 MP monochrome sensor

Broad-angle images on the OnePlus 9

The OnePlus 9’s fundamental 48MP sensor is just not the identical one as discovered on the Professional mannequin. It is the Sony IMX689 that’s used on the OnePlus 8 Professional, and never the newer Sony IMX789 that powers the OnePlus 9 Professional. Nevertheless, it’s a considerably higher performer than the older Sony IMX586 that you just see on the OnePlus 8T.

The spotlight of this Hasselblad digicam module could be the colorimetry. I discover the colours to be barely saturated however not oversaturated. General, I actually just like the outcome, though there are occasions when the images gave the impression to be too sharp to the eyes.

The spotlight of the 48 MP fundamental sensor could be help for native twin ISO, 12-bit RAW, and 3-HDR. This 3-HDR know-how that was unveiled on the OnePlus 8 Professional final 12 months supposedly harmonized the publicity of each the background and foreground, in order that it could actually obtain a wider dynamic vary.

For the file, I discover the dynamic vary administration disappointing in comparison with the OnePlus 9 Professional. Take a look at the second picture of the Previous Museum in Berlin under. The columns on the entrance facade are completely drowned in shadows whereas the scene stays completely vivid with none backlight.

The OnePlus 9’s ultra-wide angle images

The OnePlus 9 packs the identical Sony IMX766 ultra-wide-angle lens because the OnePlus 9 Professional, which is an “improve” from the 48 MP on the OnePlus 8 Professional sensor. The primary distinction could be the combination of so-called “freeform” lenses, that are alleged to restrict the distortion impact to lower than 1%.

I discovered that the extremely extensive angle photographs had a slight coloration inconsistency in comparison with the extensive angle photographs. However the massive 1/1.56-inch sensor, which is bigger than that on the Samsung Galaxy S21, captured sufficient gentle to supply a great diploma of element even for those who can see the digital smoothing when evaluating it to wide-angle photographs.

Zooming in with the OnePlus 9

Sadly, the OnePlus 9 doesn’t profit from the telephoto lens that continues to be the unique area of the OnePlus 9 Professional. Truthfully, I might have most well-liked a telephoto lens, even a mediocre one, to the 2MP monochrome sensor.

This makes the magnification a purely digital effort and provides zoom ranges from 2x to 10x. After all, the extent of element drops significantly when you transcend the 2x mark.

I feel it is an actual disgrace to go and not using a telephoto lens that brings a lot versatility and helps enrich the person expertise. This must be customary for any flagship. In truth, I made this similar criticism when it involved the Xiaomi Mi 11.

How are evening photographs on the OnePlus 9?

At evening, I discovered the OnePlus 9 to carry out fairly nicely, just like the Professional mannequin. The devoted evening mode, often known as Night time Scape, solely works with the ultra-wide and fundamental wide-angle lenses. Underneath good lighting situations the place city lighting is anxious, it would not power the publicity an excessive amount of and the photographs stay “pure”, letting you recognize that it was taken at evening.

I discovered that the OnePlus 9 handles sturdy gentle sources fairly nicely by stopping city lighting from completely burning out the picture, for instance. Digital noise is clearly current and this clearly permits the sharpness degree to take a success.

Even with the ultra-wide angle lens, a sensor that has a variety of bother in low gentle, the OnePlus 9 fares much better than lots of its Android opponents.

General, I discovered that OnePlus has made very clear progress by way of images. Nevertheless, I discovered Hasselblad’s contribution to be too restricted on the OnePlus 9 because it doesn’t profit from the most recent know-how that was carried out within the Professional mannequin. The digicam module fares higher than the OnePlus 8 and 8T, nevertheless it nonetheless lags behind the Galaxy S21.

Strong battery life however no 50W wi-fi charging

The OnePlus 9 packs a 4,500mAh dual-cell battery and provides Warp Cost 65T wired quick charging however not the brand new Warp Cost wi-fi charging at 50 watts, which is reserved for the Professional mannequin.

Briefly, I favored the:

• strong battery life
• Warp Cost 65T wired cost

Briefly, I did not just like the:

• 4,500 mAh battery capability that might have been bigger
• lacking 50 Watts wi-fi charging help that continues to be unique to the Professional mannequin (restricted to simply 15 Watts on the bottom mannequin)
• No wi-fi charging on the India-spec mannequin

On a day-to-day foundation, the OnePlus 9 lasted 13 hours earlier than falling under the 20% remaining battery life mark. That is barely longer than the OnePlus 9 Professional. It’s positively an above-average rating contemplating how I did push this smartphone laborious throughout my benchmark checks and picture shoots with the display settings at Full HD+/120 Hz (adaptive refresh fee).

The Warp Cost 65T wired quick charging already debuted alongside the OnePlus 8T, which additionally sported the identical 4,500mAh dual-cell battery. I used to be in a position to cost the OnePlus 9 from 0% to 100% in simply half-hour or barely much less, on common.

As for testing out the Warp Cost 50 Watt wi-fi charger, sadly, I forgot to carry dwelling the wi-fi charger from the workplace to my dwelling. It will not have made any distinction anyway, as the bottom OnePlus 9 is proscribed to simply 15 Watts when charging wirelessly.

The OnePlus 9’s battery life is respectable with its 4,500 mAh battery, regardless of the battery capability not wowing anybody in principle. The Warp Cost 65T continues to be very environment friendly and nice to make use of.

OnePlus 9 specs

Conclusion