Vertical Divider
The OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus Announced
​
The OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 9 both feature the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, 8/12GB RAM, 128/256GB storage, and a 4,500mAh battery, and both offer a 120Hz variable refresh rate display, along with fast-charging now at 65W, as per the OnePlus 8T from last year. And both feature new Hasselblad camera tuning. Oh, and the alert slider remains, and no headphone jack.
  • The OnePlus 9 Pro has a bigger and higher-resolution 6.7-inch 3168x1440 AMOLED, with a slight curve for hand feel, said OnePlus. It also packs 50W wireless charging, IP68 water resistance, 5G mmWave support, and a better camera system, plus telephoto.
  • The OnePlus 9 is a flat 6.55-inch AMOLED display, at a lower 2400x1080 resolution, with 15W wireless charging, no IP rating (although it is IP-rated from T-Mobile), and no mmWave support, losing the telephoto lens and main camera OIS.
  • The OnePlus presentation really pitched it as Apple iPhone 12 series competition, including a very Apple-like slide of features/specs (Twitter) for whatever reason.
  • My thought is that while it’s good OnePlus is gunning for the king, its real competition is with Samsung and the S21 series. More on that below.
  • Also released: the OnePlus 9R, only in India, which retained the AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 65W wired charging, dropped to a Snapdragon 870, and dropped the main camera to a much lower spec quad setup. It starts at 39,999 rupees, or around $550, not that anyone outside of India will be getting it for now.
  • Annnnd, the OnePlus Watch, a sub-$200 wearable. It’s a 1.4-inch round face watch, 326 PPI AMOLED display, and 402mAh battery for “two-weeks” of extended use. Without Google’s WearOS on-board, it’s more like a smart-ish watch: lots of fitness features, with some smart integrations, but few apps. It does offer a heart rate sensor, spot blood oxygen/SpO2 checks, stress detection, sleep monitoring, and users can make and receive calls, respond to notifications, and take photos remotely.
  • While Samsung dropped the pricing of its Galaxy S21 series, the OnePlus 9 Pro has lifted pricing again.
  • The OnePlus 9 Pro starts at $969 (up $70 from the 8 Pro at $899 last year). That’s only $30 off the $999 Galaxy S21 Plus. The top model with 12GB RAM/256GB storage is $1,069, $130 off the Galaxy S21 Ultra.
  • The OnePlus 9 starts at $729, which is up from $699 for the OnePlus 8, but down $20 while the 8T was $749.
Reviews:
  • Oneplus 9 Pro review: “OnePlus blended a smattering of specs and features into a cohesive whole that makes the 9 Pro a phone that nearly topples the industry leaders. Nearly. It boasts a great design and display, excellent performance, and improved imaging, but misstepped a bit with battery life and 5G support... It is OnePlus' best smartphone in years and one wholly worth considering even at just shy of $1,000.”
  • There’s a lot of focus on the cameras, and the good news is: “OnePlus has done a fine job in closing the gap with its competitors,” though no system is perfect. The downsides, though, are much smaller than usual. 
  • OnePlus 9 review: “The OnePlus 9 is a more comprehensive affordable flagship package than ever before. However, there are some familiar caveats necessary to keep the price down and it may not be the best value proposition on the market right now. Even so, this is definitely a phone that should be on your shortlist if you want amazing specs and a near-premium experience without breaking the bank.”
One thought:
  • Samsung has managed to remain on top of Android in the US for years now, rarely beaten on individual components like camera or performance, and almost never beaten as a whole. As the biggest Android dog, it also has the tightest grip on carriers, along with marketing dominance, and is most likely to be seen in-store or in a deal.
Nikkei Asia reported that Samsung is working on a smartphone that will fold in two places. This phone is expected to be released this year. The source adds that Samsung has previously filed several patent applications for such a double-fold design. We are talking about a smartphone in a new form factor, which will accompany the successors of the foldable smartphones Galaxy Z Fold 2 and Z Flip, expected in the middle of this year.
 
Figure 1: Samsung’s Trifold
​Samsung Display will begin selling foldable displays with Ultra-thin Glass (UTG) to other brands from 2H’21 leading to a number of new products. In fact, we expect to see at least 12 different foldable and rollable smartphones on the market from at least 8 brands and shipments of more than three million units in Q4’21. For the year, foldable/rollable volumes should reach 5.1M units, up 128%, with revenues up 137% to $8.6B.”

    Subscribe to Musing