OnePlus 9 Review: What You Need To Know Before You Buy

The new OnePlus 9 comes with a significant amount of upgrades and an affordable upgrade. But is it really worth the hype? 

The OnePlus 9 Pro used to be one of the best phones since it over-delivers. It has a great camera that comes at a reasonable price. Although the OnePlus 9 doesn’t come close, it still packs some of the Pro’s astounding features. In fact, it includes some of the exciting characteristics of its sibling at a much affordable price.

With ultra-fast performance and improved battery life, the OnePlus 9 comes with an array of excellent features. Such a combination of speed, power, and usability makes this phone a solid smartphone for daily use. If you think about it, it has some of the abilities of the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max at an affordable price of $729. 

It provides an all-around value that is worth considering if you want only the best. Moreover, shipping will start on March 26, and pre-orders will avail a bonus of the OnePlus Z. On the other hand, the company will also start the preorder of the OnePlus Watch starting on April 14. 

Performance

If you think that the company will cut corners to compensate for the price, you’re wrong. That’s because the OnePlus 9 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip. It’s the same processor used in gaming, photo editing, and video streaming smartphones. In short, the processor is an absolute powerhouse. 

Let’s add the 120Hz screen refresh rate, which allows Android 11-based software to deliver a neat and easy-to-use everyday operation. Notably, these features are also available in the OnePlus 9 Pro version. 

Excellent Camera

While the OnePlus 9 Pro has a great camera, so does the Galaxy S21 Ultra and the iPhone 12 Pro Max. On the other hand, the OnePlus 9 is also trying to compete with the elites. With that being said, the company made some compromises on the camera for this phone. 

One of the features that they didn’t include is the optical zoom, and the main camera has a smaller sensor. Fortunately, the OnePlus 9 can take gorgeous pictures that you can’t almost tell the difference. Thanks to its amazing detail and even exposures. 

However, the colors from the OnePlus 9 might seem a little muted compared to the Pro. Thanks to its variety of built-in color filters, you can enhance the photos more dramatically. In addition to the camera, there’s a night mode that really works well since it’s capable of taking sharp and well-exposed selfies. 

All-in-all, the OnePlus 9 camera is worthy of taking everyday photos. 

A stunning design 

If you like the 9 Pro’s attractive and classy design, you’ll also love the 9 versions. That’s because the two phones have almost the same physical appearance. They both have the glossy back along with the metallic edging with pinkish-blue tones. 

The only notable difference is the 9 doesn’t have the nice curves of the 9 Pro, which gives the midrange feeling. But that’s very forgivable if you consider its affordable price. It’s a perfect trade-off if you ask me. 

Furthermore, you have to be careful with water splashes as it doesn’t have a waterproofing capability. 

Lightning-fast charging

If you’re worried about running on a low battery, the OnePlus 9 uses the same 65-watt fast-charging battery as the 9 Pro. In fact, you can get from empty to full charge in just about thirty minutes. That’s very fast, making it a great everyday phone if you’re always on the go. It also works for those who often forget to charge their phones. 

Improved battery life

While it uses the same battery as the Pro version, the OnePlus 9’s battery somehow feels a little bit better. That’s mainly because of the screen. Since it only has a 6.55-inch with 2400x1080p, its smaller and lower resolution allows the battery to gain longer battery power. With lesser pixels to power, the battery takes longer to drain.