OnePlus 9 Review: Cheaper doesn’t mean worse

This year, OnePlus introduced new products in the form of the flagship smartphone OnePlus 9 Pro and its slightly less equipped derivative OnePlus 9. While we have already reviewed the TOP model of the brand, the cheaper little brother remained a bit behind the interest. Although OnePlus 9 has a lot in common with the more expensive Pro model, it would be a shame to omit it completely, so we dedicate at least this abbreviated review, in which we will find space for comparison with a more expensive sibling.

Review content

This time you have to settle for plastic

And let’s start with one of the two biggest concessions compared to the OnePlus 9 Pro. While glass Corning Gorilla Glass 5 has been preserved on both the front and back of the smartphone, the cheaper of the two siblings must be satisfied with plastic frame. At first glance, it looks like aluminum with a glossy finish, but the first time you contact the phone, you will realize that you have saved money here. It is a pity, because despite the good overall quality of workmanship, the OnePlus 9 does not look like a device with a price of over CZK 20,000 due to the plastic used. However, what freezes perhaps even more than using a plastic frame is absence of increased resistance with IP68 certification.

On the other hand, many users will certainly enjoy the presence of the display without rounding on the sides. It’s a pity that it is integrated here as well the reader is placed very close to the bottom edge display and is thus less accessible to the thumb. Although purely subjective, the fingerprint reader was a little more comfortable to use in the case of the basic model than in the case of the OnePlus 9 Pro. In addition, fingerprint recognition works very quickly and accurately here as well. The design of both phones is then practically identical and the main difference here is the flat display just mentioned. When looking at your back, you will recognize these two siblings from each other only thanks to one extra camera in the case of the more expensive of the two. Even in this case, OnePlus did not forget the slider for quick switching of audio profiles.

Although the OnePlus 9 offers a slightly smaller display, the dimensions of both phones are very similar. This is, of course, due to the differences resulting from the use of a flat and curved display. In terms of width, the basic “nine” is even a bit larger. Specific the dimensions of the OnePlus 9 are 160 x 74.2 x 8.7 mm while the OnePlus 9 Pro is 163.2 x 73.6 x 8.7 mm. Surprisingly, the OnePlus 9 is only slightly lighter – it specifically weighs 192 grams, while the weight of the Pro model is only 5 grams higher. Even thanks to the flat display, the OnePlus 9 works well and one hand is enough to operate it with a little practice. A pleasantly rounded back also contributes to a comfortable grip.

The display has been saved, but it will not embarrass

As we have mentioned several times, the OnePlus 9 offers a flat display compared to the Pro model. It is the same Fluid AMOLED panel, which also relies on its predecessor in the form of OnePlus 8T. We can thus rely on a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10 + support or solid maximum brightness 1,100 rivets. To some extent the advantage can then be used FullHD + resolution, which on 6.55 ″ diagonal ensures 402 ppi image fineness. At first glance, this is significantly less than 525 ppi with the OnePlus 9 Pro, but it is still a value that guarantees excellent image sharpness in normal use. In this respect, you will only know the difference between OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro when examining the image in detail. Thanks to the higher maximum brightness (1,300 nits), the OnePlus 9 Pro performs a bit better in direct sunlight, but this is not an abysmal difference and the display of a cheaper sibling is easy to read under these conditions.

Other concessions in the display field are the number of colors displayed. While OnePlus 9 Pro offers a 10-bit panel capable of displaying a billion colors, this is a standard 8-bit panel. However, you do not have to worry about its display ability in this case either. Display covers both sRGB and Display-P3 spectrum and thus offers true color rendering. However, you can also influence this in the settings and you can be satisfied even if you are a lover of really rich colors. The display also offers a variable frame rate. Unlike the OnePlus 9 Pro panel, however, it is not an LTPO display, so frame rate changes are limited to 60 to 120 Hz and cannot drop to 1 Hz for a still image.

Stereo speakers have been retained

Practically just like the more expensive little brother, the OnePlus 9 is leading in the field of loud reproduction. Here, too, you have a primary loudspeaker on the lower edge, taking care of the mids and deeper tones. In cooperation with him, a loudspeaker serving as a telephone handset also plays. He, in turn, mainly takes care of higher tones. The treble is surprisingly clear and we also saw relatively solidly represented deeper tones. Also the volume on the cell phone is excellent. At higher volumes, however, it is already necessary to take into account the “sheet metal” distortion. Not to be forgotten is the support of Dolby Atmos with a choice between three sound profiles (dynamic, film and music) and a system equalizer. Fans of wired headphones, on the other hand, will be disappointed by the absence of a 3.5 mm jack.

Hardware without changes

The performance of both siblings is identical. In both cases, you may encounter very powerful Snapdragonem 888 and in either case you can get either 8GB of RAM along with 128GB of storage, or 12GB of RAM and 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. So it’s clear that even the OnePlus 9 can handle any current smartphone game without major complications.

But there would be one difference – warming up the phone. While the OnePlus 9 Pro managed to warm up uncomfortably even when browsing Facebook, we do not register anything similar with the OnePlus 9 reviewed today. Rather than suspecting OnePlus from a better cooling design for a cheaper smartphone, we would attribute this to a lower resolution display. At most a little more successful optimization. In any case, it is interesting that with the OnePlus 9 Pro we experienced overheating even with the forced FullHD display mode.

Battery the same, better endurance

One of the things we criticized in the OnePlus 9 Pro review was the endurance on a single charge. On that “normal day” involving several phone calls, frequent communication via instant messengers and mail, internet browsing and about an hour of streaming music with a maximum of half an hour on Facebook, we usually just got over 4 hours of active use. However, in the case of the OnePlus 9 reviewed today, this time was on average one hour longer. Sure, 5 hours of active use one charge is still not a complete miracle, but it is an improvement and we dare say that it is definitely not negligible.

Charging here takes place either classically via cable or also wirelessly. While wired charging supports power up to 65W, ie the same as with the OnePlus 9 Pro, with wireless charging you will have to make do with 15 W. In the case of a faster variant, it will take an average of 22 minutes to replenish energy from 15 to 100%. It should be noted that you will find the 65W adapter in the package of both mentioned smartphones.

OxygenOS did not disappoint with OnePlus 9 either

It is quite logical that both OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will offer the same superstructure, the Android version and at the time of testing it was also the same version of security patches. Therefore, we will no longer discuss the OxygenOS extension as such here, and instead refer you to the chapter on this extension in the OnePlus 9 Pro review. We will then only add information to the OnePlus 9 account that it is here as well system optimized for example and everything from the smoothness of animations to the launch speed and stability of applications meets the current standards of TOP models. OnePlus 9 also covers the promise of at least two major Android updates. For example, Samsung is further in this regard and promises 3 major updates, but who knows, for example, following the example of other manufacturers, OnePlus will eventually join it.

Hasselblad stamp camera for the second time

As we mentioned in the first chapter of today’s review, the main hallmark on the back of the OnePlus 9 is the missing camera lens. Compared to the top model, the OnePlus 9 lost an 8MPx camera with optical zoom. However, the rest of the set has been retained, including the ultra-wide-angle camera, which many users and manufacturers currently prefer to zoom cameras. For us, however, the camera with optical zoom is definitely a shame. It was also saved by getting a camera that lost optical stabilization, which you will feel especially when shooting video and shooting at night. Last but not least, the OnePlus 9 also lost laser illumination. However, it was also preserved involvement of the renowned Swedish company Hasselblad, consisting of color calibration and modifications of the UI application.

• 48MPx primary camera, f / 1,8, Sony IMX789, sensor size 1 / 1.43 ″, PDAF
• 50MPx ultra widescreen, f / 2,2, Sony IMX766 sensor size 1 / 1,54 ″, PDAF
• 2 MPx monochrome sensor

Photo applications

As we mentioned a few lines above, the cooperation with Hasselblad also consisted in modifying the photo application interface. We dare to point out that in this case the Swedes “talked” mainly to the interface of the manual mode, which just bears the logo of this legend. Just manual mode is likely to appeal to all avid photographers. It contains all the necessary functions and settings, and we worked great with its interface. Among the automatic modes, there is, for example, the popular night mode, which you can use not only for taking photos, but also when taking videos.

A little of us then the absence of the flashlight function in the camera application froze. At the same time, LED backlighting cannot be used with an ultra-wide angle and zoom camera. It is true that you will probably not use the light-emitting diode often when taking photos, but in some situations it may be practical to have it available with all cameras. The application can also automatically switch between primary camera and super wide angle camera in macro mode. However, she did not always evaluate the situation correctly and in the final we had this function rather a nuisance.

Photo

For the primary camera, we must praise the color reproduction that Hasselblad helped with. From our point of view, this is a pleasant compromise between a more saturated but pleasing and faithful color rendering. Working with white balance, dynamic range and noise is also at a solid level. It’s a shame only occasionally noticeably sharpened photos with not exactly the best level of captured details. Due to the absence of optical stabilization, OnePlus 9 does not perform best when shooting in the dark. The images are relatively dark and lack details. The situation after activating the night mode is much better. This not only brightens the scene, but also results in better image sharpness and, conversely, significantly reduces noise.