Sweet Child Of 9

June/July 2021

Stuff Magazine

OnePlus gives its standard flagship an improved camera and the fastest Snapdragon CPU around. Enough to spook the Samsung on p74?

OnePlus has a big launch every six months, and on the eve of each announcement, huddles of acolytes gather in corners of the internet lit by LCD monitor glow, with one question fizzing on their lips: “Is it still a bargain?”

On this occasion they can breathe easy, because the 9 costs just a smidge more than the OnePlus 8T and gets the brand’s most important camera upgrade since 2019. It swaps aluminium sides for plastic, but the jump up to a 48MP camera and 50MP ultrawide sets the standard at this price (and there’s a silicone case in the box).

Only battery life holds it back, as it claws its way to 16-18hrs in its best screen mode. OnePlus seems to think ultra-fast 65W charging is a replacement for a phone leaving you short at the end of the day. Sure, it helps, but when cheaper phones from Xiaomi and Oppo seem to last approximately forever, it’s a pity. So what else is new? Plenty…

9 on you crazy diamond

The 6.5in Full HD OLED (2) has a 120Hz variable refresh rate and makes scrolling incredibly smooth. The white balance takes on a red hue at an angle, but you’ll soon forget that. It’s not ultra-high-res like the 9 Pro (see panel) but you are getting 90% of the good stuff, including 1100-nit brightness.

9 The trail of the lonesome

This is also the first Hasselblad camera from OnePlus. The result of this collaboration seems to be an orange on-screen shutter button, but the wide and ultrawide lenses (4) are so good we don’t really care, and you can shoot 8K at 30fps. The only thing this camera can’t do well is zoom.

9 of the times