OnePlus 9 Pro with new Sony sensor will appear at the end of March for 899 euros

OnePlus has officially unveiled its OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro. The new top models of the manufacturer are equipped with a Snapdragon 888-soc and cameras that have been tuned in collaboration with Hasselblad. The Pro model gets a new Sony sensor.

The OnePlus 9 Pro has a 6.7-inch OLED screen with LTPO backplane, so the refresh rate can vary from 1 to 120Hz. When displaying still images, the screen has a low refresh rate to save energy and when scrolling, the full refresh rate is used for a smooth experience. The screen has a resolution of 3216×1440 pixels and therefore a 20.1:9 ratio. The surface is about 108 square centimeters, the screen measures about 15.5×7 cm. The peak brightness according to the manufacturer is 1300cd/m².

OnePlus gives the Pro model an aluminum frame and the phone is finished with Gorilla Glass on the front and back. The sides of the screen are rounded and the fingerprint scanner is behind the screen.

The OnePlus 9 Pro contains Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888-soc and the X60 modem for 5G. The device has 8GB or 12GB Lpddr5 memory and 128GB or 256GB UFS 3.1 flash storage. The 4500mAh battery consists of two parts and therefore fast charging with 65W and wireless charging with 50W is possible. Wireless charging at that speed requires an optional charger. It costs 70 euros.

Collaboration with Hasselblad and new Sony sensor

OnePlus places a lot of emphasis on the cameras with the OnePlus 9 devices, for which the company has entered into a partnership with Hasselblad. This is originally a Swedish camera manufacturer, but the brand has been owned by the Chinese DJI for several years. According to OnePlus, both devices take photos with natural colors, thanks to the color calibration of the sensor that has been done with the help of Hasselblad. The devices also have a Pro mode with manual settings and can take 12-bit raw photos.

Earlier, OnePlus announced that the OnePlus 9 Pro will receive the Sony IMX789 sensor, with a 16:11 ratio. That’s roughly equivalent to the 3:2 ratio of traditional cameras such as DSLRs. According to OnePlus, this was chosen because more of the sensor can be used when making 16:9 videos. Most smartphones have a 4:3 sensor and use a relatively small part of the sensor when shooting widescreen videos.

The IMX789 sensor has a 48-megapixel resolution and a 1/1.43″ format, around 58 square millimeters with pixels of around 1.1 microns. The sensor has micro-lenses that each cover 2×2 pixels. That should take 12-megapixel photos with little The sensor can film in 4k resolution at up to 120fps and HDR, or 8k at 30fps.According to OnePlus, the primary camera is assisted by a black and white camera to add detail to the photos. The sensor used for this has a 2-megapixel resolution OnePlus gives the primary sensor an f/1.8 lens with optical stabilization.

For the ultra-wide-angle camera, OnePlus uses the Sony IM766. That is a 50-megapixel sensor of the 1/1.56″ format, about 50 square millimeters. Most smartphones have smaller sensors for the ultra-wide-angle camera. In combination with a so-called Freeform Lens, this results in photos with little lens distortion, according to OnePlus.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also has a telephoto camera, with an 8-megapixel sensor, optical image stabilization and 3.3x ‘optical zoom’. It is a full-frame equivalent of 77mm. The phone continues up to a maximum of 30x digital zoom.

OnePlus 9 with camera sensor from OnePlus 8 Pro

The regular OnePlus 9 does not have the new sensor. OnePlus uses the IMX689, which was also in the OnePlus 8 Pro last year. That’s also a 48-megapixel sensor of the same 1/1.43″ format, but with a traditional 4:3 ratio.

The ultra-wide-angle camera in the OnePlus 9 is the same as that of the Pro model, and like the Pro, the regular version has an additional black and white camera, which is used to add detail to photos. There is no telephoto camera on the OnePlus 9.

The regular OnePlus 9 also has a slightly smaller 6.55 “OLED screen and although this also has a refresh rate of 120Hz, it is not an LTPO screen and that refresh rate is therefore not variable. The resolution is also lower with 2400×1080 pixels.

Furthermore, the OnePlus 9 has a plastic housing and therefore no metal frame. According to OnePlus, the frame is reinforced with fiberglass. The OnePlus 9 can also fast charge with 65W, but does not support fast wireless charging. However, regular wireless charging with 15W is possible via the Qi standard.

The OnePlus 9 Pro is for sale from March 31 for a price from 899 euros. The OnePlus 9 will follow on April 26 with a price from 699 euros. This makes the introduction prices equal to those of the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro from last year. OnePlus has also announced a smartwatch. That OnePlus Watch gets a suggested retail price of 159 euros.