Content

1. Introduction
2. Камеры
3. Screens
4. Performance
5. TECH SPECS
6. Conclusion

Introduction

Yesterday, new smartphones of the OnePlus 9 line were presented. There are 3 models in total: the coolest Pro version, a little simpler 9 and budget 9R. The latter should not even be attributed to the 9th series, since it does not have the main distinguishing feature of new smartphones – cameras from Hasselblad. And the Snapdragon 870 is used as a chipset. So, with your permission, we will not disassemble this smartphone.

The presentation started in an unusual way. This time, the founder of the company Pete Lau (the second founder, Karl Pei, as you remember, went on a free voyage and makes a new company Nothing) did not talk about the achievements for the year, abandoned his favorite saying about the high level of customer satisfaction, etc. Instead, he simply said that they were trying to make the best products and got down to business! Well, then, let’s see what they showed us.

Камеры

Let’s start with the cameras first. This is the main highlight of the new devices. To make the case impressive, they brought up heavy artillery in the form of cooperation with Hasselblad. Hasselblad is arguably the most premium camera brand with a rich history. The brand’s cameras cost 6-36 thousand euros (only “carcasses” without lenses). However, you can also find entry-level models for 2-3 thousand euros.

Filmed with Hasselblad

Partnering with camera manufacturers is a well-known marketing trick. For example, Huawei was actively friends with Leica. Unfortunately, such partnerships have one problem – the fashionable nameplate on the case does not play a special role. So, the versions of the Huawei photo with Leica did not differ much from those that were taken without a partnership.

In the case of Hasselblad, Pete Lau said that Hasselblad engineers brought new algorithms for working with complex colors and more accurate color reproduction to the OnePlus 9 Pro camera. As an example, they cited just such a photo, where really complex light – both shadows and the sun. In theory, the view from the cave on the right should be completely blown out, but the smartphone has succeeded.

Of course, nothing is clear from the screenshots and pictures. OnePlus, under the guise of Hasselblad, has assembled a small squad of professional photographers as brand ambassadors. And the official website even has a separate page dedicated to collaboration. One problem is only small YouTube videos, and there are no originals of photographs to display on the big screen and evaluate. Crops only.

From a technical point of view, here is a module from Sony with a huge matrix – 50 MP, f / 2.2, 14mm, 1 / 1.56 ″, 1.0µm. The iPhone was chosen as a comparison, because the main market for OnePlus is now the United States. And according to its positioning, OnePlus is trying to occupy the niche of the iPhone on Android.

By the way, with 50 MP, OnePlus went for a trick. This module is ultra-wide-angle, that is, there should be a distortion of the picture. OnePlus said that in numbers, “ultra-wide” gives a distortion of 10-20%. A new lens was used to compensate, and the distortion was only 1%. I am telling you in such detail, because, as I understand it, this is just a contribution from Hasselblad. However, the Sony IMX766 module will also be used on OPPO Reno5 Pro +, which is now being distributed to everyone for tests under the NDA. So it will be possible to see if there is a contribution from OnePlus and Hasselblad and if the OnePlus 9 Pro really has custom hardware or if Sony is just making good modules.

To be honest, I’m a little confused. The smartphone has 4 main cameras, of which the main camera is 48 MP. And as I understood from the presenter’s story, in partnership with Hasselblad, it was as if only a 50 MP camera was created, since they spent the most time on it and thoroughly told about everything.

In terms of video shooting, everything is, in general, standard – there is support for 8K at 30 frames and Full HD at 240 frames per second. There are no super slow modes. But there is 4K shooting at 120 frames per second. Plus, when shooting video, DOL-HDR technology appeared. DOL – From Digital Overlap. This technology requires a separate processor. The essence is typical – up to three frames are taken simultaneously with different shutter speeds to compensate for highlights, or vice versa. In this way, you can shoot a video against the sun.

Screens

In terms of marketing, OnePlus is in perfect order. New smartphone – new screen naming: LTPO Fluid2 AMOLED.

I must say right away that these are screens from Samsung. DisplayMate has already rated them with the highest A + rating. The new screens have a number of advantages.

The first is the reduced power consumption. They said that they are 50% more energy efficient than conventional AMOLEDs (but here you also need to understand which screens are compared to). This is achieved through an adaptive refresh rate of 1 to 120 Hz.

Secondly, there is Hyper Touch technology. We showed the video how sensitive and responsive the new screens are. They said that for gaming, the thing is generally super. I suspect that this is simply an increased touch processing frequency – 240 Hz.

Thirdly, we added software chips. For example, SuperVideo Resolution. This is an ordinary artificial intelligence that draws out the quality of the picture. Unusually, he’s been befriended by Instagram and Snapchat. This can really be useful, as Instagram cuts videos this way.

Fourth, Always on Display will receive a watch with a second hand. Usually, there are no seconds hands on the AoD screen, as this is too energy-consuming business. LTPO screens have given users what they have dreamed of for so long – the second hand. Do you need it? I don’t know, but now there is!

Performance

Snapdragon 888, LPDDR5 RAM, X5 60G modem, Wi-Fi 6 (although 6E could have been), Bluetooth 5.2.

We talked about the new cooling system. As an example, they gave a comparison with the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. First, it is despicable. Everyone can offend Samsung. You don’t need a lot of intelligence here. You could also take the version on Exynos. Secondly, the difference of 2.3 degrees is not that great to brag about.

I suppose everyone knows the fact that virtual memory can be configured on a computer, thus increasing performance (part of the data from the RAM is dropped onto the drive). The technology is well known. But I never thought about it in relation to smartphones. OnePlus revealed that the new OnePlus 9 will use virtual RAM. On the whole, probably correct. UFS 3.1 dual-channel drives have excellent performance, so why not take advantage of it?

The choice of battery is interesting. Capacity – 4500 mAh. Did you save money, deficit, or wanted to lighten your smartphone, because the cameras are heavy? Who knows … But there is a fast charge of 65 W, which will give 100% in 29 minutes. And 15 minutes will give 65%. At the same time, there is also 50 W wireless charging (only for the Pro version, see the table of characteristics), which will give 100% in 43 minutes.

All the main features of a smartphone in one slide.

The OnePlus 9 is slightly inferior in cameras, as well as a simpler screen that will not be able to show the second hand in AoD mode. But the price is also $ 340 lower.

TECH SPECS

Conclusion

Perhaps it has long been obvious that OnePlus is not a flagship killer at all. And, frankly, I don’t understand well the positioning of the devices. My best guess is that OnePlus wants to be the iPhone in the Android market and is flirting with the creative side.

The new smartphones turned out to be interesting. They got something that was not there before. Namely, unique flagship chips (by the way, the older model even has IP68 protection), which others do not have. Here is a partnership with Hasselblad, and some kind of customized lens on the camera, and a new energy-saving screen technology that allows displaying the second hand in AoD mode, and super fast charging (100% in 29 minutes).

However, Apple is still a long way off. The magic of Apple lies in the fact that the technologies shown at the presentation immediately want to try and use. With OnePlus, the feeling is that there is technology for technology’s sake (here we are 2 degrees colder than Samsung, here is the second hand on AoD, here is the Hasselblad nameplate with a cool color rendering algorithm). What do you think?

PS And, of course, the main jamb of OnePlus is that, unlike Apple, for some reason they did not realize that they needed to post images of new smartphones available for download.

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