The OnePlus 9 Pro Xda is available in black in the large storage variant with 12/256 GB for the best price of €519 at Proshop.
The OnePlus 9 Pro is the best cell phone of 2021. You can find a list of the best smartphones of 2021 in different price ranges on our YouTube channel!
Last year, OnePlus showed with the 8 Pro what a “real” OnePlus flagship looks like when you no longer have to pay attention to the price. The result was one of the best smartphones of 2020, if not the best. You now want to build on this success with the OnePlus 9 Pro and convince with the cameras.
They even got support from Hasselblad and make absolutely no secret of it. You can find out in our OnePlus 9 Pro test whether the cooperation was just as successful as the marketing and whether the rest of the smartphone is also convincing.
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda Review, Specs, Price, Photos, Features & Video
- OnePlus 9 Pro
- with 8/128GB at Amazon for €479.90 (black)
- with 12/256GB at Proshop for €519 (black) | Amazon for €552.99
- Specifications of the OnePlus 9 Pro
| OnePlus 9 Pro | OnePlus 8 Pro | |
| screen | 6.7 inch Curved AMOLED, 1-120Hz, 3216 x 1440 pixels, 525 PPI | 6.78 inch Curved AMOLED, 3168 x 1440 pixels, 120 Hz, 513 PPI |
| processor | Snapdragon 888 Octa Core @ 2.84+2.42+1.80GHz | Snapdragon 865 Octa Core @ 2.84 + 2.42 + 1.80GHz |
| graphics chip | Qualcomm Adreno 660 @ 840MHz | Qualcomm Adreno 650 @ 587MHz |
| Random Access Memory (RAM) | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 | 8GB/12GB LPDDR5 |
| mass storage | 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.1 | 128GB / 256GB UFS 3.0 |
| camera | 48MP IMX789 f/1.8 OIS/EIS, 50MP IMX766 Ultra Wide f/2.2, 8MP 3.3x Zoom OIS f/2.4, 2MP Monochrome | 48 MP IMX689 f/1.78 OIS/EIS, 48 MP IMX586 120° ultra wide f/2.2, 8 MP 3x zoom OIS f/2.44, 5 MP color filter |
| front camera | 16 MP, Sony IMX471, f /2.4 aperture, EIS | 16 MP, Sony IMX471, f /2.45 aperture, EIS |
| battery pack | 4,500 mAh, 65 watt Warp Charge 65T, 50 watt wireless | 4,510mAh, 30W Warp Charge 30T, 30W wireless |
| connectivity | Wi-Fi 5 & 6 (ac/ax), BT 5.2, aptX HD, NFC, Dual GPS/Galileo, GLONASS/ BDS, 5G, LTE Band 20, USB 3.0 | Wi-Fi 5 & 6 (ac/ax), BT 5.1, aptX HD, NFC, Dual GPS/Galileo, GLONASS/ BDS, 5G, LTE Band 20 |
| features | In-Display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock, Stereo Speakers, USB-C | In-Display Fingerprint Sensor, Face Unlock, Stereo Speakers, USB-C |
| operating system | Android 11 with OxygenOS 11.2 interface | Android 10 Q with OxygenOS 10.5 interface |
| Colors | Morning Mist, Pine Green, Stellar Black | Onyx Black, Glacial Green, Ultramarine Blue |
| Mass weight | 163.2 x 73.6 x 8.7mm / 197g | 165.3 x 74.35 x 8.5mm / 199g |
| Price | 899€ for 8GB/128GB | 999€ for 12GB/256GB | 899€ for 8GB/128GB | 999€ for 12GB/256GB |
| Introduction / release | March 23, 2021 / March 31, 2021 | April 14, 2020 / April 21, 2020 |
Design: The camera in focus & IP68 protection
Externally, the OnePlus 9 Pro is reminiscent of a mixture of the OP 8T (back) and the 8 Pro (front). At the front you still have a curved display, but compared to the predecessor, the rounding is less drastic. Like last year, the punch-hole front camera is again in the upper left corner. The back is more of a successor to the OnePlus 8T with the rectangular camera module at the top left, whereby the entire module of the 9 Pro is significantly larger.
It is no longer the module itself that catches the eye, but rather the large main and ultra-wide camera and the Hasselblad branding. The color of the module itself is adapted to the selected colourway. You can choose from the following color variants: Morning Mist (semi-reflective/semi-matt), Pine Green (matt) and Stellar Black (matt).
We are testing the silver Morning Mist variant with 12/256GB, but the color is also available with 8/128GB. The same applies to the Stellar Black version, only Pine Green is only available with 12/256GB memory. OnePlus aptly describes Morning Mist as a partially fogged up mirror. The lower part is not “fogged up” and is completely reflective and then turns into a less reflective silver-grey.
However, the lower part in particular is an absolute playground for fingerprints. If you want to avoid these, you should rather go for the matte Pine Green or the Stellar Black version, which is also matte and has a slightly smoother Sandstone surface. Alternatively, you can also use the supplied and colour-coordinated silicone case.
The processing is once again very good. The transitions between the aluminum frame, which is also shiny silver and is only 2.2 mm thick on the sides, and the curved glass on the front and back are gentle and hardly noticeable. Like the glass, the corners are rounded, making the 9 Pro comfortable to hold.
The only real edge is once again that of the camera body, which sticks out about 1mm and is split in two tiers. The main and ultra-wide angles are still “on” the camera module and protrude about 1 mm further. It is therefore advisable to use the supplied silicone case so that the cell phone does not always rest on the cameras and wobble.
With dimensions of 163.2 x 73.6 x 8.7 mm, it is of course not exactly small, but at least it is narrower and at 197 g also slightly lighter than the 8 Pro . Unfortunately, despite its size, there is still no one-hand mode in the settings, but since Oxygen OS 11 the user interface has been easier to use with one hand. Of course, that doesn’t work for apps that aren’t from OnePlus.
Like the 8 Pro, the 9 Pro has an official IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. However, this official rating is only given to the Pro model, the normal OnePlus 9 does without it for cost reasons, but is supposed to offer the same protection.
Overall, I like the design with the two eye-catching cameras and the color-coordinated camera module, but personally I would definitely go for one of the two matte color variants.
AMOLED display: bright, sharp & adaptable
At 6.7 inches, the beautiful AMOLED display is actually 0.08 inches smaller than on the 8 Pro, but it offers a similarly high resolution of 3,216 x 1,440 pixelsin an aspect ratio of 20.1:9. This means that you get a very sharp pixel density of 525 PPI at full resolution. If you want to save a little battery, you can also set the display to FullHD+ (2340 x 1080 pixels) and then end up with a pixel density of 385 PPI.
If desired, the 9 Pro can also automatically switch to the lower resolution, so that it switches between QHD+ and FHD+ depending on the application and content. This saves battery when the high resolution is not needed and you can still enjoy full sharpness with videos and the like.
Such a dynamic adjustment to the respective scenario is also used for the refresh rate, only that the adjustment here is much more fine-tuned. To be precise, the display of the OnePlus 9 Pro theoretically offers 120 individual refresh rates. Namely, it can adjust its refresh rate between 1-120 Hz to what is shown. Of course you get 120Hz when scrolling, if you then look at a photo you are at 1 Hz and with Netflix series with 24fps the screen then runs at 24 Hz.
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda – Thanks to this adaptability, the battery consumption of the display is said to be reduced by up to 50% can. The always-on display in particular should then run with only 1Hz and accordingly consume even less. The LTPO technology that makes this possible is already known from the Apple Watch 5, theSamsung Galaxy S21 Ultra (10-120Hz) and the OPPO Find X3 Pro which can also switch between 1-120Hz after an update.
We led the industry in introducing high refresh rate displays, and now we’re leading in … low refresh rates. The #OnePlus9Series LTPO display can switch anywhere from 1-120 Hz, just when you need it. Fast, smooth, and lighter on your battery. pic.twitter.com/erOGmeSYzP
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda — Pete Lau (@PeteLau) March 16, 2021
The sampling rate has also been increased to 360 Hz, so that the touchscreen checks 360 times per second whether a touch has taken place. So far, however, this high sampling rate is only available for PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, League of Legends and Brawl Stars – more games are to follow.
Outside of these games, the “touch sampling rate” is probably 240 Hz, as was the case with the predecessor. I asked OnePlus for the official number again. But I can already confirm that the 9 Pro offers an extremely smooth display and an exact and immediate implementation of inputs. Of course there are already 144 Hz AMOLED displays, but 120 Hz is easily sufficient in everyday life and also when gaming and, in combination with the high resolution, offer the full flagship experience.
The colors are quite strong in the preset “Vivid” mode, which is typical for AMOLEDs. If you change the screen calibration to “Natural”, as the name suggests, colors are displayed more realistically. If the two modes are not enough for you, you can select three more color spaces under “Advanced” and adjust their tint.
Thanks to the AMOLED technology and the option of completely switching off individual pixels, there is perfect black and a theoretically infinite contrast. As with the predecessor , the maximum brightness is 1,300 nits in automatic mode, so that there are no problems even in strong direct sunlight. A Mi 11 already manages 1,500 nits here, so there is still some room for improvement.
In addition to the settings for color, resolution and refresh rate, OnePlus offers a lot more: A night and reading mode that can be planned, a “comfort tint” (colors are adapted to the ambient light), the option to hide the punch-hole front camera and of course a system-wide dark mode. The always-on display introduced with the OP 8T can also be found under the name “inactivity display”.
Of course, the display is again a 10-bit panel, so it can display 1.07 billion colors – an 8-bit panel “only” manages 16.7 million. In addition, the display also supports HDR10+ and Netflix and Co. in HD. Overall, OnePlus has delivered a great display here, which leaves almost nothing to be desired and should make some Galaxy S21 users jealous.
Personally, I’m still not a fan of the rounded display edges. But at least I didn’t make any incorrect entries and the rounding has been reduced a bit compared to the predecessor , which is why I don’t want to complain too much here.
Fingerprint sensor in the display & Face Unlock
The fingerprint sensor is also located in the display, which works very quickly and reliably. It is apparently the same one that is already used in the OnePlus 8T. Strangely enough, this time it sits a little further down than usual, which takes some getting used to and might be a little harder to reach with large hands. Next time, please, the usual placement above OnePlus! Face Unlock is as fast as ever, at least without a mask, but of course not as secure as the fingerprint sensor.
The Snapdragon 888 runs
As expected, the latest and most powerful processor from Qualcomm, which is currently the Snapdragon 888, is in the OnePlus 9 Pro . The eight cores work at 1x 2.84 GHz (new Cortex-X1 core ), 3x 2.42 GHz (new Cortex-A78 cores ) and 4x 1.80 GHz. The CPU performance should increase by up to 25%, the GPU performance by 35%. The RAM is again based on the fast LPDDR5 standard and the UFS 3.1 mass storage is also the newest of the new. You can choose between 8GB / 128GB or 12GB / 256GB.
In practice, the whole numbers only mean one thing: the OnePlus 9 Pro runs! Whether benchmarks, app multitasking, 8K video or gaming with the highest graphics settings – everything runs smoothly and without stuttering. Games that run at 120fps are particularly fun here, but PUBG Mobile on Ultra is also impressive. Hardly any app is currently fully exploiting the possibilities of the system and that’s a good thing. Because you always buy with a flagship because it will only “slow” in a few years.
Android 11 & OxygenOS: clean & fast
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda / After the OP 8T, the 9 Pro will also ship directly with Android 11 and the new Oxygen 11.2 interface. Accordingly, OnePlus’ own apps with their large headings are now somewhat reminiscent of Samsung’s OneUI and the content that has been moved downwards.
I personally don’t think the changes are that bad and welcome the improved one-handed operation. And apart from the settings, you don’t have to use the OnePlus apps and can simply uninstall them, except for the file manager. Netflix is also available as bloatware and unfortunately can only be deactivated – does it have to be OnePlus?
Most importantly, Oxygen OS 11 continues to run as smoothly as ever and hasn’t been overloaded with pointless options and features. There are still many different gestures, such as the three-finger screenshot or double-tap to wake up, and of course you can also choose between the classic three buttons or gestures for system navigation.
The launcher also offers parallel and hidden apps by default. Of course, you can also configure accent colors, icon packs, the font, system icons and much more according to your personal taste under Customization. For me, OxygenOS is currently the best Android interface, because it just runs very clean, doesn’t overwhelm users with bloatware and options, but has a wide range of functions.
OnePlus x Hasselblad = Good Camera?
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda – Huawei has Leica, Nokia, Sony and soon Vivo have Zeiss and OnePlus now has Hasselblad. Simultaneously with the announcement of the cooperation with the 180-year-old Swedish camera manufacturer, which now belongs to DJI, OnePlus announced that it would invest 150 million dollars in camera development over the next three years.
So far, however, the two companies have “only” worked together on the camera software, the hardware will probably only benefit from the cooperation with the 9T. In particular, the focus was probably on color calibration, which is why “Natural Color Calibration with Hasselblad – to provide photos taken with the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro with even more accurate and natural colors” is now used.
In terms of hardware, the IMX789 sensor developed together with Sony is used for the main camera. As with the OP 8 Pro, this is a fairly large (1/1.43″) 48 megapixel sensor with 1.12 μm pixels. Thanks to pixel binning, four of these are combined into one, as always, so that you get 2.24 μm pixels and 12 MP photos. In combination with electronic and optical image stabilization as well as Sony’s new DOL-HDR technology, good photos should be pre-programmed day and night.
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda / And the OnePlus 9 Pro also delivers this. The dynamic range, the many details and the sharpness of the photos are convincing. In addition, the colors are captured and held very true to life, nothing seems oversaturated here. Skin tones are also now mostly hit very well, which wasn’t always the case in the past. Overall, the photo quality was already convincing with the OnePlus 8 Pro, so you are building on a more than solid foundation.
For portrait shots, you have the choice between the telephoto and the main camera, so that portraits from a distance of 0.3 to 2 meters are possible. The separation of foreground and background works well, but not yet perfectly. Individual hairs in particular are a problem and the sharpness of the action figure on the left also leaves something to be desired. In portrait mode, the 9 Pro still has some room for improvement.
Night mode for the main and ultra wide cameras
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda – The OnePlus night mode made its big leap from the 7T Pro to the 8 Pro last year . However, thanks to the bright main camera and the automatic scene recognition, manual switching to night mode is rarely necessary. Nevertheless, you can still see some improvements here: more sharpness, more details, more natural colors and an overall brighter photo with less noise are possible with the night mode.
The ultra-wide-angle camera is strong, but not as bright as the main camera. Therefore, the difference between the photo without and with activated night mode is also larger here.
Night mode is therefore mandatory for ultra-wide-angle photos in the evening, and it is also worth changing the mode in the camera app for the main camera if you want to achieve the best possible result.
Good ultra wide-angle camera, also for macro photos
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda / For the ultra-wide-angle camera, the same Sony IMX766 sensor is used as Oppo used in the Find X3 Pro. The lens is a so-called free-form lens, which is intended to reduce the distortion (fisheye effect) that is usually observed in ultra-wide-angle photos.
Accordingly, there is no longer an “ultra wide angle correction” in the camera settings, which compensates for the distortion caused by a smaller shooting angle and software in other smartphones. The sensor snaps with 50 megapixels, whereby 4 pixels are combined into one again, resulting in 12.5MP photos.
The photos with the ultra-wide-angle camera just look great and you actually have to look for distortion with a magnifying glass. In daylight, the UWW camera can hardly be distinguished from the main camera. This may not sound like anything special, but it is far from being within reach for many other smartphones.
The macro photographers among you should be happy that the tradition started with the 7T is being continued and that the strong ultra-wide-angle camera is again being used for macro shots from up to 4 cm. Since you work with top hardware here, you can choose between ultra wide angle, 1x or 2x digital zoom even in macro mode. Thanks to the 50MP sensor, it also looks good (right photo) and makes up for the fact that you can only approach objects from a distance of 4cm.
Telecamera as a third wheel
As you can see, a lot of the 9 Pro is similar to the 8 Pro and so the 8MP telephoto camera of the 9 Pro looks a bit neglected. It offers a 3.3x optical zoom and optical image stabilization. The photos are okay in daylight, but nothing special and do not represent a big improvement compared to the predecessor.
According to OnePlus, this is also due to the fact that the telephoto camera on the Pro was not used as often as the ultra-wide-angle camera, which is why the latter has now received more attention. Nevertheless, it is of course nice to have a 3.3x zoom for the flexibility of the camera.
The 2 MP monochrome camera is again only used for a single black and white filter, which is also the last of all filters in the camera app. It feels like the camera was only integrated so that you have a “quad camera”, because probably very few will actually use it.
Solid selfies
The front camera is once again and still the same Sony IMX471 sensor as in the OnePlus 7T. Overall, the 16 megapixel camera takes good selfies with natural skin tones. But you notice, especially with the dynamic range and backlighting, that there are simply better selfie cameras out there now. The OnePlus does not seem to focus on selfies, so there is no autofocus again.
Connectivity
The integrated X60 modem gives you access to 5G and it should run more energy-efficiently and produce less heat than its predecessor. When it comes to WiFi, you are also up to date with WiFi 5 & 6 (ac & ax) and can take full advantage of the new router. The dual SIM slot offers space for two nano SIM cards at the same time, but memory expansion is unfortunately not possible.
Bluetooth is also well equipped with version 5.2 and aptX HD as well as LDAC support. NFC for Google Pay is of course also installed. If you don’t use BT headphones, good stereo speakers are available, with one speaker also being the earpiece when making calls. The sound quality is good and the stereo effect comes through.
When making calls (VoLTE & VoWiFi), the three microphones do a good job and the earpiece delivers clear voices. Dual GPS, Dual Galileo, GLONASS and BDS are supported for navigation. The GPS fix is there after about 2 seconds and is accurate to 3 meters.
From 0 to 100% in 29 minutes!
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda / Unfortunately, the battery shrinks compared to the 8 Pro, but only by 10mAh. The capacity is therefore 4,500 mAh, a Mi 11 with a similarly equipped 6.81 inch display still offers 4,600 mAh and still only lasts 9 hours in the test. So does the OnePlus 9 Pro perform even worse? No, because OnePlus has obviously coordinated the software and hardware a little better and has a good 10.5 hours of runtime.
The test was carried out at QHD+ resolution without automatic regulation and 120Hz and medium brightness. With my setting of adaptive QHD+ resolution and 120 Hz, I got about 6-7 hours of screen on time. Depending on how you use it, you can get by with it for 1.5 days – 1 full day from getting up to going to bed, but it’s always possible.
Wired, you rely on Warp Charge 65T, a further development of the Warp Charge 65 technology of the OnePlus 8T. While the 4,500 mAh battery of the 8T took about 40 minutes for a full charge of 1%-100%, the 9 Pro only needs 29 minutes with the same battery size. In just 15 minutes you have already reached 65%.
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda – According to OnePlus, this shorter charging time can be achieved with the same wattage by extending the time in which it is charged at maximum power. In addition, the 9 Pro can also be charged with other USB-C Power Delivery chargers with up to 45 watts and is therefore fairly quickly restored to a full battery even without a Warp Charger. The included charger can. Also thanks to Power Delivery, other USB-C devices can be charged with up to 45 watts.
If you continue to charge your smartphone overnight despite the fast charging technology, you can use the “Optimized charging” function. For example, if you charge your cell phone always overnight and always gets up at 7 a.m., the mobile phone learns this and only charges to 100% just before 7 a.m. This should help to extend the life of the battery even further.
Last year, the OnePlus 8 Pro was the first OnePlus that could charge wirelessly and then with up to 30 watts. On top of this already very good value, Warp Charge 50 Wireless offers wireless charging with 50 watts. This catches up with the Mi 1 Ultra and shares the throne of the currently fastest wireless charging technology on the market. In combination with the “ OnePlus Warp Charge 50 Wireless Charger ”, the OP 9 Pro reaches 50% charge in 20 minutes and 100% charge in just 43 minutes.
That’s about half an hour shorter than the predecessor- strong! Unfortunately, the OnePlus Warp Charge 50 Wireless Charger costs a whopping €70, with normal Qi chargers the OP 9 Pro only charges with 15 watts. 5 watt reverse wireless charging is also possible, so that you can, for example, charge headphones wirelessly with your cell phone.
OnePlus 9 Pro: The price-performance flagship
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda: With the OnePlus 9 Pro you build on the very solid foundation of the 8 Pro and develop it further. The design is contemporary and I personally like it (especially the matte versions). The sharp AMOLED display is one of the best on the market and offers a smart new feature with the variable refresh rate between 1-120Hz.
The main and ultra-wide-angle cameras are also among the best you can currently get in a smartphone. With 65 watts with and 50 watts without a cable, you are also one of the fastest when charging. As always with OnePlus, the system itself and the software interface are fast. Battery life and workmanship are also good and can easily keep up with other flagships.
Luckily, no blatant mistakes were made, but of course there is still room for improvement. The telephoto and selfie camera could be better and the latter a bit smaller. The “hole” in the display doesn’t bother me that much personally, but Poco shows with the F3 how small it can be. The rounded screen is still not my thing, but at least not quite as curved as in the predecessor.
OnePlus 9 Pro Xda – Last but not least, the Hasselblad marketing was and is perhaps a bit exaggerated, given that they have “only” worked on the color calibration so far. I hope that the next OnePlus smartphone will see more fruit from this cooperation. Nevertheless, the OnePlus 9 Pro delivers a very well-rounded flagship, which is very easy to recommend and should again be a hot contender for the title of smartphone of the year.
The price is again €899 (8/128GB) or €999 for the version with 12/256 GB . This puts you between the RRP of the Samsung Galaxy S21 and S21+, but you definitely get the better device with the OnePlus 9 Pro. I only find the surcharge of 100€ for the larger memory version too high, 50€ to 70€ would have done it here in my opinion. OnePlus 9 Pro Xda ..
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