The OnePlus 9 series is set to launch next week at the company's first smartphone launch event of 2021. OnePlus established a reputation early on for creating great-performing smartphones that ship with a clean and nearly bloat-free experience in OxygenOS. Alongside the OnePlus 9 and the 9 Pro, the company will also launch its first smartwatch at the upcoming event. Many leaks and official teasers ahead of the launch have already shaped our expectations of the OnePlus 9 series, though, in contrast, there's a lot less information that's publicly available about the OnePlus Watch. Based on what's already known about these devices, how do you feel about them?
The OnePlus 9 Pro, the headliner in the series, shows that OnePlus is taking another leap forward to reinforce its position among other premium smartphone brands. The company is betting big on its partnership with Hasselblad to improve the camera performance, an aspect of OnePlus phones that reviewers have often criticized in the past. The regular OnePlus 9, on the other hand, should be more in line with the company's lineage of making effectively-priced smartphones that don't settle on performance.
The OnePlus 9 Pro will lead with features such as 65W wired and 50W wireless fast charging, a QHD+ 120Hz adaptive refresh rate display, up to 12GB of RAM, and a custom Sony IMX789-laden camera. The OnePlus 9 will follow with a camera setup similar to last year's smartphones but is also expected to add 65W wired and slower wireless charging, a Full HD+ 120Hz AMOLED display, and up to 8GB of RAM. Qualcomm's flagship Snapdragon 888 SoC powers both smartphones.
After launching the OnePlus Band earlier this year, the brand is looking to capture a bigger share of the wearable market with a round-dial smartwatch. Instead of Google's Wear OS, the smartwatch is confirmed to run a proprietary operating system. We can expect some similarities with the Realme Watch S Pro, which also runs on an RTOS (real-time operating system). While OnePlus has only talked about the interface and a "burdenless design," a recent leak revealed the Watch comes with an IP68 rating, fast charging, monitoring of heart rate, sleep, stress, and SpO2, and the ability to control the OnePlus TV.
OnePlus Watch render. Credits: @UnboxTherapy
OnePlus CEO Pete Lau also confirmed that a relatively more affordable smartphone — the OnePlus 9R — will be making its way to India. This could be the same phone as the rumored 9E or 9 Lite, which is expected to feature hardware similar to the OnePlus 8T. While there are no official details about the smartphone, it is likely the phone will come with a Snapdragon 870 chipset instead of a Snapdragon 888.
Based on this information, what are your thoughts on the smartphones and the smartwatch launching next week? Let us know in the comments below.