While the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro may not garner the same hype and adulation it did when it was under founder Carl Pei, there's still plenty to be excited about with the upcoming flagship. And according to the latest leak, the OnePlus 9 will have a massive battery with blazing fast charging, more than what's offered in the Samsung Galaxy S21.
Notable OnePlus leaker Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) believes that the upcoming phone will have a gargantuan 4,500 mAh battery. This means that we can expect longevity to be in the ballpark of eleven hours, just like with the OnePlus 8 Pro and its 4,500 mAh battery.
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9 and 9 Pro pic.twitter.com/PHU385KmL9February 9, 2021
While the OnePlus 9 Pro will reportedly have the same battery size as last year's model, it's notable that the regular OnePlus 9 will also sport the 4,500 mAh array. By comparison, last year's base OnePlus 8 had a 4,300 mAh battery.
It's not just battery size that's seeing an upgrade on the OnePlus 9 — charging is getting some attention, too. Considering that last year's OnePlus 8T included 65W Warp Charging, it's safe to assume the OnePlus 9 would at least include that. At that speed, the phone can be fully charged in just 40 minutes.
To achieve this blazing fast charge speed, OnePlus has divided the battery into two. By using two 2,250mAh cells, it allows the phone to simultaneously charge both arrays.
It's uncertain if OnePlus will follow Apple, Samsung and Huawei in not including a charging brick with this year's device. Companies are now foregoing chargers in a bid to curb e-waste — although, in Apple's case, an iPhone with USB Type-C would have helped tremendously on that front. It's also uncertain if OnePlus will up the ante in wireless charging technology. While last year's OnePlus 8 Pro offered impressive 30W wireless charging, the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 11 will ship with 50W wireless charging this March in Europe.
The OnePlus 9 is also expected to see a bump in camera performance following a supposed partnership with Swedish camera manufacturer Hasselblad. It's an interesting pairing, especially considering Hasselblad cameras can cost well over $30,000. Whether the Swedish camera company is actually helping in improving camera performance remains to be seen as this could be nothing more than a branding deal.
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The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are expected to launch this March.
Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.