It looks like the line between the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro is going to be a little more blurred than in previous years. According to 91mobiles’ “trusted source”, the OnePlus 9 is going to inherit a couple of features that were present on the OnePlus 8 Pro, but absent from the regular 8 and 8T.
The features in question are 30W wireless charging and reverse wireless charging. While the former isn’t that unusual, reverse wireless charging – which allows you to top up other wireless charging devices like earbuds and smartwatches by placing them on the back of the phone – is still pretty rare. Perhaps that’s a sign that the upcoming OnePlus Watch will charge without wires.
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The site’s source included a couple of pictures which show the features in action, which you can see below. The one on the left clearly shows the device “charging wirelessly” at a dangerously low 2% battery level, while the one on the right shows the dropdown menu with an icon labelled “Reverse Charge.”
The report reveals the device will have a flat display, and also notes that it’s getting a battery upgrade: up to 4,500mAh from the 4,300mAh on the OnePlus 8. Notably, that’s only 10mAh short of the battery on the OnePlus 8 Pro.
That’s all the new information from the report, which goes on to reiterate the specs we already had locked in. It’s expected that both the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro will feature the brand new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processor, and there’s talk of a new partnership for the camera with German experts Leica. This, apparently, could lead to a triple camera array featuring a 50MP main lens, supported by a 20MP wide-angle snapper and a 12MP telephoto number.
For those worrying about the price inflation going on at OnePlus (between 2016’s OnePlus 3T and the recently released 8T there was a $310 increase), it looks like the company is considering a third option.
Revealed earlier this week, the OnePlus 9 Lite is set to feature this year’s Snapdragon 865 processor to keep the costs down. Assuming the price is right and there aren’t too many other drawbacks – it’s possible the company will cut one of the cameras, or switch to a plastic finish – then that could certainly be worth considering next year. After all, the Snapdragon 865 is still a very impressive performer, and it’ll be more than enough for most peoples’ needs.
Hopefully we don’t have too long to wait to see the full OnePlus 9 lineup in all its glory. The whole range is tipped to launch in mid-March 2021, just a couple of months behind the Samsung Galaxy S21 family.
