OnePlus 9 Pro secret weapon revealed — and it blows away Samsung Galaxy S21

Oneplus 9 pro wireless charging
(Image credit: OnePlus)

If you needed another reason to pick up a OnePlus 9 Pro, this might be it. A new report claims that the OnePlus 9 Pro will support blisteringly fast 50W wireless charging speeds. The base OnePlus 9 is also set to get wireless charging support, albeit much slower.

The OnePlus 8 Pro came with 30W wireless charging speeds when it launched last year, and we were expecting the OnePlus 9 Pro to come with something similar. But according to testing done by The Verge, The 9 Pro’s wireless charging speed is actually much faster than that.

50W isn’t quite as fast as the 65W wired charging speeds we’re expecting from the OnePlus 9 Pro, but it’s not far off. In fact, The Verge is reporting that the phone can fully recharge in just 43 minutes using an appropriate wireless charger. 

Compare that to the Samsung Galaxy S21, which only offers 15W wireless charging speeds. That's more than three times slower than what OnePlus has to offer. To add insult to injury, looks like the OnePlus 9 Pro is also faster than the Galaxy S21's 25W wired charger. 

Our testing showed that the Galaxy S21's wired charger could only recharge 55 percent of its battery in 30 minutes. Since the OnePlus 8 Pro's 30W wireless charging could do the same, it means the OnePlus 9 Pro has a serious edge.

Plus The Verge's testing found that the OnePlus 9 Pro’s wired charging takes just 29 minutes to hit 100 percent charge. Not only is that an embarrassing defeat for the Galaxy S21, it's also slightly faster than the OnePlus 8T which used the same 65W charger. 

Our testing showed that the 8T could hit 93 percent in 30 minutes. So the 9 Pro has a small, but noticeable, improvement over the previous model.

According to OnePlus, the 9 Pro manages to achieve such fast wireless charging speeds thanks to a twin-cell battery that it first released with the OnePlus 8T. So each cell can wirelessly charge at 25W at the same time, effectively doubling your recharge rate. 

OnePlus also uses higher voltage, which generates less heat than upping the amperage, and uses a proprietary charge pump to avoid frying your phone in the process.

Wireless charging comes to the OnePlus 9 too, with a catch

For the people planning to avoid the OnePlus 9 Pro, there's good news for you. The base OnePlus 9 is also set to support wireless charging this time around. 

Sadly, the speed is limited to 15W, which is significantly lower than the OnePlus 9 Pro. But wireless charging is wireless charging, and it’s about time OnePlus realized that. At the very least it's still the same speed as the Galaxy S21, though OnePlus's charging tech may help give the phone a competitive edge.

There is one caveat you should be aware of though. The OnePlus 9 Pro will only support fast wireless charging speeds with a new OnePlus Warp Charge 50 charger. Using a regular Qi charger limits your wireless charging speeds to 15W. The same as the OnePlus 9 and the the Galaxy S21.

We don’t know how much this charger is going to cost, but chances are it’s not going to be cheap. The OnePlus 8 Pro’s wireless chargers cost $70-$80, depending on which design you got. So you should expect to pay at least that much this time round.

The good news is that it’s been improved this year, and not just with faster charging speeds. The new charger has two charging coils, which means you can still recharge regardless of whether your phone is vertical or horizontal.

The OnePlus 9 Pro is set to launch on March 23, and word is it will come with a 6.7-inch QHD display, 120Hz display refresh rate, 8-12GB of RAM, 128-256GB of storage, a Snapdragon 888 chipset, a 4,500 mAH battery, a 16MP front camera and OnePlus’s new “Fluid Display 2.0”. The rear camera will have Hasselblad branding, and four lenses: 48MP main and ultrawide lenses, an 8MP telephoto lens, and a fourth still-unknown lens.

The OnePlus 9 is set to launch at the same time with many of the same specs. The differences are that it will have a 6.5-inch FHD display and a triple lens rear camera comprising 48MP main and ultrawide lenses, and a 5MP macro lens.

Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.