OnePlus 9 Series to Launch on March 23 with “Revamped” Camera System from Hasselblad Tie-up

OnePlus announced on Monday that its flagship OnePlus 9 series will launch globally on March 23, as well as a three-year partnership with Swedish camera maker Hasselblad to transform the devices’ camera systems.

The upcoming OnePlus 9 series, rumored to be the 9 and 9 Pro, will feature a revamped camera system dubbed the Hasselblad Camera for Mobile, the company said, without revealing specifics.

However, the brand did reveal that the series will have a custom Sony IMX789 sensor as the primary camera, which can also support capture 4K video at 120 fps, or 8K video at 30 fps.

Promotional materials released on OnePlus’ Instagram and Weibo accounts show reproductions of the Apollo 11 Moon landing shots taken in 1969 using Hasselblad cameras.

Compared with other handsets from Apple, Google, Samsung and Huawei (which has a partnership with Leica), OnePlus phones have always lagged behind in terms of camera set-ups and image quality.

“OnePlus has established four image R&D centers around the world,” the Chinese company said on Monday announcing its partnership with Hasselblad.

“In the next three years, OnePlus will invest 1 billion yuan ($153 million) in creating the ultimate imaging experience. Mobile imaging will be an important part of OnePlus’ product strategy,” it added.

Starting with software improvements including color tuning and sensor calibration, the two companies have agreed to “co-develop the next generation of smartphone camera systems for future OnePlus flagship devices.”

The OnePlus 9 series will feature a new color calibration process called Natural Color Calibration developed with Hasselblad that OnePlus says will serve as its color accuracy and calibration standard going forward. It will also add a new Hasselblad Pro mode that will make the device more friendly for professional post-editing.

Other future areas of development include a 140-degree field-of-view camera and faster selfie camera focus, OnePlus said.

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Rumors of the OnePlus 9 series so far have pointed to a curved 1440p 120Hz display, 45W fast charging as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip and support for 5G.

Known tipster Max Jambor and tech YouTuber Dave2D have both shared renders of what appeared to be a OnePlus 9 Pro prototype with a Hasselblad logo on the back of the device.