OnePlus Releases its 9 Series and First Smartwatch

Oneplus released its latest OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro on Wednesday during a press conference in Shanghai. Thanks to a collaboration with Hasselblad Camera, Oneplus now has two new flagship smartphones featuring top-tier flagship cameras, high refresh rate displays, and fast wireless charging technology.

In the OnePlus news release, the company claimed that the Hasselblad Camera for Mobile marks multiple smartphone photography breakthroughs, with premium hardware improving image quality. The OnePlus 9 Series is also equipped with the latest Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 888 mobile platform and carries fast-charging features.

“The OnePlus 9 Series represents a key milestone for OnePlus flagship smartphones. Co-developed with Hasselblad, the new Hasselblad Camera for Mobile will give users the ability to capture their own iconic moments with more accurate colors and premium image quality,” said Pete Lau, Founder, CEO and Chief Product Officer of OnePlus. “Together with the new OnePlus Watch, our latest flagship smartphone series offers a burdenless user experience with even the smallest detail tailored to challenge the smartphone industry and empower our Community through premium technology.”

OnePlus worked with the Hasselblad Camera to ensure the best color performance and image processing through numerous lab tests. They optimized hundreds of real-life scenes to fit the needs and habits of smartphone users.

Like many existing flagship smartphone devices, the OnePlus 9 series can work with 5G networks. OnePlus says that its OnePlus 9 Pro devices uses the X60 5G Modem-RF system which reduces power consumption and heat, thus improving the phone’s performance and battery life.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also includes features like fast charging – its Warp Charge 65T can charge from 1-100% in just 29 minutes -, offers an IP68 rating for water and dust resistance and comes in three colors: Morning Mist, Pine Green and Stellar Black. However, the Stellar Black option is not available in North America.

Both One Plus 9 and One Plus 9 pro have up to 120Hz fresh rate display. The OnePlus 9 uses the same 50MP ultra-wide camera as the OnePlus 9 Pro and carries a 48MP main camera. For the One Plus 9, its North America and Europe versions also support up to 15W Qi wireless charging. Both devices use the OxygenOS 11 from the Android 11 system.

According to the company, the new Turbo Boost 3.0 memory optimization enables users to keep more than 25% more applications open in the background than before, with the devices supporting even the most demanding game. The company also highlighted its OnePlus Cool Play system that helps with heat dissipation during the games.

The official selling price for the OnePlus 9 Pro is US$969 (CA$1,349 in Canada) for an 8+128 GB device. For the larger 12+256GB device, the selling price starts from US$1,069 (CA$1,499 in Canada). For the OnePlus 9, the price starts from US$729 (CA$999 in Canada) and US$829 (CA$1,149 in Canada) for the 12+256GB version.

Those prices are significantly higher than OnePlus’ selling prices in China. A 8+128GB OnePlus 9 starts at ¥3,799, and a 12+256GB OnePlus 9 sells for ¥4,299. For the OnePlus 9 Pro, the prices start from ¥5,499 and ¥5,990, respectively.

It is worth noting that the OnePlus 9 Series 5G networks only work with T-Mobile, though according to reports from the Verge, the company is currently working on deals with Verizon and AT&T. OnePlus has yet to release any timelines for their devices to become compatible with the two major U.S. networks.

In addition to its phone line, the company also introduced its first OnePlus Watch with features including an extended battery life that lasts up to two weeks, multiple health and activities tracking, and “a sleek and stylish design.”

The 44mm OnePlus Watch has a 1.39-inch display and features 1GB of RAM, 4GB of internal storage. It has integrated speakers, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. However, the first-generation watch does not have a cellular version, which means users can only use the watch with a phone nearby.

The internal storage can take up to 500 songs to listen to, while the watch can track workout details and monitor sleep, stress, blood oxygen saturation, and heart rate. However, the device does not have an independent operating system yet. This means users will only have access to applications available from OnePlus rather than downloading third-party applications elsewhere.

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

The watch is currently scheduled to be released on April 14 for US$159 (CA$ 219 in Canada) on the OnePlus website.