OnePlus boss drops OnePlus 9 bombshell – and fans will either love it or hate it

(Image credit: OnePlus)

last updated 18 January 2021

The OnePlus 9 has been hot on everyone’s minds since a leaked render revealed its radical new design and the specs of the flagship device last week. But for those of you who weren’t impressed with its minimalist style that shifted away from the design of the OnePlus8 Pro, fret no more, as the leaked renders may very well not represent the final product.

In a tweet as terse as it is enigmatic, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau has hinted that the designs of the OnePlus 9 series have not yet been finalized, and the final products may look different from the leaked renders of last week.

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No design is ever set in stone. Because if it were, it wouldn't be a very lightweight smartphone.November 23, 2020

This isn’t hugely surprising given the nature of the leak. The renders posted online could have come from any stage of the phones’ development process.

More interesting is Lau’s indication that the series will be distinctively lightweight. Maybe he deliberately gave us a red herring to sow even more distrust in the leaks, or perhaps his words were chosen explicitly for the pun, but more likely, he was pointing at a feature of the OnePlus 9 that we can expect to hear more about in the future.

Lau also said nothing to suggest that the leaked specs of the OnePlus 9 were incorrect or open to further change. The leaked specs indicate that the device will feature a 6.55-inch screen, replace the curved edges of the OnePlus 8 for an entirely flat finish, and run at a 120Hz refresh rate instead of the 144Hz that some had previously thought.

There’s also nothing to contradict the leak’s suggestion that the OnePlus 9 series will feature only two models – the OnePlus 9 and the OnePlus 9 Pro – rather than three as previously expected.

If you're clamoring to get a glimpse of the OnePlus 9, you won’t be waiting too much longer. The phone is expected to release in March next year, a good few weeks earlier than the windows of previous entries of the flagship series.

Or if you just can’t wait to get your hands on a new smartphone, you check out the OnePlus 8T that only launched at the end of October and would put you in good stead for an upgrade plan next year, or head over to our best Black Friday smartphone deals page.

For everything else, we've rounded up the best Black Friday deals for you below.