OnePlus 9 Pro takes on Samsung Galaxy S21 with staggering upgrade

New leak tips Hasselblad-branded cameras for OnePlus 9 Pro flagship

OnePlus 9 Pro
(Image credit: Dave2D)

Following a heavy diet of OnePlus 9 info in recent weeks, fans can fix their gaze afresh on an alleged leak of the OnePlus 9 Pro. Expectedly, the images are unbridled eye candy, perhaps showing that OnePlus plans to double-down on the merits of the OnePlus 8 Pro – namely, its sublime photography skills.

The leak appears to show a camera mound that features Hasselblad branding, suggesting the OnePlus 9 Pro will make use of the Swedish camera producer’s hardware for a premium, but pricey phone. It's an interesting choice for the brand as it looks to demarcate its flagship product from a wave of brilliant handsets.

Phones that distill power and photography capabilities into a mobile package are always highly desirable. With Apple’s iPhone 12 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra raising the bar for such handsets, it leaves less chance for other contenders to get in on the action. Unless, of course, you are the OnePlus 9 Pro, who is throwing the gauntlet down to its rivals. 

YouTuber, Dave2D, knocked up the video montage of the device, displaying the OnePlus 9 Pro prototype, sporting a sleek silver color scheme, and visibly bearing the Hasselblad branding. Notable tipster, Max Jambor, has weighed in alongside Ishan Agarwal, both taking to Twitter to verify the leaks.

It has four camera modules with what appears as a curved QHD+ screen, and that glorious 120Hz refresh rate, which shows that it certainly means business. OnePlus’ flagship is expected to run on the snappiest of all Snapdragons: the Snapdragon 888 processor. 

In terms of pricing, there's no confirmation, right now. The OnePlus 8 series' entry model started at $699/ £599 (approx. AU$1,080), while the OnePlus 8 Pro starts at $899/ £799 (approx. AU$1,440). Therefore, you might expect prices to be in this general vicinity on launch.

With the Huawei Mate 40 Pro and Xiaomi Mi 10T Pro mounting challenges to the existing OnePlus 8 Pro, and even the OnePlus Nord and OnePlus 8T packing power and style, the OnePlus 9 Pro has got to levy a significant upgrade to warrant the flagship spot and the extra money. 

Hasselblad’s track record of producing fantastic photography products is exciting news for the OnePlus 9 Pro and could mean the device blows the slats out from underneath competitors’ products on the photography front. Of course, the best phones are a sum of all their parts; as such, it'll be interesting to see if OnePlus skimps on any other aspects of the phone if it decides to go all-in on the camera. 

You can take a look at our pick of the best phones to fill that void if you're still hunting for a device. Otherwise, we'll keep you posted with any more updates from OnePlus, as and when they hit the news. But, for now, you can rest assured that the photography side of things is in very good hands. 

Source: Android Authority

Luke Wilson

Luke is a former news writer at T3 who covered all things tech at T3. Disc golf enthusiast, keen jogger, and fond of all things outdoors (when not indoors messing around with gadgets), Luke wrote about a wide-array of subjects for T3.com, including Android Auto, WhatsApp, Sky, Virgin Media, Amazon Kindle, Windows 11, Chromebooks, iPhones and much more, too.