OnePlus has just released the OnePlus 8T, but apparently, the rumor mill is already moving to the next year’s OnePlus 9. We have to say we’re a little bit ahead of the schedule here. After all, OnePlus flagships only reach the market in lQ2. Perhaps, OnePlus will release its next flagship sooner in the Q1, to fill the gap left by the OnePlus 8T Pro. The fact is, that there is a multitude of leaks popping out with details about the OnePlus 9 Pro. During the weekend we got a set of leaked renders revealing the smartphone design. It quite resembles the Galaxy S20 FE in the rear with a square-ish camera setup. However, it does bring the usual top-left punch hole and a curved display to remember us that this is a premium smartphone. Apparently, we should not hold our breath for this design.
No design is ever set in stone. Because if it were, it wouldn't be a very lightweight smartphone.
— Pete Lau (@PeteLau) November 23, 2020
OnePlus’ CEO, Pete Lau, has made a comment on the leaked design and it’s less cryptic than the usual. According to the company’s top-executive “No design is ever set in stone. Because if it were, it wouldn’t be a very lightweight smartphone”. In other words, Lau states that the OnePlus 9 Pro will probably not look like the leaked renders have portrayed. Or if the design isn’t set in stone, then it is likely to change in the coming months. Worth noting, that the source of the leaked renders, Steve Hemmerstoffer did say that the design may change, most especially the rear camera island.
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The OnePlus 9 Pro will be lighter than its predecessor
The second part of Pete Lau’s tweet is quite revealing. He basically confirms that the phone will be quite lightweight. The OnePlus 8 Pro, for instance, weighs in at 199 grams. So its successor will likely weigh less towards the 180 to 190 margin. Worth noting that we shouldn’t hold our breath for the design of the handset. We believe that OnePlus now will work harder to ensure that the OnePlus 9 series design will remain a secret. After all, no company wants its 2021 smartphone circulating several months ahead of release.
Some reports state that the OnePlus 9 Pro and its vanilla brother will arrive in late March. The duo of flagships will come with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 875 SoC that will take the devices to an unprecedented level of performance thanks to the 5nm architecture and Cortex-X1 core. The devices will also come with OxygenOS 11 straight out of the box and 65W fast-charging at the very least.
For now, all we can do is wait for more leaks as they’ll certainly pop out.
