The pieces are starting to fit into OnePlus plans for next month. Although we have already heard that the Chinese company plans to launch the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro in March, we now know that they will be only half of the hardware on display.
Trustworthy leaker Ishan Igarwal told 91mobiles that OnePlus will launch no less than four pieces of hardware at the same event next month. The 9 and 9 Pro handsets will be accompanied by an economical OnePlus 9R phone and the long-awaited OnePlus Watch.
OnePlus 9R
The OnePlus 9R is what was previously known as OnePlus 9 Lite before the evidence for the name 9R was discovered in the html of the OnePlus website. It is rumored to bridge the gap between the OnePlus 9 and the cheaper OnePlus Nord, with a 6.5-inch 90 Hz screen, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 and 8 GB of RAM. It will have a 64 MP primary camera and a 5,000 mAh battery.
OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro
The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will raise expectations with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 888 chip, the same chip that recently surprised the Samsung Galaxy S21. Both will come with 120 Hz screens and while the regular 9 doesn’t seem like a big step up from the 8T, the OnePlus seems to be giving it its all with the 9 Pro, which apparently includes an exciting new tie with the luxury camera brand Hasselblad .
OnePlus Watch
Finally, there is the OnePlus Watch. While OnePlus was very close to launching a smartwatch in 2015 before canning it at the last minute, this time something is definitely underway, as confirmed by the company’s CEO Pete Lau.
Lau seemed to confirm at the time that OnePlus Watch would run Wear OS. “What we’re trying to do is work with Google to try to improve connectivity between the Wear OS ecosystem, Android TV and Android smartphones to create this ability for better device interoperability across ecosystems,” he said.
Earlier rumors indicated a round dial, but do not rule out something more like the Oppo watch, as the brands operate under the same umbrella company. While OnePlus and Oppo insist that they are distinct brands, the duo’s products have similarities in the past. Just compare the Oppo Find X2 Pro with the OnePlus 8 Pro.
OnePlus 9 event perspective
Whatever is revealed, this supposed March event appears to be the biggest launch of OnePlus so far, with four pieces of hardware to show. Hopefully, we’ll have a date to share soon.
- MOST: Everything we know about the OnePlus 9 so far