THE OnePlus 9 The series will launch on March 23 along with the company’s first smartwatch, called OnePlus Watch.
Originally, we expected to only hear about the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro smartphones, but a new development confirms that there will be a third smartphone to share the stage that will be cheaper than the other two – the OnePlus 9R.
In a recent interview, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau confirmed the existence of the OnePlus 9R and talked about what an exclusive device from India will look like for now, with the goal of reaching another price range with the series. Interestingly, this first official mention of the affordable flagship came only recently, and the company hasn’t revealed much more either.
On March 23, OnePlus will host a global launch event for its next series of devices. This is almost a month ahead of the company’s normal schedule and will compete with other flagships, such as the Samsung Galaxy S21 and Xiaomi Mi 11.
As the OnePlus already has a series of budget smartphones in the Nord family, we expect the next OnePlus 9R to be between the Nord and the OnePlus 9 series – both in terms of specifications and also in price. Here is everything we know and what we want to see on the OnePlus 9R.
Cut to the chase
- What is that? A new affordable flagship from OnePlus
- When go out? Possibly March 23, but in India
- How much will it cost? It is not clear now
OnePlus 9R price and release date
The OnePlus 9R is confirmed to share the stage with the other products on March 23. For now, it looks like it will be an exclusive device from India, as there is no mention of global availability yet.
The only real information we have is that it will be cheaper than the rest of the OnePlus 9 series.
Considering that the flagship line of OnePlus flagships starts at more than Rs 40,000 (about $ 550, £ 400, AU $ 700), and there is already Nord below Rs 30,000, we expect the price of the OnePlus 9R to be at middle, around the Rs 35,000 mark. The company has not had many offers in this space in recent years, as it has shifted its focus to more premium offers.
The OnePlus 9R is unlikely to reach other markets, but that is not a guarantee and we may see the company bringing its cheaper smartphone to places like the USA, UK and Australia in the future.
OnePlus 9R specifications and features
In the interview, it was confirmed that the OnePlus 9R will be a 5G device. Knowing it’s a flagship, it restricts the choice of chipset to Qualcomm Snapdragon 888, Snapdragon 870 or Snapdragon 865 from last year.
To keep costs low without saving performance, we expect the OnePlus 9R 5G to be powered by Snapdragon 870 chipset – a new platform that the company has confirmed that it will soon adopt.
For those who don’t know, it is a new chipset that was announced earlier this year as an update to the Snapdragon 865, but with a clock speed greater than 3.2 GHz.
A teaser on Amazon.in shows the OnePlus 9R with physical shoulder triggers, which not only reaffirms that it could be a gaming phone, but also suggests that the company will launch dedicated accessories at some point.
We assume that the OnePlus 9R will keep the 120 Hz AMOLED screen, geared towards players. It is expected that a large battery and a quick charge will also make the cut. It remains to be seen whether he will receive a Hasselblad camera upgrade like his brothers or not.
Little is really known about the OnePlus 9R and we hope to hear a lot more about the next device at the company’s launch on March 23.
What we want to see
A bigger battery
The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are confirmed to pack on a 4,500 mAh battery. Since the OnePlus 9R will be a gaming phone where ergonomics can be in the background, we hope to see a bigger battery inside
65 W fast charging
Recent OnePlus devices are among the fastest-charging smartphones available, taking only about 30 minutes for a full charge. We would like to see the 65 W load coming to the OnePlus 9R as well.
Capable cameras
With OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, OnePlus is teaming up with Hasselblad to improve the camera experience. With the 9R being a kind of gaming device, our expectations are not very high. However, it would be nice if at least it offered the same photography hardware as the OnePlus 8 Pro, and was not lower.