OnePlus is gearing up to launch its new flagship for 2021 with its upcoming OnePlus 9 series. Ahead of its official announcement, PhoneArena has obtained live photos of the new phone that would be running on Qualcomm’s latest Snapdragon 888 processor with 5G. Here’s a clear look at the OnePlus 9 5G.
What you’re seeing here is a prototype device and the rear uses a placeholder logo instead of a typical OnePlus branding. As shown below, the OnePlus 9 now gets a rather thick camera bump that houses 2 large cameras, 1 smaller sensor and one LED flash. There’s a prominent “Ultrashot” branding but it isn’t clear if this is just a placeholder label for the prototype device.
Since this is a non-Pro model, it is likely to feature a main sensor and an ultra-wide-angle unit similar to the OnePlus 8. The third small camera could be a macro lens or possibly a 3D ToF sensor for better depth effects. If you look closely, the camera layout does look like a stretch version of the iPhone 12‘s camera bump with an additional small sensor at the bottom.
Based on the phone’s system info, PhoneArena said it is likely that the main camera uses a 48MP sensor while the secondary shooter uses a 16MP sensor. Interestingly, Xiaomi’s upcoming Mi 11 is also seen with a similar 2 big + 1 small camera layout.
The OnePlus 9 still doesn’t come with a 3.5mm headphone jack and it still retains a notification slider on the right along with the power button. Meanwhile, the volume rocker is still placed on the left. The SIM card tray appears to come with rubber seals which indicates that it will have some form of water resistance.
The front of the device looks pretty much the same as the current OnePlus 8T. It is likely to retain the same 6.55″ display and it has a single punch-hole on the top left corner which houses what is believed to be a 16MP selfie camera.
It is likely that OnePlus will continue to push a fluid 120Hz display on a Full HD+ AMOLED planel. Based on the leaked screenshots, the new 9 is running on a Snapdragon 888 and it comes with 8GB RAM and 128GB of storage. The new device still retains a large 4,500mAh battery like the 8T and out of the box, it runs on Android 11.
Last month, serial leakster @OnLeaks has also shared clear renders of the OnePlus 9 Pro 5G. At first glance, the rear looks like a Samsung Galaxy S20 FE but it also features 2 large camera lenses and two more smaller units. However, similar to the new live photos of the OnePlus 9, you can see distinctive rings around the two main shooters.
Since this is a Pro model, the screen appears to come with a dual-curved AMOLED panel as shown above. We reckon that OnePlus would at least include a telephoto camera for zooming in on the Pro version. According to OnLeaks, the new OnePlus 9 series is expected to launch in March which is right after the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S21 series.
