So OnePlus is expected to launch the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro next month in March. We've already seen some hands-on photos of the OnePlus 9 which showed OnePlus isn't planning anything drastic with the new handset apart from redesigning the camera module and using bigger sensors. Today, we have the first-ever hands-on photos of the OnePlus 9 Pro courtesy of Dave2D which at the first glance shows that OnePlus could be providing a major step up in the camera hardware with a partnership with Hasselblad,a ridiculously expensive camera gear making company. I'll explain in a minute whether or not this puts OnePlus's camera quality on par with Samsung, Apple, and others but first, let'stake a look at the phone itself.
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| Source: androidpolice.com |
Unlike the OnePlus 9, the OnePlus 9 Pro has a curved display with the punch hole selfie camera at the left. There's also a slight difference in the frame shape for the alert slider and power button which honestly looks better than the OnePlus 8 Pro. Strangely the about section of the phone shows 11GB RAM with 256GB storage. Since this is a prototype of the phone, so it is understandable why certain information is strange. The final retail product will most likely have 12GB RAM instead. By the way, the display settings show QHD+at 120Hz refresh with an option to set it at FHD+ or have the phone automatically switch to the appropriate resolution to save battery.
The camera module shows two bigger camera sensors and two smaller ones with iPhone-style circular bumps. There's no information about the specifications of these cameras but there's no periscope zoom camera here which is something you would expect in a 2021 flagship phone. The camera UI however includes a “Tilt-Shift”mode. If you don't know what tilt-shift photography is, it basically is a creative and unique type of photography in which the camera is manipulated so that a life-sized location or subject looks like a miniature-scale model as you can see.
Anyway, the biggest takeaway here is the Hasselblad branding and some believe OnePlus working with Hasselblad might elevate the phone's camera quality which is possible. OnePlus's phones are not known for their cameras so the expertise of Hasselblad might change that perception. But then again Hasselblad also worked with Motorola in the past with Moto Z Camera Mod and that didn't work out really well as it received pretty average reviews. So don't expect anything spectacular with this new partnership but then again what didn't work for Motorola might work for OnePlus, you never know.
I mean OnePlus worked with Leica in the past but that didn't work out well for them. On the other hand, the Huawei Leica partnership really changed things for the smartphone camera. Huawei was ahead of others in the camera department with things like Night mode, periscope zoom, and more. So we'll see how this OnePlus Hasselblad partnership works out. By the way, the difference between the camera module of the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro is the number of cameras and the Hasselblad branding. With that being said, let me know what do you think about this down in the comments and keep pinching!
