Hasselblad camera could make the OnePlus 9 Pro the best smartphone of 2021
If the new Samsung Galaxy S21 devices haven’t yet enticed you to spend your hard-earned cash on a new smartphone, there’s a good chance that you’re patiently waiting to see what OnePlus brings to the table in 2021.
While OnePlus pushed up the launch of its flagship smartphone last year, we will likely still have to wait another month until the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro make their official debut. Fortunately, new leaks have surfaced, giving us a little more insight into the company’s plans for the two devices.
OnePlus 9 Battery capacity
The OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro will both have 4,500 mAh batteries. This capacity is a repeat for the Pro variant, but an upgrade for the OnePlus 9 since its predecessor featured a 4,300 mAh battery cell. While it has not been mentioned in any of the leaks, both devices are expected to feature the same 65W charging speed offered by the OnePlus 8T which featured two 2,250 battery punches that allowed the split configuration to absorb power a lot quicker than a single battery would.
9 and 9 Pro pic.twitter.com/PHU385KmL9
— Max Jambor (@MaxJmb) February 9, 2021
OnePlus 9 Camera partnership
OnePlus phones have gotten a lot better at taking photos and videos as of late and it looks like we will see more progress on that front this year. Leaked images shared by Dave2D revealed that the OnePlus 9 Pro will sport Hasselblad branding on the rear quad-camera module. Pete Lau, the CEO of OnePlus, has gone on record stating that OnePlus is investing heavily in the cameras on upcoming smartphones in an attempt to take on the current leaders in the space.
It’s unclear what Hasselblad’s involvement will look like since the company is known for its medium-format professional cameras that start at around $15,000. That being said, this isn’t the first time Hasselblad has dipped its toes into the smartphone world as I’m sure some of you remember the Hasselblad True Zoom Moto Mod that added a 10x zoom camera with RAW image capture to any Motorola device with Moto Mod compatibility.
OnePlus may simply be using the Hasselblad name or they could be relying on Hasselblad for their camera expertise like Huawei has done with Leica over the past 5 years. It’s quite possible that OnePlus is looking to replicate the success Huawei has had by trying to create a similar partnership with Hasselblad.
Another interesting piece of news that hasn’t yet been connected to the upcoming OnePlus 9 devices is that the company has been granted a patent that would allow for a camera to be embedded into the bezel around a phone’s display. While this would allow a OnePlus smartphone to get rid of that pesky hole-punch cutout in the display for the front-facing camera, it would likely require a much smaller camera module and a fixed-focus lens, something that wouldn’t be appreciated by consumers who are relying a lot more of the front-facing camera on their phones for selfies, TikTok videos and video calls.
OnePlus 9 Price
Pricing for the upcoming OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro is still a mystery. The OnePlus 8 made its debut for $699 while the 8 Pro sold for $899.
With the $200 price drop we saw from Samsung with its Galaxy S21 lineup, there’s a chance that OnePlus will be lowering he priced of its 2021 smartphones to maintain a commanding pricing advantage over Samsung and other competitors.
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