OnePlus has finally released its new flagship 2021 phones. And they have built a new 3 year partnership with medium format camera maker Hasselblad to build their phone camera modules. On this first iteration, we get Ultra Wide 50MP, Wide 48MP or standard and a 3.3x telephoto with 8MP which is the lower quality of the bunch.
OnePlus has respected its own heritage when it comes to frame rates as the new 9 handsets retain the 240fps in Full HD 1080p and 480fps in HD 720p mode for somewhat super slow motion and a new mode of 120fps in full 4k which is exciting. OnePlus had the edge in recording duration in previous phones and this new variant might keep that edge. However, we feel disappointed the resolution did not go up to full HD at 480fps and allow for a 960fps HD mode like many other phones out there.
OnePlus 9 Slow Motion & Camera Specs:
Main Camera
Sensor: Sony IMX789
Sensor Size: 1/1.43″
Megapixels: 48
Pixel Size: 1.12µm
OIS: Yes
Lens Quantity: 7P
Focal Length: 23mm equivalent
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Ultra-Wide Camera
Sensor: Sony IMX766
Sensor Size: 1/1.56″
Megapixels: 50
Lens Quantity: 7P
Focal Length: 14mm equivalent
Aperture: ƒ/2.2
Lens: Freeform Lens
Telephoto Camera
Megapixels: 8
Pixel Size: 1.0µm
OIS: Yes
Aperture: ƒ/2.4
Monochrome Camera
Megapixels: 2
Flash
Dual LED Flash
Autofocus
Multi Autofocus (All pixel omni-directional PDAF+LAF+CAF)
Video Pro Version
8K video at 30 fps
4K video at 30/60/120 fps (No 120fps 4k in Non Pro Phone)
1080p video at 30/60 fps
Super Slow Motion: 1080p video at 240 fps, 720p video at 480 fps*
Time-Lapse: 1080p at 30 fps, 4K at 30 fps
Video Editor
OnePlus 9 Pro Slow Motion Video Test by JM Tech Point:
Features
Nightscape, Super Macro, UltraShot HDR, Smart Scene Recognition, Portrait mode, Pro mode, Panorama, Tilt-shift mode, Focus Peaking, Cat/Dog Face Focus, RAW Image, Filters, Super Stable, Video Nightscape, Video HDR, Video Portrait, Focus Tracking, Timelapse, Hyperlapse
Front Camera
- Sensor: Sony IMX471
- Megapixels: 16
- Pixel Size: 1.0 µm
- EIS: Yes
- Autofocus: Fixed Focus
- Aperture: ƒ/2.4
Video
1080p video at 30 fps
Time-Lapse
Features
Face Unlock, HDR, Screen Flash, Face Retouching
OnePlus 9 Review: Sneaky Value! by Marques Brownlee:
What is new in the Slow Motion mode?
It is clear that the 240fps and 480fps modes in the OnePlus 9 are not the main focus from a feature perspective as they are just mentioned on the spec sheet and not in the actual promo materials. It is clear that slow motion is now expected on phones of a certain range and at least 240fps in Full HD should be easy to find on most flagships.
The 480fps mode looks to be slightly better than in the OnePlus 8 phone quality-wise which is good but we still get some aliasing and moire from resolution loss. The 1080p mode looks very good at 240fps but it will not win any prizes for its low bitrate which seems to produce some compression artifacts.
What is really important is the inclusion of 4k 120fps which looks fantastic see the video below:
4K 2160p 120fps (4x manual slow-motion, main camera) – OnePlus 9 Pro video sample by GSMArena samples:
The quality in this mode is as good as regular 60p 4k which is outstanding, this is the real gem of the video modes on this phone. The 120p 4k is what we believe the killer video feature of the OnePlus 9. Here is another example of this mode:
Oneplus 9 Pro Cinematic 4K@120fps | HDR10+ by Technical Artist:
OnePlus and Hasselblad did good with this mode and it is a killer feature to have for any video enthusiast.
The bad news is that the 4k 120fps mode is only available in the OnePlus 9 Pro and not the regular OnePlus 9 which may make you fork the extra hundreds for the Pro in case you need this feature. It is really a shame because the camera module on the OnePlus 9 should be the same as the Pro in the 4k recording department. This seems like a software lock limitation.
Pricing and Availability:
Both Phones are 5G capable and start at the following prices:
- OnePlus 9 ($729) Release date: April 2nd, 2021
- OnePlus 9 Pro ($1069) Release date: April 2nd, 2021
Wireless Charging:
The phones also support 65W Ultra Fast Charging & 50W Wireless Charging which can charge 80% of the phone in less than 10 minutes. The trick here is double battery cells and double wireless charging coils which is excellent.
The Phone has no 3.5mm Audio headphone jack which is a bummer but it is also in the pack of most phones nowadays (thanks Apple!)
What to do?
Both the 9 and 9 Pro of the OnePlus flagships are excellent phones and great value for money considering what you get in the package, you also get a charger that was ditched by Apple and Samsung making you buy one from a third party which is ridiculous. While there may be some environmental benefits, you are most probably going to buy a new charger anyway which shows that it is a cost-saving and profit margin measure by the manufacturers to not include chargers in the box anymore. Who knows, with time we may see wireless charging become so ubiquitous that most desks and tables will have it built-in, thus negating the cable charger need.
OnePlus 9 Pro : 4K 120fps by iTech WebTV:
We recommend both phones and especially the pro with the 120fps 4k mode which is very detailed and shows good dynamic range characteristics.
We will update the site with slow motion samples in the 240fps and 480fps modes of these phones when they become widely available. We still think these are not the phones you want for super slow motion (see our HSC Guide), 480fps is not a spec in phones that is class-leading anymore. It is no slouch but we can find better out there. -HSC