OnePlus built its brand image across” flagship killers,” promising the majority of the features and capacities of flagship-class phones at half the price or less. Nowadays, flagships are routinely launched at costs north of Rs. 1,00,000, also OnePlus has kept pace. The newest OnePlus 9 and 9 Guru were just introduced with starting costs of Rs. 49,999 along with Rs. 64,999 respectively, so putting them well and really into the premium tier. Unfortunately, for a lot of people, purchasing power has not risen as much. The sort of buyer who felt like they had been getting a terrific bargain after, say, the OnePlus five launched in Rs. 32,999 in mid-2017 is unlikely to feel the same way about the present generation when it’s time to upgrade.
And so, the company that assured us we would”never settle” is currently asking some of its most faithful fans to do precisely that. Even the OnePlus 9R is a reaction to rising costs and an endeavor to appeal to individuals who want something new and don’t mind a couple of cut corners, compared to the OnePlus 9 (Review) and OnePlus 9 Guru (Inspection ). Interestingly, while it looks like its allies, the OnePlus 9R is strikingly similar to the previous-generation OnePlus 8T (Review) about the interior.
What’s your OnePlus 9R a good phone at its beginning price of Rs. 39,999, or would you need to manage too many compromises? More interestingly, what exactly does this mean to the more expensive OnePlus 9? Let’s find out.
OnePlus 9R design
In the distance, the OnePlus 9R appears just like its allies, the OnePlus 9 and 9 Professional. The identifying design touch of this generation is the form and layout of this camera module, common across all three versions. The one thing missing here’s that a Hasselblad logo — the 9R does not benefit from the high-profile brand association. You might also discover that the 9R has four cameras, exactly like the 9 Pro, whereas the OnePlus 9 has just three — more on this later.
Another choice that provides the OnePlus 9R an advantage over its more expensive sibling is the body is constructed from metal rather than polycarbonate. This makes the 9R feel more superior and illustrates how reusing the plan of the OnePlus 8T can be both a good and a bad thing. The front and back are both made of Corning Gorilla Glass. My unit had a glue screen protector pre-applied.
You have two color options: Lake Blue, a smooth, glossy finish, and Carbon Black, which is more of a blue, textured texture. My Lake Blue inspection unit was thankfully not too slippery, although it was a bit tough to maintain the rear panel free of smudges. Sadly, the plastic case you make from the box has a sizable”Never Heard” brand slogan throughout it.
The glass back panel is curved at the sides, along the camera module doesn’t stick out too much. The massive screen has pretty narrow borders, and the front camera is inserted in the upper left corner. The 9R is rather easy to use, even with one hand. It weighs 189g and is 8.4mm thick.
On the right, you’ll discover a small but well-positioned power switch along with the signature OnePlus alert slider that enables you to silence the telephone or disable vibration quickly. The volume buttons are on the left. The best is blank, and the bottom has a speaker, a USB Type-C port, and the dual-Nano-SIM tray.
OnePlus 9R specifications :
The largest gap between the OnePlus 9R and the 8T is the newer version has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 SoC in contrast to the previous-gen flagship Snapdragon 865+. A close review of the spec sheets shows the 870 is a minor update that runs a tiny bit quicker and inexplicably drops Wi-Fi 6E compatibility. This SoC is positioned right below this season’s flagship, the Snapdragon 888, and will probably appear in multiple other”value flagship” phones soon. OnePlus states it has employed a sophisticated cooling system with multiple temperature sensors to ensure user comfort.
You also receive a 6.5-inch full-HD+ Fluid AMOLED screen using a 120Hz maximum refresh speed and HDR10+, that’s exactly the identical set of specifications as the panels around your OnePlus 8T along with the OnePlus 9. It’s an embedded fingerprint detector and is made of Gorilla Glass. OnePlus specifies sRGB and DCI-P3 color gamut support but doesn’t explicitly maintain 100 percent coverage. There is an always-on display style. However, this doesn’t remain on all of the time unless you permit it, consuming any power.
OnePlus 9R software :
We have praised OnePlus’s OxygenOS software in years past, and it’s still feature-rich while keeping a low-key appearance. This is version 11.1 that runs on Android 11, but I was amazed to see no security patch update beyond February 2024 at the time of review. Samsung’s OneUI has inspired some design elements, like positioning elements to produce one-handed use easier on large screens.
There are tons of customizations beneath the outside, but nothing too flashy. The very best component, relative to present trends, is that there’s no advertising on the lock display and no onslaught of spammy notification ads. The only preloaded third-party app is Netflix, which astonishingly can not be uninstalled. My Games app has an integrated launcher for”instant games” that don’t need to be installed but are generally not terrific quality, and there’s an unnecessary feed of somewhat clickbait-y gaming-related articles. You may also find some prompts to test out various OnePlus attributes, such as its cloud service and customer loyalty program.
