OnePlus 9 review: Competent but lacks fancy bells and whistles of Pro model

 The OnePlus 9 cuts some corners on premium features, but it brings a motley mix of specifications and features for an uncompromised everyday smartphone experience

The OnePlus 9 Pro (review) is a solid smartphone packed with all sorts of fancy bells and whistles that you expect from a premium smartphone. Though competitively priced, some might find it expensive. For those who do, there is no harm in checking out the Pro model’s younger sibling, the OnePlus 9. Though it cuts some corners on premium features, it brings a motley mix of specifications and features for an uncompromised everyday smartphone experience.

Starting with the design, the OnePlus 9 looks almost identical to the Pro model but is more compact. It has a glass cover on the front and back, but the metallic chassis of the Pro model is replaced here by a plastic one. However, the thin and lightweight design and compact form factor compensate for the slightly inferior build. Another apparent change is in the rear camera module, which looks less busy than the one present in the Pro model.

On the front, the OnePlus 9 has a familiar punch-hole display with thin bezels on the sides. It is a slightly smaller 6.55-inch AMOLED panel but of a flagship-grade with a refresh rate of 120Hz. While the display in the Pro model supports a dynamic refresh rate that variably adjusts all the way down to 1Hz for extending the on-battery time, the display in the vanilla model operates at either the standard 60Hz or the enhanced 120Hz. Surprisingly, the lack of a dynamic refresh rate here does not compromise on battery efficiency and the OnePlus 9 delivers an on-battery time that is on a par with what you get in the Pro model. However, even if the absence of a dynamic refresh rate does not hinder the user experience, the fullHD+ resolution and lack of value-added display feature like motion smoothing do.

Speaking of user experience, the OnePlus 9 ships with the same Android 11-based OxygenOS 11 operating system that powers the Pro model. OnePlus deserves praise for keeping the user interface close to stock Android while integrating value-added features to elevate user experience (customized color tones, dark mode, night mode, hidden space area, etc). Complementing the user experience is a swift performance, thanks to the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 system-on-chip, paired with up to 12GB RAM (LPDDR5) and 256GB internal storage (UFS 3.1).