OnePlus 9RT 5G hands-on review

Conclusion

The OnePlus 9RT is a reasonably good, if overly familiar phone. We liked the design and build quality, the performance and the clean UI, the images and videos from the main 50MP camera, and the super-fast charging. Other things like the display and the ultra-wide camera were less impressive but still good for the price category. For the most part, it feels like a slightly downgraded OnePlus 9.

The software experience was mostly decent this time around, although there is some definite lack of polish and attention to detail in some areas. Things like the camera app that can't remember your settings can get very annoying very quickly. The 60fps limit for most games is also frustrating and could have been solved by providing a simple option.

Then there are some things that are particularly distasteful. The macro camera is comically bad, and it truly baffles us how something so utterly unusable can make its way into the final product. You need to have a certain level of contempt for your customers to think this is okay to put in a product. This isn't the first time OnePlus has put pointless cameras on its phones, but the joke has gone on for far too long now, and this is by far the least funny attempt.

At the current asking price of INR 42,999 for the 8/128GB variant and INR 46,999 for the 12/256GB variant, the OnePlus 9RT is more expensive compared to rivals such as the Mi 11X Pro. While the two are similar, the Xiaomi phone does have fewer shortcomings and provides better value, in our opinion. However, if you have a strong preference for OnePlus phones or like OxygenOS over MIUI, then you can't really go wrong with the OnePlus 9RT, either, assuming you're fine with the eventual OxygenOS 12 update.

Pros

• Premium build quality and finish
• Good UI performance
• Good main camera image and video quality
• Superfast charging

Cons

• Terrible macro camera
• Slippery back panel finish
• Clumsy software
• No IP-rating
• Lopsided stereo speaker sound
• No high framerate gaming