OnePlus 9 Pro review

23 March 2021


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prasad-gsma, 24 Mar 2021We understand the confusion around the current rating. It&#... moreThanks for addressing that.
It's funny, a 4.4 rating for a flawed device with a "avoid" conclusion, while 4.6 rating is given to a "go for it" no-nonsense S21 Ultra.
Perhaps ditch the numerical rating altogether?

    • r
    • raycon
    • 0Ui
    • 24 Mar 2021

    If you think about it, the browsing test result is quite good.
    Maybe with a software update they'll fix the refresh rate for the video playback and maybe we'll get 17-18 hours and that could be a good score for a flagship in 2021

      prasad-gsma, 24 Mar 2021We understand the confusion around the current rating. It&#... moreI think 5 stars is really hard to go by in terms of reviews nowadays. I think it's high time to use a 10-star system that can be described as this:

      1 star - processing power
      1 star - battery life/charge speeds/wireless offered
      1 star - camera (day and night)/selfies/video quality
      1 star - build (including Gorilla Glass)/button placement
      1 star - display quality
      1 star - RAM/Hard drive count/speed
      1 star - audio quality/offering (speaker quality/headphone)
      1 star - software support (if possible)/quality
      1 star - price (extremely important)
      1 star - miscellaneous (hardware offerings such as microSD card slot, IR Blaster, IP rating, etc)

      This would allow your reviews to be BRUTALLY honest, no matter how good the camera of some of these devices get you.

        FarFan, 24 Mar 2021POCO X3 Pro is better in every aspect except chip. Change m... moreDelusional, the Poco X3 Pro only beats this phone in battery life.

          • ?
          • Anonymous
          • 0p}
          • 24 Mar 2021

          OnePlus gave edited samples photos to hide their poor photo quality ... so pathetic ...

            • ?
            • Anonymous
            • nmJ
            • 24 Mar 2021

            prasad-gsma, 24 Mar 2021We understand the confusion around the current rating. It&#... moreThank you very much for taking the time to reply and clarify, it is greatly appreciated - particularly to an anonymous comment.

            Within the context of your reply, a kind suggestion for your consideration: an asterisk, or a footnote on your reviews mentioning what you just highlighted: That the rating system is under review to better assess and reflect the combination of characteristics/performance found in the current smartphone landscape.

            Regards,
            Panagiotis

              • ?
              • Anonymous
              • TLP
              • 24 Mar 2021

              blehhhh that 86h battery life is garbage compared to the 95 to 100 of the competition at this price point

                • C
                • Cyco
                • IbG
                • 24 Mar 2021

                "The OnePlus 9 Pro continues the brand's tradition of having pleasant but unremarkable designs."
                I wish we would get something unique like the Find X 1 or 2, Oneplus 7 Pro, or Vivo Next S.

                  Anonymous, 24 Mar 2021why would anyone prefer oneplus 9pro over samsung s21+ with... moreTrue. I think vanilla Galaxy S21 is better and more importantly cheaper than this brand new OnePlus.

                    Anonymous, 24 Mar 2021Let me also join the club of all those who cannot reconcile... moreWe understand the confusion around the current rating. It's a fairly complex system that involves a lot of factors to be weighed in before averaging it out to a final number. We do agree that the final score is too high, especially compared with the competing devices that have the same score but are better overall. We will be reassessing the ratings and the rating system in general. For now, we recommend just going by the text in the reviews.

                      • ?
                      • Anonymous
                      • 8Kf
                      • 24 Mar 2021

                      Anonymous, 24 Mar 2021why would anyone prefer oneplus 9pro over samsung s21+ with... moreDepends on what person is looking for.
                      There are ppl that like the fact Oxygen is not heavily modified.
                      Other that care about the 65W charging.
                      People that do not like 21U design, do not like the UI etc ...

                        ...this review is a waking alert to all this companies in this bussiness...better phones does not means higher prices every year...OP9 Pro is an example of that...at the end there is not too much differences comparing with the OP8 Pro...

                        tough word when saying:

                        "..Sometimes, it's not enough to just dress for the job you want. You also have to be good at it...."

                          • A
                          • ASL
                          • Fmx
                          • 24 Mar 2021

                          Peter UK, 24 Mar 2021Literally what I came here to say... I trust GSM arena Ofcourse the lower brand phone is as good as the top brand (oppo). Gsmarena logic. Oppo and Oneplus are from same big conglomerate. Oppo is the flagship of all trademark names of this conglomerate.

                            • ?
                            • Anonymous
                            • T4}
                            • 24 Mar 2021

                            why would anyone prefer oneplus 9pro over samsung s21+ with similar price? comparable on the paper and brand perception is way better on samsung.samsung is producing top tier smartphones for over 20 years. who is oneplus?

                              • S
                              • Shui8
                              • KZK
                              • 24 Mar 2021

                              YUKI93, 24 Mar 2021I thought the 9 Pro's photo quality look good until I ... moreIts a noisy oversharpen mess. 😑

                                I thought the 9 Pro's photo quality look good until I compared it with the 8 Pro from the photo samples. Really disappointed with the noise produced from the 9 Pro, even when using GSMArena's own Photo Compare tool. Heck, even the detail doesn't look right when compared to the 8 Pro. Looks like last year's 8 Pro is still a solid good buy for me.

                                  i0S.-.Never.-.Again, 24 Mar 2021Then why Does the Galaxy S21 Ultra with Snapdragon 888 give... moreOne point of data is called an outlier

                                  For their to be a trend you need at least 2 points of data

                                  Mentioning the ultra is meaningless when we have the mi 11, oppo find x3, rog 5 & oneplus 9 series validating this bad power consumption

                                    miaumiaumiau, 23 Mar 2021it will be like this for a while. the camera pictures hit a... moreI agree with you, also I like mi 10ultra camera combination.

                                      • A
                                      • Anil
                                      • U@e
                                      • 24 Mar 2021

                                      Ram should be more

                                        • ?
                                        • Anonymous
                                        • nmJ
                                        • 24 Mar 2021

                                        Let me also join the club of all those who cannot reconcile the 4.4 rating with the overall tone of the review and particularly the conclusion.

                                        Further, when you are focusing (justifiably) on the lack of a notable improvement in camera performance of 9 Pro - especially in light of what the competition is doing - it is difficult to understand that you list as an alternative the Mi11, which lacks a telephoto camera, without even mentioning it! This comment is not against the Mi 11 as an alternative, it is rather aimed at the lack of consistency and clarity in the tone and approach of the review.

                                        Other than that, I struggle to understand OnePlus' proposition in the current smartphone landscape. It's clearly not a flagship killer approach anymore. It seems more like offering an all-round flagship that doesn't really excel at anything, but is priced as if it did. Only time will tell if this approach is sustainable, but I am not very optimistic given the alternatives at various price points around the 9 Pro's RRP.