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Every 6 months a batch of fresh red boxes roll out of OnePlus factories across the world, each time with a different promise. Speed, charging, buttery displays all of these have been done and dusted in the past few iterations of OP phones. The first quarter of 2021 however, saw a promise and a subsequent hype at unprecedented levels. I honestly had an easier time working my way through Game of Thrones spoilers compared to the ones of the OP9. Be it the official channels or the leaks, the OP9 had a nervous hype around it. With its promise of “Your best shot” has OnePlus finally shot its shot with the Hasselblad collab? My application and eventual selection to the Lab was a shot at finding the answers for myself.
I am Naveen, a Software Engineer who works on NLP in Oracle. When one of the numerous screens in my room does not have me hooked, I indulge in making comics, digital and canvas art. I have spent a good portion of my review covering and featuring places in and around my city, if you recognize it, do drop a comment below! Let’s gently waddle into the review, “diving right in” knocks the breath out of me.
PS: Please DO attempt to imitate the scenes at home. These were not shot by a professional and there is no way you are going to get injured. No iPhones were harmed in the making of this review. Any resemblance to real-life oppo phones.... I mean characters, are purely coincidental and unintentional.
The night before the Morning Mist - Unboxing
The long red (The pictures might appear orangish in your displays, I am not entirely sure what the issue is, but there is a large variance from display to display) box is here. If I had a dollar for every time OnePlus’s design team went “How can we make this box longer?”, I might have enough for a new case from their store. The black-on-red dual tone is a better-looking aesthetic than the white-on-red of the OP5 and 6 I have owned previously.
The OnePlus 9 Pro retail Box
Multiple Hasselblad brandings all across the box. Almost on an equal footing with the OP logos
Unboxing has historically been a nervous experience for me, and not without good reason. I recollect my OP5 slipping right off the box as the lid came out, the OP9 however was set in firm and snug. Setting aside the phone, the first question that pops is “Where is the case?” (The “plastic cover on TV remote” culture is ingrained in my generation). A few seconds of looking around and I find the case sitting alongside the invite letter, documentation, and a generous sheet of sticker swags.
The device ships out of the box with plastic wrap and a protective film
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The phone sits snug and firm and is not vulnerable while opening
A familiar red cable coiled and tucked away neatly along with the charging brick was a view that I soaked myself in for a good 5 seconds. Looking at the industry trends, my next unboxing of a flagship might see a missing cable and brick. The first thing that stood out instantly about the brick was it being a good 33% narrower (it is longer though) than the one I had from OP6. The old variant would butt in into the 2 adjacent charging plugs in an extension box. Not unlike that one annoying middle seat airplane passenger claiming both the armrests.
A USB-C to USB-C charging cable
A narrow 65Watt power brick with the charging cable
Coming back to the star of the night (quite literally, given its shiny surface) the colorway I received is the Morning mist 9 Pro with 256 GB storage and 12 GB RAM. I will touch upon the design at a later point, but the back is essentially a mirror. Starts out as a mirror at the bottom and fades away into a mercurial finish at the top.
The OnePlus 9 Pro Morning Mist
A closeup view of the Quad camera setup
The default case that ships is not transparent anymore. A muted dull grey of sorts with a subtle never settle embossed onto the side is the look it sports. I found it particularly bothering that OnePlus would send a translucent case. The glass finish has always been something that OnePlus has historically taken pride in both during the launch and in social media accounts, I wonder what prompted them to make the switch. I am honestly not a fan of the color nor the case. It does not fit snugly around the volume controls and managed to gather enough dirt and grime within the first hour of outdoor shooting. The transparent cases were definitely grippier and easier to clean than this smooth finish. Fortunately, it retains the raised lip around the 4 corners and should protect the screen and device just fine.
The case is grey and has a OP logo and "never settle" embossed subtly.
Overall, the unboxing was pleasant (mostly due to the thought that OnePlus puts in little things) and I look forward to talking more about the design in round 2.
The sticker deck, invitation letter, a red cable club QR code card
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