Earlier this week, OnePlus announced its all-new OnePlus 9 Pro, its fully-fledged no-frills flagship, along with its slightly toned-down sibling, the OnePlus 9. Naturally, with a Hasselblad badge on the back, the OnePlus 9 Pro claimed all the headlines, with the promise of providing a much-improved camera system to its consumer base. However, with yet another incremental price hike seeping through, OnePlus might have punched a bit over its weight. At $969, OnePlus is no longer undercutting the competition, instead further reinstating its status as a competitive flagship smartphone vendor. Sniffing at the heels of other household names such as Samsung is no easy task, but perhaps OnePlus feels ready enough to compete with the likes of the Korean behemoth. That seems to be the case on paper, but in reality, OnePlus might need to up the ante a bit to swing the balance in their favor. Here’s why I think OnePlus might need to step up to prove its worth.
Software support
Ever since OnePlus’ inception, software support has been one of the key strengths of every OnePlus phone. Particularly, their track record of keeping their phones up-to-date has been exceptional. Not only were their phones updated on time, but OnePlus also went the extra mile and updated the OnePlus 3 all the way to Android Pie. Fast forwards to 2020, and we can see a noticeable regression in this regard. Rather weirdly, Samsung — which was notorious for not giving a toss about updating their older smartphones — was the first company to promise 3 years of generational updates, followed by another year of security updates, beating the standard set by the Mountain View-based search giant. That was a big statement, so big that Google was somewhat forced to follow suit. And it’s not like Samsung is skimping on keeping its phones up-to-date with the latest security patch either. My 1-year-old Galaxy S20+ is still receiving prompt monthly security updates to this day. OnePlus, on the other hand, did not mention anything about how they intend to update their newly released OnePlus 9 series. And if the OnePlus 7 series is of any indication — botched releases and delayed updates and everything in between — OnePlus has got to improve on this front to prove itself a viable option in the elite flagship space.
Questionable IP certification
One of the main hallmarks of flagship phones nowadays is IP certification. IP 67/68 rating has become the standard rating of every flagship phone. Some manufacturers going the extra mile by ensuring their phones could withstand even more extreme conditions — Apple made a whole fuss about it with the iPhone 11 series. Rather weirdly, OnePlus handles IP rating a bit more dubiously. While the OnePlus 9 Pro is IP68 certified, there is still a little asterisk to bear in mind when it comes to its cheaper sibling. Only the T-Mobile variant of the OnePlus 9 is IP68 certified, with the unlocked model barred of any official certification. It might sound a bit like harsh criticism at first, especially since it is only the cheaper-priced OnePlus 9 associated with all this confusion. But then, Samsung launched the Galaxy S20 FE last year at $699 with an official IP rating in tow. Google’s similarly priced Pixel 5 also had an official IP68 rating. Of course, complying with such a well-known standard is a bit costly. Earlier, OnePlus could have been given some leeway for such shady tactics to save some costs, given their phones’ relatively low list price at launch. But since OnePlus has decided to move up the spectrum, saving costs is no longer an acceptable excuse to handle their phones’ IP rating the same way they do.
Lackluster camera
Another hallmark of every flagship smartphone is having a great camera system, an area OnePlus largely trailed behind the pack. So far, OnePlus’ previous phones have been competitive at best. This year, though, OnePlus decided to partner with Hasselblad — a company known for its incredible endeavors in taking man’s first pictures of the moon — in a bid to change this perspective. Along with an improved ultra-wide camera, it’s fair to say OnePlus was so confident in its flagship’s camera this year.
Sadly though, this partnership did not blow away anyone’s socks with any ground-shattering hardware. What Hasselblad chose to focus on instead is “color science”. To be fair, color science is a bit difficult to tune to perfection. Not to mention that it’s become fairly subjective now — not everyone is fond of the natural look. Every manufacturer has its own profile. Google’s Pixel phones, for instance, are tuned to churn out high-contrast HDR+ images with a slightly bluish hue. Apple’s iPhones, on the other hand, produce images with a slightly warmer tone. Samsung is renowned for cranking up the saturation to give its images more flair. Sure, OnePlus will appeal to a certain audience that favors this more natural-looking profile they have tuned their phone’s camera to. But more likely than not, this will not turn many heads.
Moving on to the rest of the hardware in tow, apart from the much-improved ultrawide camera, there is nothing that makes this phone stand out. In comparison, every other smartphone has its own ace in the hole. Samsung has become known for having the most versatile and capable camera system, featuring frankly obnoxious levels of optical zoom. Apple has become renowned for being the most consistent, not to mention their astonishing superiority when it comes to videography. Even Google, which has become quite infamous for their shortcomings when it comes to the hardware employed in their phones, managed to escape through the cracks by perfecting their HDR+ formula, thanks to some of Google’s wicked software sorcery. With a 3.3x telephoto lens and a measly 2MP monochrome sensor, OnePlus’ endeavors look quite modest in comparison. Credit where credit’s due, OnePlus seems to have hit the nail on its head when it comes to ultrawide angle shots. But then, not everyone is fond of snapping ultrawide shots, in the same way not everyone is fond of a specific color profile. If OnePlus is to appeal to the biggest audience, not having a more capable telephoto snapper feels like a big miss to me.
Verdict
OnePlus has come a long way since it was first founded. From a $299 so-called flagship killer to a $969 killer flagship, this is quite a journey, to say the least, featuring some of the most memorable phones. And lately, OnePlus showed that it can be regarded as a serious contender in the elite flagship market. Excellent developer support, ultra-fast charging speeds, and top-notch specs have been some of the cornerstones of every OnePlus flagship. The problem is, up till this year’s OnePlus 9 series, OnePlus’ strategy always revolved around undercutting the competition, which can cut it some slack. This time around, OnePlus is no longer undercutting the competition, rather making a strong statement, showing its ambition of being recognizable not only by the tech enthusiasts. At 30 bucks shy of $1000, this is a very tough ask. At this hefty price tag, OnePlus has got to be a bit more convincing, if they really want to turn the tables around.
