While it’s not uncommon for phones to have smaller, incremental upgrades each year, it’s unusual for one feature to be so good that the next generation can’t top it. That may be happening with the OnePlus 9.
According to leaker Digital Chat Station on Weibo, it seems as though the OnePlus 9 may use exactly the same display as the OnePlus 8T. Though that’s not a bad thing.
- Everything we know about the OnePlus 9
- OnePlus 8T review: Too little for too much
- Plus: Android could copy the iPhone’s best privacy features — what you need to know
In our OnePlus 8T review, we noted that the phone had an excellent display. We particularly liked the fact it has a super-smooth 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+, and solid color gamut. Though the lack of QHD+ resolution was a bit of a bummer.
In other words, it’s a good thing that the OnePlus 9 may use this display because we know it’s going to be good. A new display always leaves the chance for poorer performance than its predecessor, however unlikely, and this way we know exactly what to expect.
#DigitalChatStation The 1080p screen of the OnePlus 8T is second only to Samsung Note20 Ultra in DxOMark, which is higher than the 2K screen score of the OnePlus 8 Pro.Is this the reason why the OnePlus 9 continues to use, the high-quality e3 flexible straight screen...😎 pic.twitter.com/jJWSAFX2sKFebruary 4, 2021
As Digital Chat Station noticed, the OnePlus 8T doesn't have the best phone display out there in DxOMark's rating. But joint second place is still a heck of a lot better than being somewhere else down the list. We just have to wait and see whether any more recent phone releases can top its performance.
That’s the downside to sticking with older tech, other companies may continue to tinker and come up with something that can knock you off your perch. DxOMark takes a while to test phones, so it could be that something like the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra.
However, this rumor doesn’t mention anything about the OnePlus 9 Pro. Typically OnePlus’s Pro models have a higher resolution display.
But since there was no OnePlus 8T Pro the company can’t just reuse the same screen as before. That's unless it takes the OnePlus 8 Pro's display, but Digital Chat Station said the 8 Pro has a much lower DxOMark than the 8T. It would be a strange decision to give the Pro model a worse screen, after all.
From what we’ve heard so far, the OnePlus 9 is set for an early launch in March, rather than the typical mid-Spring launch window of past years. Rumors claim that the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will have respective 6.55-inch FHD+ and 6.78-inch QHD+ displays, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 888 chip, a 4,500 mAh battery, and a triple-lens camera system with 50MP main lens, 20MP wide-angle lens, and a 12MP telephoto zoom lens. Both phones are expected to come with either 8GB or 12GB of RAM, plus 128GB and 256GB storage options.
We might need a little more from the OnePlus 9 of it's to win a high place on our best phones list. But we'll have to reserve judgment until the spring.
