Update: A tweet by OnePlus founder and SEO Pete Lau has hinted that the OnePlus 9 range will launch on March 8. Lau tweeted "stay tuned for March 8" with an image of the Earth as viewed from the moon with the text "something new is on the horizon" — we'd place a substantial bet that this is going to be a new set of OnePlus 9 phones.
The pieces are beginning to fall into place for OnePlus’ plans for next month. While we’ve long heard that the Chinese company plans on launching the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro in March, we’ve now got word that these will only be half of the hardware on display.
The reliable leaker Ishan Igarwal has told 91mobiles that OnePlus will be launching no fewer than four pieces of hardware at the same event next month. The 9 and 9 Pro handsets will be joined by a budget OnePlus 9R phone and the long-awaited OnePlus Watch.
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OnePlus 9R
The OnePlus 9R is what was previously known as the OnePlus 9 Lite before evidence was uncovered of the 9R name in the html of the OnePlus website. It's rumored to bridge the gap between the OnePlus 9 and the cheaper OnePlus Nord, with a 6.5-inch 90Hz display, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 690 and 8GB RAM. It’ll reportedly have a 64MP primary camera, and sport a 5,000mAh battery.
OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro
The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will up the ante with Qualcomm’s latest and greatest Snapdragon 888 chip, the same chip that recently wowed with the Samsung Galaxy S21. Both will ship with 120Hz displays and while the regular 9 doesn’t look like a huge step up from the 8T, OnePlus appears to be going all out with the 9 Pro, which apparently includes an exciting new tie in with luxury camera brand Hasselblad.
OnePlus Watch
Finally, there’s the OnePlus Watch. While OnePlus came very close to releasing a smartwatch in 2015 before canning it at the last minute, this time something is definitely on the way, as confirmed by company CEO Pete Lau.
Lau seemed to confirm at the time that the OnePlus Watch would run Wear OS. “What we're trying to do is work with Google to try to improve the connectivity between the Wear OS ecosystem, Android TV, and Android smartphones to create this ability for better device interoperability across the ecosystems,” he said.
Past rumors have indicated a round watch face, but don’t rule out something more akin to the Oppo Watch, given the brands operate under the same umbrella company. While OnePlus and Oppo insist they’re distinct brands, the pair’s products have shared similarities in the past. Just compare the Oppo Find X2 Pro to the OnePlus 8 Pro.
OnePlus 9 event outlook
Whatever is unveiled, this rumored March event looks set to be OnePlus’ biggest launch to date with four pieces of hardware to show off. Hopefully, we’ll have a date to share soon.
- MORE: Everything we know about the OnePlus 9 so far
