A third phone in the upcoming OnePlus 9 series was confirmed in an interview by the company’s CEO News18 (via Android Police). The announcement, which comes just five days before the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are fully announced, confirms rumors that OnePlus will also announce a cheaper phone, in addition to its new flagships. So far it is confirmed that the phone will only come to India.
In the interview, OnePlus CEO Pete Lau says the company “wants to go even further” than it did with the OnePlus Nord, which includes the technology and design. Depending on how closely you follow OnePlus, you may remember the Nord as a mid-range phone available in Europe and India, or as a budget phone released in the US. What part of the price-to-performance spectrum OnePlus focuses on is not yet clear, although some of Lau’s comments suggest it may be closer to mid-range.
He says the phone will contain 5G and talk very about gaming in relation to the 9R and said that the company wants the phone to offer ‘fast and smooth experiences’ for ‘heavy gaming’. The references to ‘smooth experiences’ and ‘smooth browsing’ suggest that OnePlus, as with its recent budget phones, is likely to feature a 90Hz or faster screen. In terms of game focus, it can be more of a marketing focus than a hardware focus.
There are rumors that the 9R has a Snapdragon 865, a processor from last year – where we usually expect gaming phones to be singled out with the latest and greatest chips. The ROG Phone 5, for example, has the Snapdragon 888, up to 18 GB of RAM and a 144Hz screen. None of this is exactly cost-effective, and perhaps OnePlus’ claims that it will be for heavy players should be taken with a grain of salt.
The rest of the interview is light on concrete details, while Lau does not talk about pricing or availability outside India, but it does give an idea of what OnePlus is thinking about for the 9R. With the opportunity around the corner, it may not be long before we figure it out with certainty. If you are curious about the higher-end 9 and 9 Pro, you can read our information on prior notice.