(Pocket-lint) – OnePlus announced the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro during an event in March. The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro succeed the OnePlus 8T that arrived in the latter half of 2020, as well as the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro from early 2020, but how do they compare?

We’ve put the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro up against the OnePlus 8T, OnePlus 8 and OnePlus 8 Pro to help you work out what the differences are and which you should buy.

• OnePlus 9 vs Samsung Galaxy S21: What’s the difference?

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Design

• 9: 160 x 74.2 x 8.7mm, 192g
• 9 Pro: 163.2 x 73.6 x 8.7mm, 197g
• 8/8T: 160 x 72.9 x 8mm, 180g / 160.7 x 74.1 x 8.4mm, 188g
• 8 Pro: 165.3mm x 74.35mm x 8.5mm, 199g

All the OnePlus devices being compared in this feature have a punch hole camera in the top left of their displays.

The OnePlus 9, 8T and 8 all have flat displays and are water resistant, while the OnePlus 9 Pro and 8 Pro have curved displays and carry an official IP68 water and dust resistance rating.

On the back, the OnePlus 9, 9 Pro and 8T all have a rectangular camera housing in the top left corner, though the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro have two more prominent lenses within the housing compared to the 8T, making for a more interesting design. The OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro have a slim rectangular housing in the centre of their rears.

In terms of materials, all of the OnePlus devices being compared here have a glass rear and they all have a metal frame, except for the OnePlus 9 that offers a plastic frame. The slimmest and lightest is the OnePlus 8, while the largest and heaviest is the OnePlus 8 Pro.

Display

• 9: 6.55-inch, Full HD+, 120Hz
• 9 Pro: 6.7-inch, Quad HD+, LTPO, 120Hz variable
• 8/8T: 6.55-inch, Full HD+, AMOLED, 90Hz / 6.55-inch, Full HD+, AMOLED, 120Hz
• 8 Pro: 6.7-inch, Quad HD+, AMOLED, 120Hz

The OnePlus 9, OnePlus 8T and OnePlus 8 all feature a 6.55-inch AMOLED display with a Full HD+ resolution, while the OnePlus 9 Pro and OnePlus 8 Pro have a 6.7-inch display with a Quad HD+ resolution. 

All have AMOLED panels but the OnePlus 9 Pro has an AMOLED panel with LTPO that allows for a variable refresh rate between 1Hz and 120Hz. The OnePlus 9, 8T and 8 Pro all have a 120Hz refresh rate, while the OnePlus 8 has a 90Hz refresh rate.

As mentioned before, the OnePlus 9 Pro and 8 Pro have curved displays, while the OnePlus 9, 8T and 8 all have flat displays. All devices being compared here offer under-display fingerprint sensors.

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Hardware and specs

• 9 Pro: SD888, 5G, 128/256GB storage, 8/12GB RAM, 4500mAh
• 9: SD888, 5G, 128/256GB storage, 8/12GB RAM, 4500mAh
• 8T: SD865, 5G, 128/256GB storage, 8/12GB RAM, 4500mAh
• 8: SD865, 5G, 128/256GB storage, 8/12GB RAM, 4300mAh
• 8 Pro: SD865, 5G, 128/256GB storage, 8/12GB RAM, 4510mAh

The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro both run on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, while the OnePlus 8T, 8 and 8 Pro all run on the slightly older Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 processor. All five models are 5G enabled.

All five models also come in a choice of 8GB or 12GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage and none offer microSD support for storage expansion.

The OnePlus 9 Pro, 9 and OnePlus 8T all have a 4500mAh battery capacity, while the OnePlus 8 Pro has an ever so slightly larger 4510mAh capacity. The OnePlus 8 is a little smaller at 4300mAh. 

The OnePlus 9 Pro, 9 and 8T all offer support for OnePlus Warp Charge 65, which is 65W wired charging, while the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro use Warp Charge 30T. There is no wireless charging on the OnePlus 8 or 8T, but there is on the 9, 9 Pro and 8 Pro. The 9 Pro supports 50W wireless charging though.

Camera

• 9: Triple rear (48MP+50MP+2MP), 16MP front
• 9 Pro: Quad rear (48MP+50MP+2MP+8MP), 16MP front
• 8T: Quad rear (48MP+16MP+5MP+2MP), 16MP
• 8: Triple rear (48MP+16MP+2MP), 16MP
• 8 Pro: Quad rear (48MP+48MP+8MP+5MP), 16MP front

The OnePlus 9 Pro offers a quad rear camera, while the OnePlus 9 has at triple rear camera. Both have the Hasselblad partnership, which involves colour tuning and sensor calibration.

The OnePlus 9’s triple camera is made up of a 48-megapixel main camera with f/1.8 aperture, a 50-megapixel ultra wide-angle camera with f/2.4 aperture and a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor.

The OnePlus 9 Pro also offers a 48-megapixel main sensor with f/1.8 aperture but it’s a custom Sony IMX789 sensor and it supports optical image stabilisation (OIS), while the 9 has a Sony IMX689 sensor and no OIS. A 50-megapixel ultra wide sensor is also on board the 9 Pro, along with a 2-megapixel monochrome sensor, but it also adds an 8-megapixel telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture.

Meanwhile, the OnePlus 8T comes with a quad rear camera, comprised of a 48-megapixel main camera, 16-megapixel ultra-wide camera, 5-megapixel macro camera and a 2-megapixel monochrome lens so there’s no telephoto lens for optical zoom on this model.

The OnePlus 8 Pro also has a quad camera, made up of a 48-megapixel main, 48-megapixel ultra-wide, 8-megapixel telephoto and 5-megapixel photochromatic sensor.

Lastly, the OnePlus 8 has a triple rear camera made up of a 48-megapixel main, 16-megapixel 116-degree ultra-wide sensor and a 2-megapixel macro sensor. 

As you can see, all the camera make ups across these five models differ. It’s worth bearing in mind that more megapixels or more lenses doesn’t necessarily mean better so head to our full reviews for each device to find out how the camera performs on each model in our experience.

The OnePlus 9, 9 Pro, 8 Pro, 8 and 8T all have a 16-megapixel front camera.

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Conclusion

The OnePlus 9 Pro and 9 offer a faster processor, more capable cameras on paper and a more exciting design than the 2020 OnePlus models. The OnePlus 9 Pro also adds a variable refresh rate and faster wireless charging.

The OnePlus 8T and 8 Pro both have the same battery capacity as the 9 and 9 Pro though, as well as the same RAM and storage options. The 8 Pro also has waterproofing like the 9 Pro.

The decision between these devices is likely to come down to price, as well as what features are most important to you. If you want the latest design and features like a variable refresh rate then the 9 Pro is likely the one for you, but if you want to save some money, then it’s well worth considering the 9 or 8T. 

Writing by Britta O’Boyle.