By now, it's clear that OnePlus is prepping one of the biggest launches in its short but eventful history as an underdog phone maker. No less than four new devices are expected to be announced - three OnePlus 9 series phones, and a smartwatch - making this the richest set of gear announcements in the company's history.

When is the OnePlus 9 series announcement event?

  • Tuesday, March 23, 2021, 10AM ET

Just when we heard that the new OnePlus 9 gear will be made official some time in mid-March, and a leak tipped next Monday, March 8, as a possible announcement event date, now comes a hard confirmation by OnePlus itself on the date of the event. Mark your calendars for Tuesday, March 23, but today OnePlus teased more about the 9 series unveiling date.



How to watch the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro event live stream

Last year, OnePlus streamed its OnePlus 8 series event on April 14, and the coronavirus scare hasn't gone anywhere since, so the OnePlus 9 announcement will be a virtual event, too, and we will embed it here below when time comes for your viewing pleasure.

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The OnePlus 9 series unveiling event is now official

What devices will be announced at the OnePlus 9 March event?

  • OnePlus 9 Pro: 6.7" 120Hz@1440p 10-bit color Fluid AMOLED LTPO display, SD888, 48MP main/50MP ultrawide/8MP zoom/2MP cameras, 4500mAh battery
  • OnePlus 9: 6.55" 120Hz Fluid AMOLED display, SD888, 48MP main/50MP ultrawide/2MP cameras, 4500mAh battery
  • OnePlus 9R: 6.5" 1080p 90Hz display, SD690, 64MP main/8MP ultrawide cameras, 5000mAh battery
  • OnePlus Watch: Wear OS

There will be the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, just like last year there were 8 and 8 Pro phones, but also one scrappy little 6.5" fighter with 90Hz display and a giant battery that will be called 9R/9E/9 Lite, depending on whose rumors one is inclined to believe. In addition, a OnePlus Watch will be on display, rounding up the number of new devices to be announced to the record four.

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The OnePlus 9 camera prowess won't come by accident

OnePlus is now confirming that it will use a tailor-made Sony IMX789 sensor for the main camera on its 9 series, and will be investing $150 million over the next few years to work with the legendary Hasselblad brand to improve the OnePlus phones photography chops. "Four major research and development labs around the world, including two innovative imaging labs based in the United States and Japan" will be delivering new camera technologies to OnePlus phone fans:

The new Hasselblad Pro Mode brings Hasselblad’s class-leading sensor calibration to a smartphone for the first time, resulting in incredibly accurate and natural color for a solid
foundation for post-editing. Hasselblad Pro Mode has been revamped with a new user interface based on Hasselblad’s image processing software to give users an authentic Hasselblad look and feel. It also allows for an unprecedented amount of control for professional photographers to fine-tune their photos, with the ability to adjust ISO, focus, exposure times, white balance and more. Users can also use 12-bit RAW format for even richer color and higher dynamic range.
This is something that its fans have been clamoring about for a while now, and the camera push starts immediately with the OnePlus 9 models:

The first, and most technically challenging, outcome of this collaboration is advanced color calibration. Jointly developed by OnePlus and Hasselblad over months of thorough verification and fine-tuning, this new color solution – Natural Color Calibration with Hasselblad – aims to bring more perceptually accurate and natural-looking colors to photos taken with OnePlus flagship cameras. It also will serve as OnePlus’ new standard for color calibration for its future smartphone cameras.
While a 50MP ultrawide camera on the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro may sound like a downgrade compared to the 64MP one initially rumored, it is most likely the Sony IMX766 sensor rumored for the ultrawide camera of the Oppo Find X3 Pro (common R&D and all), so we are glad to report that there will be some positive developments on the ultrawide camera front as well, adding to the attractiveness of the overall package. Here's what OnePlus has to say about this new ultrawide camera:

Pioneering new areas of smartphone imaging technology for future OnePlus camera systems, such as a panoramic camera with a 140-degree field of view, T-lens technology for lightning-fast focus in the front-facing camera, and a freeform lens – to be first introduced on the OnePlus 9 Series – that practically eliminates edge distortion in ultrawide photos.
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OnePlus 9 Pro camera specs and app interface

As if to reiterate this notion, the OnePlus CEO Pete Lau set the March 8 announcement teaser in the "Moonshot" section of the company's website, and some digital sleuths solved the puzzle informing us that this famous “Earthrise” image below is from the Apollo 8 mission, taken with a Hasselblad camera.

Coincidentally, a partnership between the storied Hasselblad photography company and OnePlus is now official, and OnePlus even released this Lunarland teaser video below to celebrate the tie-up.


There's barely an iconic old-school name in photography that hasn't hitched their wagon to the new mobile camera kids on the block, what with Nokia and Zeiss, Huawei and Leica, and, now, OnePlus and Hasselblad.

Needless to say, the aforementioned partnerships didn't save the companies they were attached to, and can even be considered a curse, given what happened with Nokia and Huawei, yet they did produce some of the most innovative and jaw-dropping camera sets of all times in the realm of mobile photography. Just remember the Nokia Lumia PureView technology, or Huawei's RYYB pixels and dual-zoom combo of late. Not that Leics or Zeiss were behind those ideas, but they certainly lent more credence to the phone makers' camera enterprises.