There’s been no shortage of OnePlus 9 rumors and leaks over the last several weeks and we knew this was likely building to an announcement soon.
The company has yet to specifically announce that the launch event is coming. However, Founder and CEO, Pete Lau, tweeted a link to the OnePlus moonshot page which now features the famous "Earthrise" photo of the Earth from the Moon with the message “Something new is on the horizon. Stay tuned, March 8” (via PhoneArena).
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While the text doesn't specifically call out the OnePlus 9, the code on the page gives up the secret as the folder structure for the image includes "page/events/oneplus-9." Given the lack of specific details regarding a time for an event, it seems likely this is simply a teaser and the full event will be detailed on March 8. But this may become more clear later in the week.
The image does offer one other clue for OnePlus fans, it was captured by astronaut William Anders on the Apollo 8 mission, which is relevant because it was taken with a Hasselblad camera. If you’ve been paying attention to the OnePlus 9 Pro rumors we’ve already seen a prototype featuring Hasselblad branding on the rear cameras, this certainly seems to clinch those rumors.
Stay tuned for March 8.https://t.co/mprr4v8UbS pic.twitter.com/CQSop6Fg85March 1, 2021
While that’s all that can be gleaned from the image, we already have a pretty clear picture of what to expect at this announcement. For a deep dive on everything we know, take a look at our OnePlus 9 page, but here's the quick version. The OnePlus 9 Pro and the OnePlus 9 will both be flagship-level phones with Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 processors. The OnePlus 9R/9E/9 Lite, there are conflicting rumors on the name, will be a more affordable version using a Snapdragon 690. This should be the company’s answer to the Pixel 4a 5G falling somewhere between the OnePlus Nord N10 5G and the OnePlus 8T.
Finally, recent rumors suggest there may be a OnePlus Watch as well. Unlike the rest of the lineup, we don’t know much about this new wearable. It is believed to have a round watch face based on designs submitted to the German patent and trademark office by OnePlus, but actual hardware and software details, such as whether it will run Google’s Wear OS remains a mystery.
One of the biggest unknowns for the entire collection of new OnePlus devices is pricing. The company largely built its brand as a more affordable alternative to flagships from the likes of Samsung and Apple. It has continued to deliver on that promise earning its devices a place among our best smartphones and best budget phones, but with the competition offering less expensive options now, it’s getting harder for OnePlus to differentiate itself. Fortunately, we don’t have much longer to wait to find out what it has planned.
