After several delays over the past few months, the OnePlus 9RT and the OnePlus Buds Z2 have finally made their way to India. The OnePlus 9RT is an affordable flagship phone that succeeds the OnePlus 9R and was launched in China late last year. Along with the phone, OnePlus has launched the second iteration of its budget-oriented wireless earbuds — the OnePlus Buds Z2. With the OnePlus 10 Pro being the only top-end flagship from the brand currently, the OnePlus 9RT is more like a stopgap replacement to the vanilla OnePlus 10, until that arrives of course.
OnePlus 9RT: Specifications
| Specification | OnePlus 9RT |
|---|---|
| Build | |
| Dimensions & Weight | |
| Display | |
| SoC | |
| RAM & Storage | |
| Battery & Charging | |
| Security | In-display fingerprint scanner |
| Rear Camera(s) | |
| Front Camera(s) | 16MP, f/2.4 |
| Port(s) | USB Type-C |
| Audio | Stereo speakers |
| Connectivity | |
| Software | OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 |
| Other Features | Large vapor chamber for cooling |
The OnePlus 9R was a more affordable version of the flagship series that came with a last-gen CPU. The OnePlus 9RT also follows the same footsteps and ships with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset from last year. It’s still a substantial upgrade compared to the Snapdragon 870 on the OnePlus 9R. You get either 8/12GB of RAM accompanied by 128/256GB of onboard storage. OnePlus has always been about speed which is why we don’t see any compromises in terms of the internals.
OnePlus also claims to have included a large vapor chamber for improved thermal performance. This is something mobile gamers will surely appreciate. The OnePlus 9R was marketed as a phone for gamers in India and it looks like the OnePlus 9RT is also aimed at a similar demographic. On the front, we get a 6.62-inch Full HD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. This is Samsung’s E4 AMOLED panel with a hole-punch cutout on the top left corner. Another reason to believe this phone is targeted towards gamers is the incredible 600Hz touch-sampling rate on supported games.
After using the same sensor on most of its phones for several years, OnePlus has finally ditched the 48MP IMX 586 sensor from the OnePlus 9R in favor of a 50MP IMX 766 with OIS on the 9RT. For those wondering, this is the same sensor that’s used on the ultra-wide camera of the OnePlus 9 Pro, which has one of the best ultra-wide cameras in the business. That’s some reassurance for those wondering about camera quality, at least until our review of the device comes out. The ultra-wide shooter is a 16MP sensor accompanied by a 2MP macro lens. The front has another 16MP camera for selfies.
The phone still runs on Android 11 though which is slightly disappointing as we were hoping OnePlus would launch the phone with OxygenOS 12 based on Android 12. A 4,500mAh battery is what runs everything with support for 65W fast charging that OnePlus claims will completely charge the phone in under half an hour. Other OnePlus regulars like an in-display fingerprint scanner and the alert slider are present. Of course, the OnePlus 9RT is a 5G phone and has support for 8 5G bands.
OnePlus 9RT: Pricing and Availability
The OnePlus 9RT will be sold in two finishes — Nano Silver and Hacker Black. Trust me when I say this, the Hacker Black is the best black phone I’ve ever seen or held. OnePlus has done a great job with the way the phone looks and feels. As for availability, the OnePlus 9RT will go on sale in India from 16 January 2022 via Amazon and the OnePlus Store for a starting price of ₹42,999 for the base 8+128GB variant and goes all the way up to ₹46,999 for the 12+256GB variant. You get 6 months of free Spotify Premium when you buy the phone.
OnePlus Buds Z2: Specifications
| Specification | OnePlus Buds Z2 |
|---|---|
| Speaker drivers | |
| Microphone(s) | Triple microphone array |
| Connectivity | Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Battery & Charging | |
| Other Features | |
| Colors |
The original OnePlus Buds Z were quite popular in India due to their low price and good sound signature. This time around, OnePlus has improved them considerably and added some nifty features that make them a more compelling option. For starters, you now get Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) which has slowly trickled down to even inexpensive pairs of wireless earbuds now. The drivers are also larger at 11mm and are dynamic in nature.
Both the earbuds and the case look similar to the OnePlus Buds Z which isn’t necessarily bad since the OnePlus Buds Z2 are going to be comfortable to wear and easy to carry given the dimensions of the case. There’s Bluetooth 5.2 for connectivity, a triple mic array for both ANC as well as better voice quality during calls, and an IP55 rating that lets you wear the earbuds to the gym. OnePlus claims that the Buds Z2 will last up to 5 hours on continuous usage with ANC and up to 7 hours with ANC turned off. The charging case adds an additional 22 hours with ANC and 28 hours without. When you’re out of juice, a quick 10-minute top-up will give you 5 hours of playback time.
OnePlus Buds Z2: Pricing and Availability
The OnePlus Buds Z2 will be available in two colors — Obsidian Black and Pearl White and will go on sale from 17 January 2022 via Amazon and the OnePlus Store. You can pick up the OnePlus Buds Z2 for a price of ₹4,999. It is slightly more expensive than the Buds Z from last year but ANC and the added battery life make it a worthy option.