Is OnePlus 9 Pro Worth buying for Photography?

OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro will be unveiled on March 23^rd, the same day Apple is rumored to announce some of their product lineups. This clash has the potential to steal OnePlus’s thunder as tech journalists love Apple products and the OnePlus 9 Pro content might get buried in the pile of Apple content on that day. But unlike last time, OnePlus is not changing the launch date, March 23rd it is.

 

However, OnePlus has able to generate some hype  for the OnePlus 9 Pro thanks to the Hasselblad partnership. You see one of the known facts about the OnePlus product line in the last few years is that the company knows how to win the spec game,  which means you won't find any OnePlus smartphone lacking on paper. But the camera department has been one of the Achilles' heels of the OnePlus product line.

 

Time and time again, OnePlus phones have come under scrutiny for the less-than-stellar photography, despite having good hardware on paper. Even with the steadily upward trajectory in pricing, the company has simply not delivered an equivalent improvement in camera quality, a key aspect of premium hardware.

 

But OnePlus wants to change that with the OnePlus 9 Pro. The company announced a three-year long-term partnership with the iconic camera brand Hasselblad and has spent over $150 million to improve the photographic abilities of OnePlus phones.

Now, the company is showcasing some camera samples of the OnePlus 9 Pro tuned by Hasselblad.

First up, the CEO of OnePlus, announced that they are using a custom Sony IMX789 sensor that will be exclusive for the company. You're not going to see this sensor in phones from other companies.  

The sensor will support 4K video recording at 120fps plus. Hasselblad has helped OnePlus tune its color reproduction. The company says the OnePlus 9 Pro does take true to life color thanks to Natural Colour Calibration with Hasselblad. 

 

The phone can also take 12bit RAW images. In theory, this should allow “professional photographers” to do complex edits. And judging from the camera samples of the OnePlus 9 Pro it sure looks like this Hasselblad partnership is adding a bit of credibility to OnePlus’ efforts to improve its lacking camera  performance. But the thing is those photos are taken from professional photographers and there's  no information on what equipment they used to take those photos. So I guess we'll have to wait  until review units come out to see whether or not those fancy logos are just for marketing purposes or it does really make a difference.