We thought OnePlus’ first phone in the second half of the year would be the OnePlus 9T, but it turned out to be the OnePlus 9RT. 

Yes, only six months have passed since the release of the OnePlus 9R, and OnePlus is rushing to launch an upgraded version. 

Why exactly is OnePlus launching this phone? Maybe we can get the answer from the phone. 

VIDEO REVIEW:

OnePlus 9RT Review: Design

Although it is said to be an upgraded version of the OnePlus 9R, the OnePlus 9RT is more like a twin of the OnePlus 9. The almost identical appearance of all three reflects the continuity of the OnePlus design, but it also inevitably feels like it lacks novelty. This silver 9RT looks like a ceramic glazed material and doesn’t get fingerprints easily.

The new process makes this silver my favorite of the three colors of the 9RT, and the feel of the phone that OnePlus has been emphasizing is great on the OnePlus 9RT. The rounded frame and back cover are very tight and the weight of less than 200g brings excellent experience.

Features such as NFC and stereo dual speakers are not missing either. If I could sum up the design of the OnePlus 9RT in one sentence, it would be: it looks ordinary, but it’s comfortable to use.

The specs of the screen have also changed slightly compared to the OnePlus 9R. The size has gotten bigger, so the PPI is a bit lower at the same resolution. This time, the 9RT adds sub-pixel rendering of fonts, which theoretically improves the clarity of some fonts. The downside is that there may be colored streaks around the edges of the fonts.

But even after zooming in, you can’t see a big difference, and the impact on daily use is ignorable. The biggest difference is that the screen of the OnePlus 9RT is no longer Fluid AMOLED. The biggest disadvantage of the OnePlus 9RT with a regular AMOLED is that it is not transparent enough. The lower bezel is also wider than the 9R, and the rainbow effect is noticeable when you look at it sideways. Although it is difficult to find these shortcomings during normal use, in general, the screen of the OnePlus 9RT is a bit of a step backwards compared to the 9R. 

OnePlus 9RT Review: Performance, Benchmark, & Gaming

OnePlus 9RT does not use Snapdragon 888+, rather comes with Snapdragon 888, and the system is equipped with the latest Color OS 12, with Benchmark scores of 793506 on AnTuTu, 3DMARK score of 5869, Geekbench 5 single-core of 1124, and multi-core score of 3330. This time, OnePlus focused on optimizing the gaming experience, with the in-game touch sampling rate reaching up to 600Hz.

The 90FPS frame rate for PUBG is satisfactory, although it’s not 90 FPS throughout, but an average of 88 FPS is considered very good. OnePlus 9RT also has an official cooperation with Genshin Impact this time, but the optimized Genshin Impact performance doesn’t seem to be as impressive as we thought it would be, with the frame rate quickly locking in at 40 fps. Obviously, OnePlus is looking for stability and lower gaming temperatures than high frame rates.

This time, the 9RT has a new “Ultra-steady frame mode”. The performance is roughly the same when you turn it on, except that the frame rate is a bit higher at the beginning. But the smooth drop in frame rate does bring a better gaming experience than some phones with higher frame rates but without this stability. It seems that the 9RT has made some efforts in gaming, so users who like to play games can consider this model.

OnePlus 9RT Review: Cameras

The biggest upgrade to the OnePlus 9RT should be its camera. The main camera has been upgraded from IMX586 to IMX766, which is a very big improvement in all specs compared to the 9R. Since the Mi 11 is also at the same price point and has a flagship sensor, we chose the Mi 11 as the model to compare.

Main Camera

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Daytime performance is good, the colors are gorgeous but not too saturated, it will look better. Dynamic range is also good. At night, you can see how great the IMX766 is. You can see detail in both the highlights and shadows. And with a larger single pixel size, capable of reducing exposure time, the Mi 11’s super high pixel count actually suffers in dark light. It’s safe to say that the OnePlus 9RT’s main camera is on par with many flagship phones. The only complaint is that I wish they would reduce AI sharpening of the image to a certain extent, which can be over-sharpened at times. The main camera also adds a “HI-RES Mode”, which can take 100-megapixel photos with AI interpolation. However, it doesn’t improve the clarity of the image much and is still far from the quality of the real 100-megapixel photo from the Mi 11. And if you use this mode it may also lack AI color tone resulting in the final shot not being as good as the photos taken in Auto mode. So it is not recommended using this mode on a daily basis.

Ultra-Wide Camera

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I am still very impressed with the ultra-wide camera, even though it is not an upgrade. The dynamic range is excellent, especially the control of highlights. Even though the Ultra Wide Camera doesn’t have a large sensor size, with the excellent algorithm, OnePlus 9RT gets correct exposure in dark lighting at night. And the auto mode also incorporates the night view algorithm, so you can see some difference between the photos it takes in auto mode and night mode in low light. The overall experience of using this camera is excellent.

Macro Camera

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The performance of the 2MP macro lens is the same as most budget phones, and the closest focusing distance is actually 4cm. Its image quality is worse than that of cropping with the main camera, so we won’t go into too much detail about its camera quality.

Coming to the video recording, I was honestly shocked by the 9RT’s video shooting capability. Not only do the main and ultra-wide angle cameras support 4k 60FPS recording, but you can also freely switch between the main and ultra wide angle cameras during recording at 4k 30FPS. Many phones in the same price range can’t do this, including the Mi 11. AI Highlight mode allows you to record videos with more vibrant colors and a bit of dynamic range improvement. But because the effect is not significantly improved, and you can only shoot 1080P 30FPS video, it is not recommended for everyday use.

Do check out our video review added above for the video shooting comparison.

OnePlus 9RT Review: Battery Life & Charging

OnePlus 9RT supports up to 65W of charging power. The special 65w charger is right inside the box. It takes five minutes to charge to 36%, fifteen minutes to 65%, and takes only half an hour to fully charge to 100%. The battery is still 4500mAh, and the power consumption of each scene is shown in the picture.

Half hour of Tiktok consumes 5%, half-hour of online video around 5%, two games consume 10% and 12% respectively. This power consumption is at a relatively normal level for a Snapdragon 888 phone.

So why did OnePlus launch the 9RT? 

After comparing the OnePlus 9, 9R, and 9RT, I found that the biggest difference between them is the camera. The OnePlus 9 has the best camera of the three, while the 9R is the cheapest. The OnePlus 9RT is the phone that has the best balance of price and photo experience. In fact, its camera surpasses our expectations as well. 

So what do you think about the phone?

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