#leak OnePlus 9 5G early hands-on photos

We’re only a few months away from the next launch of the OnePlus flagship, but that definitely hasn’t dissuaded a sea of leaks from pouring out and giving away almost all the OnePlus 9 needs to know. PhoneArena recently released a bunch of pictures of the regular OnePlus 9, entering the leak spree, giving us a better idea of what the final version would look like.

The OnePlus 9 does not look all that distinct from the 8T in these purported images of a prototype unit from the front and sides. You get the same hole-punch positioned to the top-left corner of the monitor and no headphone jack is found again. The display seems to have slightly more rounded corners, but given the low quality of these pictures, it’s hard to be certain.

What’s really changed is the phone’s back. The camera lenses further stick out of the already protruding housing and have a metal ring encircling them, possibly just for aesthetics and to mimic recent iPhones. However, the arrangement looks closer to the Oppo Reno4 Pro, including the ‘Ultra Shot’ branding, which seems like the OnePlus take on Oppo’s ‘Ultra Steady.’ This is likely since both sister companies often share their underlying device development platforms.

The OnePlus 9 5G is also expected to have a 16MP camera on the front, while the main camera will have a 48MP sensor on the front (even though the on-device specs tell a different tale). Some phone screenshots point to the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chip and an 8/128GB memory/storage setup, with likely more options on the cards. With the newly redesigned OxygenOS 11 running on top, the phone will run Android 11. In both the resolution and refresh rate, the display will continue to measure 6.55-inches, matching its predecessor.

These images are closely associated with the CAD renders we saw as part of a separate leak earlier. At this point, we expect OnePlus to add another phone, the OnePlus 9E, which sounds like a step down from the regular 9, to its main flagship lineup.

A previous report suggested that OnePlus could opt for an early release, moving up to March from its usual timeframe of May, which would probably be a move intended to counter Samsung’s earlier Galaxy S21 launch.