OnePlus 9RT review : The Best Of 2022

Many of the flagships these days don’t offer any element of surprise. That can be both a good and bad thing. But when it comes to phones from brands like Apple, Samsung and OnePlus, maybe that is exactly what a bulk of the users are paying the premium for. Lately, OnePlus phones across price ranges have been playing to this narrative, of being the phone that ticks all the boxes even if devoid of the kind of flourishes that put flagships on the pedestal they are still on.

The OnePlus 9RT is the latest from the company and the first in a year when there could be a lot of changes in how this brand projects itself to its customers. However, this is a phone that carries the OnePlus legacy very firmly on its shoulders and knows what the customers are expecting when they buy into the cross sign on the corner of the box.

OnePlus 9RT: What’s good

From the long red box to the first view of the dark device inside, cloaked in plastic paper, everything about the OnePlus 9RT had a familiar feel about it. But still, when I flipped the phone over to see the Hacker Black rear panel I was pleasantly surprised… this is the kind of colour that I like and the kind of colour that endeared me and millions of others to this brand when it first came on the scene.

Though the overall look of the phone did remind me of some recent Samsung phones, this was still distinctly OnePlus, everything from the bold camera bump on the back to the alert slider on the right. The phone offers a good grip and the matte finish back ensures you don’t leave any fingerprints for later. It is also the right weight.

As always, this OnePlus too has a display that makes a statement. The OnePlus 9RT has a 120Hz display that is both vibrant and precise. The display is light sensitive and adjusts itself to give the best brightness, or dimming, for any given situation. There are display modes that let you choose the kind of feel that you really like — I opted for the cinematic mode which is more warm and ideal for watching videos.

Performance has never been a problem with OnePlus phones. With the 9RT you are buying a top of the line processor that is also future-proofed thanks to 5G. With whatever I did during the testing period of around a week, the phone was more than stable and seemed to be asking for more.

In fact, the phone stayed cool during 4K video recording and even extended periods of browsing video platforms and gaming. While all this is great for regular users, this phone has a lot to offer for power users too, especially those who want to push the phone to its limits with their gaming sessions.

The OnePlus 9RT has a lot to offer for gamers from RAM optimisation to superb touch sensitivity. Playing a game like Hungry Shark I could just glide my fingers on the screen without even having to tap to get the fish to move or dive.

One of the reasons people will buy the OnePlus 9RT over more affordable rivals is the confidence they have in the camera. With the 9RT, OnePlus has added some muscle to the camera.

To start with, the 50MP main camera clicks pretty good images, especially in low light. The relatively larger sensor size of this one helps ensure that images have good detail even if these are shot at night. The image of a shepherd’s pie my wife baked last Sunday, shot with just candlelight, shows the different shades the cheese got cooked in.

I was also impressed by the front camera, which clicked very good selfies without sacrificing the natural. Yes, you can touch these up on the camera app, but the base image itself is pretty good.

However, where the camera really pushes itself is with video. With image stabilisation and HDR this main camera manages some stunning clips, even in low light. The camera manages to retain most of the detail and autofocus acts as if this was a handy cam and not a smartphone.