OnePlus 9 series may lack periscope zoom lens, include minor display bumps

Damien Wilde | Jan 26 2021 - 2:08 am PT

The OnePlus 9 may be heavily anticipated, but it looks like there are set to be some disappointing omissions from the leading smartphone from the BBK-owned firm in 2021. Notably, a rumor suggests the OnePlus 9 series will skip the periscope zoom lens.

With firms like Samsung, Huawei, and even shared R&D teammate Oppo stacking periscope zoom lenses into their flagship handsets throughout 2020 and likely 2021, it’s going to be a disappointment for OnePlus fans wanting a truly comprehensive camera experience later this year.

According to leaker Max Jambor, the OnePlus 9 series will not come with a periscope zoom lens this time around. Given that the camera has one area that OnePlus hardware has been somewhat lacking with every recent release, it’s disappointing, but adding in extra hardware that is handled poorly by software processing likely won’t be a major omission.

While the camera needs some much-needed attention, we can’t say that the display is an area where OnePlus devices have faltered in recent years. The Chinese firm is set to give the OnePlus 9 series some very minor display bumps, but there will be some notable differences.

According to Weibo leaker Digital Chat Station (via Android Authority), unlike the OnePlus 8 and 8 Pro last year, the OnePlus 9 series will have a 6.55-inch FHD+ flat display, while the OnePlus 9 Pro will come with a 6.78-inch QHD+ curved panel. Given how much fans have clamored for a flat panel, this might be great news for those looking to upgrade, but you’ll have to stick to the standard OnePlus 9. The good news is that both devices look as though they include a 120Hz display.

Obviously, we’d suggest taking some of this information with a grain of salt, but it would make sense given the previous device series hardware and recent iteration and small incremental upgrades since the introduction of the OnePlus 7 Pro back in 2019.