Our OnePlus 9 video review is out

While it’s easy to get starstruck by its Pro sibling, the OnePlus 9 is a capable alternative at a lower cost. You’re looking at quite a gap, especially in the US where (for some unknown reason), the base 8/128 GB version of the 9 Pro is not available. This means you can have the vanilla phone for $730 or the 12/256 GB Pro for $1,070.

Availability issues cut the other way in Europe. The OnePlus 9 (priced €700) is coming soon and you have to put in a €100 deposit to reserve a place in the queue. Actual sales will start in 13 days. In contrast, the OnePlus 9 Pro (€900) is ready to ship in 24 hours. India will get it a bit sooner, the OnePlus 9 will be available in 8 days (at ₹55,000).

It’s safe to say that you have time to consider your options. Our video review is a great jumping off point – in just 10 minutes it covers everything from how does the plastic frame feel, through how it compares with the 8T to a close look at image quality.

You can also read our written review (if you haven’t already). The Hasselblad camera on the rear is not as well equipped as on the Pro – no OIS and no telephoto lens either. Also, while this is the first non-Pro model to have wireless charging, it’s slow and only available in North America and Europe.

The feature gap between the vanilla model and the Pro is bigger than ever. Yet the price difference is the same (the 8 and 8 Pro also launched at €700 and €900, respectively). And that’s with the 9 losing some ground to the 8T (€600), which did have OIS (albeit on a smaller sensor) and an aluminum frame. Is the OnePlus 9 model still worth it?

Its best qualities are its Snapdragon 888 chipset and the blazing fast chipset, the screen and camera are good too, though not the best. But as the video review highlights it's a bit short on wow factor.