The OnePlus 9R was announced alongside the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. It’s a cheaper, lower end alternative and one which – if you live outside India – you probably won’t be able to buy.
That said, it’s always possible that OnePlus will decide to bring it or a similar phone to other regions one day. And if it doesn’t, well, there’s always the OnePlus Nord range, or even the OnePlus 8T – which the OnePlus 9R has a lot in common with.
Below we’ll give you an overview of all the key specs and features, along with the price, so you’ll have an idea of how much of a bargain the OnePlus 9R might be if it ever lands near you.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The cheapest model in the OnePlus 9 rangeWhen is it out? April 14 – but only in IndiaHow much does it cost? It starts at Rs 40,000 (roughly $550 / £400 / AU$725)
OnePlus 9R release date and price
The OnePlus 9R will be available to buy from April 14 in India, where it will cost Rs 40,000 (roughly $550 / £400 / AU$725) for a version with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage, rising to Rs 44,000 (around $600 / £440 / AU$800) for one with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage.
The phone has been launched as an India-exclusive, so you probably won’t be able to get it elsewhere without importing it. That said, it’s always possible that OnePlus will launch it more widely in the future.
Design and display
The OnePlus 9R has a glass back, a metal frame, and a screen-filled front with slim bezels and a punch-hole selfie camera. The rear camera sits in the top left corner, there’s no 3.5mm headphone port, and it’s all-round a typically designed smartphone.
It’s 161 x 74.1 x 8.4mm and 189g, and it comes in Carbon Black and Lake Blue shades. Unsurprisingly there’s no water resistance rating here – you have to opt for one of the recent Pro models for that.
The screen is more exciting – it’s a flat 6.55-inch 1080 x 2400 Fluid AMOLED one with a 120Hz refresh rate, HDR10+ support, and 402 pixels per inch. Those are the same screen specs as the standard OnePlus 9.
Camera and battery
Rather than sharing camera specs with the OnePlus 9, the OnePlus 9R inherits the OnePlus 8T’s lenses. That means a quad-lens snapper with a 48MP f/1.7 main one with optical image stabilization, a 16MP f/2.2 123-degree ultra-wide, a 5MP f/2.4 macro, and a 2MP f/2.4 monochrome sensor.
Video tops out at 4K quality at 60fps (or 1080p at 240fps for slow-motion), and there’s a 16MP f/2.4 camera on the front.
While we’re yet to test this phone at the time of writing, we found that the same setup on the OnePlus 8T generally performed well, though it struggled a bit in low light.
As for the battery, the OnePlus 9R has a 4,500mAh one with 65W charging, which is the same as both the OnePlus 8T and the OnePlus 9 – though unlike the newer of those two phones there’s no wireless charging here. Still, it can go from 0-100% in just 39 minutes, so you might not miss wireless charging too much.
Specs and features
The OnePlus 9R is powered by the Snapdragon 870 chipset. That’s high-end, but not quite a match for the Snapdragon 888 found in the rest of the OnePlus 9 range. Instead, this is the chipset you’ll find in the likes of the Moto G100.
It’s paired here with either 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage or 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage, and there’s no microSD card slot.
The OnePlus 9R additionally supports 5G and runs Android 11. In terms of features, it has an in-screen fingerprint scanner, a vapor chamber to keep it cool, and stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos.