OnePlus 9 Review: Sneaky Value! 

I'd almost say the Black and white camera is even more useless than those 2MP macro ones. It's obviously there just so it doesn't look like a dual camera setup 😂 (Great vid btw)

Guess the “never settle” motto was about the pricing.

Marques: The screen isn't as bright as most flagships, but it is good. Me: I just upgraded from an iPhone 6S. *This is blinding*

Watching this on my 5 year old Oneplus 3T. Best phone ever.

One Plus is that Artist who abandoned his niche to go mainstream & now the og fanbase can't connect as well. Typing this from 6T

Marques looked way more engaging and happy here than he was when reviewing the pro version.

That "why" alone deserved a thumbs up.

It is a bit strange they included the monochrome sensor. Hypothetically, if it has the same focal length as the primary lens, it could be used to augment any portrait mode algorithms they're using more accurately than pulling data from the ultrawide for depth sensing purposes. This is actually something I believe Samsung is doing with the S21/S21+ and the included telephoto lens. Technically, it the 48mp sensor used for zoom shots is only a ~2mm equivalent increase in zoom vs the primary 12mp sensor on those phones but it manages to capture more detail on cropped photos due to the significantly higher megapixel count. The benefit I described earlier is they can rely on data pulled from this only slightly more zoomed "telephoto" lens to compare against the primary sensor to more accurately detect edges and depth for portraits. Using the ultrawide for such purposes would probably do a good job as well but distortion related to the focal length difference seems like it would introduce more errors in edge detection. With the telephoto being an almost identical focal length, the subject detected in the primary sensor's photo would line up nearly identically with the readouts from the secondary lens and the algos can then take the slight differences in the background created by the shifted perspective and very slight zoom increase to more minutely detect the subject's edges. Things like blurring the background around hair, the gaps between one's arms/torso, and around glasses/sunglasses would probably come out more consistently if they increased the sensitivity for said algorithms than it would if the primary lens was being paired with an ultrawide for such purposes (in this type of case, the algorithm would have to be meticulously trained to specifically detect these types of edges because they wouldn't line up well between the two photos due to the large shift in focal length). Is that what they're doing with the 2mp sensor? I'm not sure. They certainly could though. 2mp isn't very detailed but would definitely be detailed enough for portrait photography purposes in the way I've described. As someone who has access to both a plethora of camera systems from various cell phone manufacturers and some high end large sensor dedicated cameras, I'm sure you can appreciate the difference in quality that comes with the natural bokeh created via a large sensor. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to match that via software alone (at least without posing robotically in front of something like a contrasty checkerboard background) and using two sensors with very large differences in focal length requires the algorithms involved to be trained more meticulously to reduce the incidence of the aforementioned errors created. Imagine how hard it would be to catch a ball if you only had one eye or if your second eye had an ultrawide/zoom lens in front of it. Both instances would be significantly more difficult and require a lot of practice to get good at. Even still though, you'd never be quite as good as you'd be with two eyes with identical (or nearly) zooms/focal lengths. Depth perception is just a more universally simple endeavor with slightly separated sensors with similar focal lengths (like our eyes!).

So now there's a "Pro" version, a "normal" version, then an "R" version. OnePlus be like - "That's our favorite child, that's our other child, and that one's adopted". Wait so what about Nord? OnePlus - "We don't talk about that in this household".

Oneplus: "We listen to our community." Also Oneplus: Puts 2mp monochrome sensor.

Loved the comparisons in the end - do more of these!

The first ten seconds of every MKBHD review look like a much better advertisement for any product than the original company could ever make

No one in 2021: I really want a 2MP camera. With no color.

"They dropped the telephoto lens and kept the monochrome... why?" Just another OnePlus moment.

These days if you live just 1-2 years in the past, you can save $500 off your phone.

D2D pointed out that the main camera sensor does not have OIS...has your experience been any different without it?

I was doing school but this is clearly more important

That intro was better than the official One Plus 9 Trailer

Finally flat screen, with no curved edges, thanks Oneplus, i hope it will be new trend.

Good info! What is the sensor size of the camera?

bruh, marques makes better product videos and reveal shots than the actual brands themselves. i respect the talent and the amount of work he puts in

OnePlus basically paid 150 million to have the Hasselblad Logo on the back of the 9Pro

"But keeps the 2mp b&w camera", that reaction tho!😂🔥

It's the Earthworks Icon USB at 7:14 that got our attention here! HAHA

The world has really changed, So does OnePlus. From "Never Settle" to "Never Deliver"

1:56 Mkbhd's review would be incomplete without that stairs shot

I actually got mine for $599 just yesterday, which I'd argue is a relative steal for something that charges so fast and has such good specs. Granted, I upgraded from a Galaxy a10e and this is my first OnePlus device so I may be a bit biased, but I'm loving it. Perfectly satisfied with it so far.

I wanna review phones, eat pizza and drink with you and Michael!! The tech talk involved and overall good vibes from two generally good and smart individuals :)

That 20syl beat in the intro is incredible 🔥 Almost as incredible as the intro itself. Somehow you keep finding ways to make better and better videos. Keep up the great work MKBHD team!

MKBHD's production value is off the charts! Your intros are getting better and better man!

The 20 MP monochrome sensor on the Huawei P20 Pro took some really good photos (above what a simple B&W filter can achieve) and was a welcome addition IMO, but a 2 MP one does just seem pointless.

Great review...very indepth! This was like reading the manual but more fun :) Do people even read manuals anymore though...lol. Great job on your video :)

Sometimes having less money simplifies life. There can't be a disappointment if there is no expectation.

5:52 "no extra stutters" MKBHD: stutters the video

Keep up the great work, very informative as always.

THAT music in the intro, damn !

The downfall of oneplus is either due to the leaving of Carl pei or Carl pei left oneplus becoz it began making shitty products.

OnePlus is becoming terrible day by day I miss the old day when they used to have only like 1 model instead of having Pro and T.

I'm blown away by of all things the clarity of your voice. But what I'm more surprised by is my own limited perception in that I would not have imagined that was your voice, and for that, I apologize. Keep the great reviews and, if nothing else, I look forward to your continued narration.

I wonder if their justification for having the 2 MPx monochrome camera on both models is the recently released Hasselblad XPan mode.

Not gonna lie, I feel like OnePlus made a good phone, but Samsung extended support for their phones, and OnePlus might be a turn off to some people

Oneplus 8t feels like a better value for money than the 9 series..

Do you think that the B/W sensor is mainly for computational use alongside the main cameras? Try taking photos with it covered I different lighting situations

and I am siting here wtith my One Plus 6 and think... what's up with that ugly cheap body materials???

Just want to say that the camera's delay problem is there also in OnePlus Nord,it's like they use a screenshot of the viewfinder for the preview to give the camera more time to process the shot.

The First Time someone called the S21 Zoom "real" 😁

Just picked one of these up after my 6T had a tragic work related accident lol. So far I'm enjoying it and it feels like a solid upgrade. It's actually a bit over kill for my use case but hopefully it will get to live the life my 6T didn't lol.

This is so interesting you give such insight. I appreciate it❤

Marques: " ... It's a useless piece of hardware " 1+: 😭😭😭😭😭

Imma say this again, phone prices are going up in a way that specs aren't following

legit thought at 2:38 he was gonna smooth segway into the dbrand sponsor.

5:21 when a teacher forget to check the homework and a student remind him

1+ 9 doesnt make it a 10, out of 10. For that reason, I'm out.

I can't thank you enough for actually saying "Why?" at 5:26! Great review, as always!

Great review, nice job M.

I always watch your reviews on OnePlus before buying the newest ones. Just wondering why you don't ever seem to mention the locked screen gestures. Does the 9 not have them?

Whenever you feel useless, just remember there are 2MP macro, depth and monochrome cameras.

8:18 , I thought my "Bedtime Mode" started LOL 😂

@Marques If you were to receive job offers tomorrow as a Product Management Adviser from every smartphone manufacturer worth mentioning, which offer would you be most likely (not definitely!) to accept?

Nice review. Here in Europe we also have the Exynos thing with Sammy. I value battery (and charging) a lot! That's the main reason I'm upgrading from my S9+, the battery life. Otherwise it's still rocking along very well, does its job in most areas if not all. I will upgrade to a OnePlus 9 8GB/128GB Arctic Sky

There should an official MKBHD rating for phones.

I’m not even here for the phone, just love the way marques explains it

Hey man are you going to review the beoplay portal headphones???

I'll keep my oneplus 8 for another 4 years, hopefully by then there'll be a phone worth upgrading to

One plus should just pay Marques instead of their marketing team, he’ll do better 😂

At this point, new phones are just stupid There, I said it..

Hi can you please make a video on what screen protector is best with iPad pro

Ois removed....no mention 😕

I feel like 1+ have lost their way. They are not trendsetters anymore, just trend followers... There's really nothing that stands out with the 9 series. Maybe 8 series was the last one that was true 1+, but that's already a bit of a stretch.

The first 10 seconds are just impeccable camera work

The "why?" part is so good for the memes

8:17 is the video where it Rips the BS of Oneplus. Great video and loved the comparison at the end. At the same price then what would you recommend if someone is looking for a better camera?

I think the 20mp monochrome lens I had in my p20 pro was actually extremely useful as it combined with the main sensor to produce sharper images in addition to being a great camera. I'm an architecture student so I used it a lot to study shadows as it wasnt an artificial b&w photo

5:18 best reaction 😂😂

5:23 This could be another meme 😂 Or maybe some of these memes are already up

What kind of camera do you use to shoot your videos?

These phone intros are the kinda thing phone makers spend $100,000's+ to make

The b&w camera I think actually has more resolution that it might seem. Color sensors have pixels that have filters on them for red green and blue light, and so they're arranged in blocks of 4x4 where pixels are red green and blue, and the 4th is either say a green or sometimes white. And the final image is like a mosaic of those different colors so it doesn't have that full resolution in fact. But monochrome sensors use all of the pixels to record information and you end up with a higher quality image with more information in it, compared to a color camera of the same resolution. I'm not entirely sure if this applies to the oneplus too but probably But in any case 2mp is still not a match for the main color sensor lol. But I guess what they mean when they say that it adds resolution, is that they combine images from the 2 sensors and they add the detail from the b&w cam in the spots where the main cam lost information because of the color filters

Will you be doing a review of the Zenfone 8?

Your intros are just impressive

Literally no one is comparing OnePlus 9 or 9 pro with iPhone 12 or 12 pro except OnePlus themselves on their launch event 😂

Thanks for commenting on the shutter lag thing. I noticed it immediately when I got my OP8 and it's still bothering me to this day.

bought this phone and the funny thing is my alert slider is really stiff compared to my old oneplus where i had exactly that problem :D

@Marques & Team Using the camera robot for all the amazing intros?!?

Surprised that you, and other tech reviewers failed to mention lack of OIS on all sensors.

This just looks and sounds so boring... Even the 8t looked better to my eyes.

5:24 lol Epic "Why" definitely throwing it in mine 😂

Where do they sell the 256 GB variant?? It's not on their website.

*Who else is here after struggling with Samsung ad?* 😂

yo marques your last two (and all but those specifically) intros have been SO COOL how they waves match the background colors so cool man.

The black & white cam could be to speed up AI image processing , some sort ML algos running in the background

Have you heard of the OnePlus 9R retailing in India? Could you by any chance review that?

8:00 this is the reason oneplus is going downhill. They spent money on a sensor that improves on 200 year old technology, and didnt spend money on a ipx certificate. This is also why steve jobs was Worth his weight in diamonds, if someone aproached him with thst idea he wouldve slapped them across the face

the fact the at the intro transition matches the rolls in the background makes me feel much better from last video

I'm still rocking the one plus 5T red lol. Great phone, lasted so long and still going strong!

Your reviews are always helpful!

The intros just keep getting better...

Fun fact: The reason phones are made is to be reviewed by MKBHD.

Intro is just on another level 🔥🔥

For me the huge advantage of Samsung is DeX. I currently have an OP7 but I'm considering buying the S21 or even S20 only for DeX