OnePlus CEO announces OnePlus 9R in India that is not Cheap

OnePlus 9R – Set to Release

In an interview with News18, the company’s CEO announced a third phone in the upcoming OnePlus 9 series – OnePlus 9R (via Android Police). The announcement, which comes only five days before the official unveiling of the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, confirms reports that OnePlus will also unveil a less costly phone alongside its latest flagships. However, only India has been confirmed as a destination for the phone so far.

Which Price Bracket Targeted?

OnePlus CEO Pete Lau says in the interview that the company wants to “go much further” with the included software and design than it did with the OnePlus Nord. OnePlus’ Nord can be remembered as a mid-range phone that was available in Europe and India, or as a budget phone that was released in the United States, depending on how closely you follow the business. It’s unclear which end of the price-to-performance continuum OnePlus is aiming for, though some of Lau’s comments say it’s closer to the mid-range.

Gameplays experience Improved

He believes the phone will have 5G and talks extensively about gaming in relation to the OnePlus 9R, claiming that the company needs the phone to have “fast and smooth experiences” for “heavy gameplay.” The references to “smooth interactions” and “smooth scrolling” imply that, like its recent budget phones, OnePlus would most likely have a 90Hz or faster display. In terms of the gaming focus, it’s likely that it’s more of a marketing tactic than a hardware one.

Processor

The Snapdragon 865 is rumoured to be in the OnePlus 9R, which is a processor from last year, when we typically expect gaming phones to have the most up-to-date processors. The ROG Phone 5, for example, has a Snapdragon 888 processor, up to 18GB of RAM, and a 144Hz display. All of that isn’t exactly cheap, so OnePlus’ claims that it’ll be for serious gamers should be taken with a grain of salt.

Pricing and Availability

The rest of the interview is short on specifics, with Lau avoiding questions about pricing or availability outside of India, but it does provide insight into what OnePlus is planning for the OnePlus 9R. With the event approaching, we do not have to wait long to find out for sure. If you’re interested in learning more about the higher-end 9 and 9 Pro, check out our pre-announcement roundup.

OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro

On March 23rd, OnePlus will host an event to officially announce the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. As with every mobile event these days, there’s a lot of speculation about what will be announced, due in part to OnePlus’s own drip-feeding of details over the past few weeks.

OnePlus and its CEO are expected to provide more information on Twitter in the days leading up to the case, but at this stage, it appears that we have a decent idea of what the phones would look like. It’s now only a matter of waiting until the 23rd, at 10 a.m. ET, for the information to be filled in.