OnePlus 9 needs better cameras — not a fancy Hasselblad logo

OnePlus nine needs improve cameras — non a fancy Hasselblad logo

(Prototype credit: Tom's Guide)

The cameras on OnePlus phones have never been the strong indicate for those devices. And OnePlus seems to know information technology. But the solution the company has reportedly focused on for the upcoming OnePlus 9 might exist the completely wrong way to fix it.

Reports surfaced recently that the OnePlus ix volition characteristic cameras fabricated with the help of Hasselblad when the new phone arrives possibly as soon as next month. If this rumor is authentic, then OnePlus may exist wasting its fourth dimension. Photographic camera hardware has never an issue for OnePlus phones, so partnering with a company that specializes in traditional photography doesn't seem the right solution for this problem.

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Do camera partnerships better phones?

Partnerships between smartphone makers and other companies are fairly mutual. simply look at team-ups such as Huawei and Leica, or Sony and Zeiss. The precise details of how these companies help out vary, but it's usually a joint attempt that involves tuning and designing all aspects of a phone'southward camera hardware and software.

However, these team-ups accept not guaranteed success. If you take a look at the phones at the tiptop of our best photographic camera phones list, what they have in common is first-class computational photography, non the name of a famous camera maker on the dorsum of the handset. Information technology helps that all merely one of the ten phones on the listing are made by Apple, Google and Samsung. These are three companies with plenty resources to hands develop their own camera tech, but the rest of the smartphone market has to follow the lead of these well-funded tech giants.

Assuming the leak nearly OnePlus and Hasselblad is accurate, we still don't know exactly what the two companies have worked out together. Merely considering OnePlus' track tape with photographic camera phones, it's questionable whether Hasselblad tin can really help.

An underwhelming camera history at OnePlus

Looking back over the past year of OnePlus flagships, such as the OnePlus eight and OnePlus 8T, one of the things these phones have in common is middling camera performance. Even the OnePlus 8 Pro, which nosotros praised for shooting high-quality photos, can't produce consistent results when it comes to low-lite shots or close-upwards portraits. That's unlike the iPhone eleven Pro we tested it confronting — and that phone has since been replaced by the iPhone 12 Pro, which handles photos with even greater ataraxy.

It's a similar story on OnePlus' upkeep Nord line. The original OnePlus Nord has an reward over similarly priced phones but by having more than dedicated camera lenses and offering a adequately decent Nightscape depression-light mode, but it can't match the color you get from the iPhone SE's single lens. Besides, the cheaper OnePlus Nord N10 couldn't keep up with the Google Pixel 4a, which relies on some of the best camera software in the business.

It'south no clandestine what needs work on OnePlus' different cameras. It's the software, not the lenses themselves.

OnePlus nine: What nosotros might hope for

The result of the OnePlus/Hasselblad collaboration volition be crucial if OnePlus wants to cement itself as a worthy alternative to Apple, Samsung and Google for powerhouse mobile photography. The play a joke on volition exist for Hasselblad to apply its expertise to the software-led photography that smartphones have to rely on, lest they lose the portability that makes them then useful.

Adding fancier lenses or tuning the sensors will brand for a better photography experience on the OnePlus 9, but non one expert enough to compete with the iPhone 12 Pro Max, Samsung Milky way S21 Ultra or other top phones.

OnePlus 9 Hassleblad — (Image credit: Dave2D/YouTube)

Happily, nosotros take other OnePlus 9 rumors which show that OnePlus is looking into new software aslope this Hasselblad partnership. Tilt-shift, focus peaking and other new photo modes have been spotted in the newest beta of OxygenOS, OnePlus' Android-based launcher. OnePlus has also offered various filters and photo effects on previous phones, and more may prove useful to customers who like having unique-looking photos. However there'due south currently no evidence of what changes, if whatsoever, OnePlus volition make to its basic photo processing.

Based on rumors, the OnePlus ix has a lot going for it outside of its cameras, with the phone expected to feature a 6.5-inch display with a 120Hz refresh charge per unit and a loftier-end Qualcomm organisation-on-scrap (either the Snapdragon 888 or the Snapdragon 870). Chances are, OnePlus will still be able to position its phone as a lower-cost premium alternative to more than expensive flagships.

Whether the photographic camera functioning is part of the equation, though, remains to exist seen.

Richard is a Tom's Guide staff writer based in London, covering news, reviews and how-tos for phones, gaming, audio and whatever else people need advice on. Post-obit on from his MA in Mag Journalism at the University of Sheffield, he's too written for WIRED U.Thousand., The Register and Creative Bloq. When not at work, he's probable thinking nearly how to brew the perfect cup of specialty java.