Is OnePlus 9R the Best OnePlus Phone to Buy — Even Over OnePlus 9?

OnePlus 9R price in India starts at Rs. 39,999. The latest OnePlus phone comes alongside the OnePlus 9 and OnePlus 9 Pro. The OnePlus 9R is designed to provide a flagship-like experience but at a lower price than that of the OnePlus 9. When we look at the OnePlus 9R specifications, the phone offers some similarities with the OnePlus 9. It comes with a full-HD+ OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate as well as a 48-megapixel Sony IMX586 primary camera sensor. The OnePlus 9R is also one of the few phones that is based on Qualcomm's Snapdragon 870 SoC. On this episode of Orbital, Gadgets 360 reviews editor Jamshed Avari and in-house OnePlus expert Ali Pardiwala join host Akhil Arora to discuss the OnePlus 9R.

The OnePlus 9R is a uniquely positioned smartphone in the company's portfolio. It sits between the OnePlus Nord and OnePlus 9. At the same time, the phone has some similarities with last year's OnePlus 8T.

OnePlus 9R Review: A Minor Refresh With a New Coat of Paint

Up against the more expensive the OnePlus 9, the OnePlus 9R has a Snapdragon 870 SoC over the Snapdragon 888 found elsewhere. This brings slightly weaker CPU cores and graphics performance. Wi-Fi 6E is also something that you won't get on the OnePlus 9R, which is available on the OnePlus 9 or the OnePlus 9 Pro. Additionally, the cheaper OnePlus model lacks the Hasselblad branding that you'll see on the premium OnePlus flagships of 2021.

Having said that, the OnePlus 9R could be a better option if you don't care about the top-end chipset or the premium camera marketing.

For the second half of this week's Orbital episode, we talk about the new OnePlus Watch. Host Akhil is joined by Gadgets 360 reviewer Aditya Shenoy and smartwatch enthusiast Shubham Raheja to discuss the OnePlus Watch.

The much anticipated OnePlus Watch was launched alongside the OnePlus 9 series phones last month. But rather than running on Google's WearOS as you might expect, the OnePlus Watch makes use of a real-time operating system (RTOS). This doesn't offer any customisations, though you can add some distinct watchfaces.

OnePlus has provided a basic UI on the OnePlus Watch that works similar to those of WearOS and Samsung's Tizen operating system. The smartwatch also doesn't include a dedicated app store. However, you can get some features and watchfaces directly from the connected OnePlus Health app.

OnePlus Watch First Impressions: It's About Time

We also talk about how the presence of the proprietary software helps the OnePlus Watch deliver better battery life over the competition. It also comes along with fast charging support and a list of health- and fitness-focused features. But it is important to note that you shouldn't pick the OnePlus Watch at this moment if you have an iPhone as your primary device. It is because the smartwatch doesn't work with iOS.

That's all for this week's episode of Orbital. Listen to the full discussion by following the Gadgets 360 podcast, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you get your podcasts. Please rate us, and leave a review.

You can also write to us at podcast@gadgets360.com with your feedback, questions, or comments. New Orbital episodes drop every Friday.