Buy OnePlus 9R at Rs 34,999 during Amazon sale or wait for OnePlus 9 RT?

OnePlus is currently selling the OnePlus 9R at a discounted price of Rs 36,999 on Amazon India. With the right bank, you can get the phone for as low as Rs 34,999. The offer is part of the Great Indian Festival that kicked off on Amazon on October 3rd. It seems like a good deal at first, and it surely is, but there are reports that OnePlus will soon launch the OnePlus 9 RT in India. This is said to be an improved version of the 9R, as is the case with OnePlus’ ‘T’ variants. Therefore, is it a good idea to buy the OnePlus 9R right now, or is it better to wait for the OnePlus 9 RT? Let’s take a look. 

OnePlus 9R for as low as Rs 34,999

When OnePlus launched the OnePlus 9R earlier this year in April, the phone was priced at Rs 39,999. The 9R is well equipped, carries a competitive price tag, and can therefore be touted as a flagship killer. The latest discount brings the price down by Rs 5,000, and makes the phone an even better deal. In our review, we stated that the phone offered best-in-class performance, good cameras, fast charging, and excellent software. And it still does all of this well. 

OnePlus has been focusing on selling flagships instead of flagship killers, but the OnePlus 9R is a flagship killer, although it didn’t have the latest Snapdragon 888 chipset. The phone is equipped with the Snapdragon 870 SoC, which is still plenty fast. The company did a great job with the design, and the performance is on par with other similar or even higher-priced phones. The camera setup is also decent, but it does lack low-light photography. However, the 9R comes with blazing fast 65W fast charging technology, while also offering good battery life. 

The OnePlus 9R has a good display with an AMOLED panel and 120Hz refresh rate as well. In terms of software too, the phone is an excellent buy. You get the latest software with almost near-stock UI, and OxygenOS is still one of the best-skinned versions of Android. OnePlus has also promised timely software and security updates for the entire 9 series. For Rs 34,999, the OnePlus 9R is definitely a good buy, but should you buy it right now is the question. 

OnePlus 9R vs OnePlus 9 RT

Enter the OnePlus 9 RT, a rumoured upgrade to the OnePlus 9R, which has already been spotted on the Geekbench platform, and has even received a BIS certification. The launch of this new phone could be just around the corner, which begs the question. Should you wait for the OnePlus 9 RT, or just buy the OnePlus 9R at Rs 34,999 during the Amazon Great Indian Festival sale. 

Well, the OnePlus 9 RT is going to be an improved phone. As per the Geekbench listing, the phone is equipped with the more powerful Snapdragon 888 SoC. It will reportedly feature a 6.55-inch FHD+ E3 AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate, similar to the OnePlus 9R. The phone is said to come with a triple rear camera setup similar to the OnePlus Nord 2. You can expect a 50-megapixel Sony IMX766 primary camera, a 16-megapixel Sony ultra-wide unit, and a 2-megapixel black and white sensor. You can expect the phone to have 5G, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2, and a 4,500mAh battery with 65W fast charging support. It should also have up to 12GB RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage. It is also said that the OnePlus 9 RT will run on ColorOS 12 out of the box, which is interesting.

Should you wait for OnePlus 9 RT?

If you’re in need of a new phone desperately, then we’d say go for the OnePlus 9R as it is at its lowest price yet on Amazon. However, if you can wait a little longer, then the OnePlus 9 RT would be a better purchase as it could offer a faster processor and better cameras. However, the OnePlus 9 RT will likely come with a slightly higher price tag compared to the OnePlus 9R given the improvements.