OnePlus 9 leaks in three colors with plastic frame

The OnePlus 9 just keeps on leaking, with the latest leak taking the form of renders showing the phone in three colors, and suggesting that it might be at least partially plastic.

These renders were shared on Twitter by Ishan Agarwal (a leaker with a good track record) and you can see them below. They match previous leaks and certainly look convincing, but as ever we’d take them with a pinch of salt.

According to Agarwal the available colors will include Stellar Black, Arctic Sky (blue), and Winter Mist (purple). You can also see that there’s a flat screen with a punch-hole camera in the top left corner, while around the back there’s a triple-lens camera with Hasselblad branding – a partnership which OnePlus has already confirmed.

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Interestingly though there are no antenna bands on the frame, which strongly suggests it’s made of plastic. They’re a necessary feature of metal frames, because a signal can’t easily pass through the metal, but they aren’t needed with plastic.

Agarwal specifically suggests that this means the frame is plastic, and he’s not the first leaker to do so. The bigger question though is what the back’s made out of. It’s impossible to tell for sure from pictures, but if OnePlus has gone for a plastic frame then it’s possible the company has also opted for a plastic back – especially since the Samsung Galaxy S21 has a plastic back.

So if you want a OnePlus phone built from premium materials, you might have to opt for the OnePlus 9 Pro which is expected to land alongside the OnePlus 9. We probably won’t know for sure though until they’re officially unveiled on March 23.

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