Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Mobile
  3. News

Don’t worry, the OnePlus 9 will come with a fast charger in the box

By

OnePlus is gearing up to release the OnePlus 9, and the company is also prepping to buck a somewhat detrimental smartphone trend — the absence of a charging brick with new phones — in the process. Writing in response to a query by a potential customer, CEO Pete Lau confirmed the upcoming phone would ship with both a charging cable and charging brick in the box.

It may seem like an unremarkable thing to note, but much like the headphone jack, it is no longer a guarantee your new smartphone will come with an accessory that was once taken for granted. In a trend popularized by Apple and the iPhone 12, some other phone manufacturers have opted to start shipping their phones in smaller boxes without charging bricks because most users already have chargers lying around and can easily do without them. It’s also being eschewed for environmental reasons aimed at reducing the e-waste from excess chargers.

Recommended Videos

The difference such actions make to e-waste is still up for debate. Ruediger Kuehr, head of the Sustainable Cycles (SCYCLE) Programme hosted by the United Nations University said when speaking to Wired last year: “The percentage of chargers coming from tablets, smartphones, et cetera is 0.1 percent of the total e-waste increase.”

Related

OnePlus phones use the company’s proprietary Warp Charge technology. The Warp Charge 30T charger included with the OnePlus 8 Pro charges the battery to full in less than an hour, and even its wireless charging is fast, with a 50% charge taking just 30 minutes. To achieve these speeds, you must use a Warp Charge charging brick and OnePlus’s USB Type-C cable, otherwise it will just charge at a normal, slow speed. If OnePlus takes the time to develop fast charging, and then uses Warp Charge as a selling point, it’s unlikely to force you to pay extra for a charging brick to make it work.

The OnePlus 9 series will launch on March 23, and in addition to talk about the battery and charging, we’re excited to see how a rumored partnership with camera experts Hasselblad works out. We’ll have comprehensive OnePlus 9 coverage on the release day.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Michael Allison
Michael Allison
Mobile News Writer
A UK-based tech journalist for Digital Trends, helping keep track and make sense of the fast-paced world of tech with a…
The OnePlus 12 is the OnePlus phone I’ve been waiting for
A person holding the OnePlus 12.

Since it arrived, the OnePlus 12 has been sitting on a shelf, unused, behind my desk. Apart from a few days when I tested out the camera, battery, and performance, I haven't had a chance to really dig into the phone.

Don’t mistake this for indifference, though. I’ve been itching to use it for more than just those early few days, but due to various reasons, it hasn’t been possible until now. Was it worth the wait?
Why did it have to wait?

Read more
OnePlus just fixed a big issue with the OnePlus Watch 2
Person wearing OnePlus Watch 2 with a green strap on their left wrist.

Owners of the OnePlus Watch 2 are about to receive a new software update that will improve the smartwatch in one key way. The OHealth v4.21.5 update adds a data migration feature that allows switching phones without losing health data, which wasn't possible previously. Android Authority first spotted the update.

Google's Wear OS 4 launched with the new data migration feature. However, it wasn't available on the OnePlus Watch 2 until now. Once you install the update, you can see a new option called "Migrate data" in the profile settings. To use this new tool, your old and new phones must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network. You will also need to scan a QR code to initialize the migration process. If you are logged into the OHealth app, make sure that you sign in to the same account on both devices before migrating the data.

Read more
The OnePlus Watch 2 is the Wear OS smartwatch I’ve been waiting for
Person wearing OnePlus Watch 2 with a green strap on their left wrist.

The OnePlus Watch 2 -- the company's first Wear OS watch -- has entered a market that Samsung dominates. However, OnePlus' popularity as a smartphone brand can be expected to bring small, yet meaningful changes that benefit not only OnePlus users, but all of the Wear OS segment in general.

For almost a decade, Samsung and Apple have predominantly been the default options if you want a smartwatch that is actually useful and goes beyond flashy features. With Samsung shifting gears and migrating from its own Tizen OS to the (relatively) more universal Wear OS platform and Google releasing its own Pixel Watch after struggling with an identity crisis in the smartwatch world, the platform has much more traction than it did a few years ago. As OnePlus carves its way into the segment, it has the opportunity to entice people who don't wish to live within Samsung's limitations when using a Galaxy Watch with another brand's phone.

Read more