Question T-Mobile OnePlus 9 Pro deals

[CZ Eddie]

Black Friday is around the corner but T-Mobile is already putting out a deal on the 9 Pro.
Probably in response to the new Pixels. Which seem to be a downgrade vs the 9 Pro (except for the camera).
I was ready to buy the Pixel 6 Pro but I wanted a lighter phone, a brighter phone and a cooler phone.
So, I looked around and wound up with the OnePlus 9 Pro after T-Mobile put out their current deal.
For me, it was the way to go!

$98/month including taxes (in my area).
You get the phone and Magenta Max which comes with free everything and Netflix.
I spent the extra $10/month to get Netflix 4K UHD on four screens.
But then, I have a $10/month corporate discount, so it's a wash for me!

If you've got $800 (black Friday from OnePlus) then skip TMO and just buy direct from OnePlus, your life will be easier.
TMO requires some hoops to jump through before you can root'n'ROM.
But I managed to get a custom ROM & root going on my third day with the phone, for free. Just takes a little learning and a huge assist from a fellow XDA'er (not sure if he wants me to mention his name?).

All fee's are supposedlly included in the quote below. $98 out the door per month (24 months).
I thought about just buying a 256GB 8 Pro for $450 cash and sticking with Google Fi but I'm happy with my decision so far.
Plus, the 9 Pro is a little lighter than the 8 Pro and that's an important thing for me (jogging with gym shorts - heavy phones are not cool).

 

[kindrich]

Don't want to rain on your parade now that you've purchased the phone but I'm currently using 9Pro and will dump this phone as soon as my P6Pro arrives.
The OP9P is indeed lighter than P6P, but I'm not sure about the other two.
I went to Best Buy to check out the P6Pro, and the screens are about the same to my eyes, not surprising considering they're probably using the same LTPO OLED panel from Samsung.
And regarding cooler? There are numerous threads like this https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/oneplus-9-pro-overheating-very-often.4332695/. It's not a fault with OP9P specifically but rather SD888 itself.

I'm done with OnePlus in general, especially after testing out Android 12 Open Beta 1 (A12 OB1).
The OP9P is supposed to be OnePlus' current flagship, and we're still not getting security updates on a regular basis. The 2 previous updates came in June and September. It's even worse with the previous flagship (O8Pro) which didn't get any update for between May and October of 2021.
OnePlus users in general have already felt a sense of neglect from the company this past year, now that OnePlus is being absorbed by Oppo, I am even less confident in the new entity's long-term support. ColorOS 12 has been officially released for the Oppo Find X3 Pro (a phone with identical gut to the OP9P), yet OP9P is still stuck on a buggy OB1 with several features missing compared to ColorOS 12. That "neglected step-child" feeling is growing ever stronger every day -- not a good feeling for a $1000-flagship-class phone.

Moreover, the development scene for OP9P isn't very active. EvolutionX and crDroid are about the only ROMs still being actively maintained and kept up-to-date.

Software is very important to me, and I'll take Google's guaranteed 5 years of monthly update on the P6P over OnePlus' lackadaisical approach so far any day. T-Mobile gave me $900 off for the P6Pro when I traded in my OP8Pro so cost isn't even an issue.

My advice for you while you're still within the 30-day return period:
- Try using the phone for extended period and see if your phone gets hot. Maybe you'd be lucky.
- Try using OB1 and see if you like the new direction OxygenOS is going, because chances are you'd be stuck using that due to the lack of interest in A12 ROM development for OP9P.

Maybe the P6Pro isn't for you. The Samsung S21 Ultra which is a better phone than OP9Pro in most ways (can't believe there's a day I'm saying this), then the S22 series is right around the corner. Heck, I'd switch to iPhone before buying another OnePlus.

 

[varcor]

Don't want to rain on your parade now that you've purchased the phone but I'm currently using 9Pro and will dump this phone as soon as my P6Pro arrives.
The OP9P is indeed lighter than P6P, but I'm not sure about the other two.
I went to Best Buy to check out the P6Pro, and the screens are about the same to my eyes, not surprising considering they're probably using the same LTPO OLED panel from Samsung.
And regarding cooler? There are numerous threads like this https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/oneplus-9-pro-overheating-very-often.4332695/. It's not a fault with OP9P specifically but rather SD888 itself.

I'm done with OnePlus in general, especially after testing out Android 12 Open Beta 1 (A12 OB1).
The OP9P is supposed to be OnePlus' current flagship, and we're still not getting security updates on a regular basis. The 2 previous updates came in June and September. It's even worse with the previous flagship (O8Pro) which didn't get any update for between May and October of 2021.
OnePlus users in general have already felt a sense of neglect from the company this past year, now that OnePlus is being absorbed by Oppo, I am even less confident in the new entity's long-term support. ColorOS 12 has been officially released for the Oppo Find X3 Pro (a phone with identical gut to the OP9P), yet OP9P is still stuck on a buggy OB1 with several features missing compared to ColorOS 12. That "neglected step-child" feeling is growing ever stronger every day -- not a good feeling for a $1000-flagship-class phone.

Moreover, the development scene for OP9P isn't very active. EvolutionX and crDroid are about the only ROMs still being actively maintained and kept up-to-date.

Software is very important to me, and I'll take Google's guaranteed 5 years of monthly update on the P6P over OnePlus' lackadaisical approach so far any day. T-Mobile gave me $900 off for the P6Pro when I traded in my OP8Pro so cost isn't even an issue.

My advice for you while you're still within the 30-day return period:
- Try using the phone for extended period and see if your phone gets hot. Maybe you'd be lucky.
- Try using OB1 and see if you like the new direction OxygenOS is going, because chances are you'd be stuck using that due to the lack of interest in A12 ROM development for OP9P.

Maybe the P6Pro isn't for you. The Samsung S21 Ultra which is a better phone than OP9Pro in most ways (can't believe there's a day I'm saying this), then the S22 series is right around the corner. Heck, I'd switch to iPhone before buying another OnePlus.

Agreed, OxygenOS doesn't cut it. The only reason to aquire a OnePlus 9 is if you can't afford a true topshelf device.