There's a heap of excellent features present on the OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro, and among everything that's offered, water-resistance is one of them. OnePlus has hyped up its 9 Series as the company's best smartphones to date, and it's gone about achieving that goal in a number of different ways. The OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro are equipped with excellent 120Hz AMOLED displays, Hasselblad-branded camera systems, and virtually every high-end spec someone could ask for in 2021.
Everyone has varying wants and needs when it comes to a smartphone, especially in the case of flagships and value flagships. Deciding to spend $700 - $1100 on a new phone is a decision that doesn't come lightly for a lot of people, so with the 9 and 9 Pro, OnePlus tried to cram in every feature possible while still retaining reasonable price tags. The company did succeed in bringing water-resistance to the OnePlus 9 family, though the specifics of how it's implemented are a little confusing.
Starting with the flagship OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus confirms that IP68 water-resistance is available as a standard feature for the phone. No matter what storage configuration, color, or if it's unlocked or sold through T-Mobile, the OnePlus 9 Pro ships with IP68 protection. That means it's protected against both dust and water submersion — up to 1.5 meters for 30 minutes. This doesn't mean that 9 Pro owners should actively seek out situations in which they're dunking their new device in a pool of water, but in the event of an accident, the OnePlus 9 Pro is designed to come out unscathed.
The Unlocked OnePlus 9 Doesn't Have An IP68 Rating
When it comes to the regular OnePlus 9, things become a bit more complicated. If someone buys an unlocked variant of the OnePlus 9 sold through Amazon, Best Buy, B&H, or the OnePlus website, that version of the phone does not come with an IP68 rating. The OnePlus 9 sold through T-Mobile, however, does have IP68. Despite all of that, OnePlus reassures that all variants of the OnePlus 9 go through the same durability testing — as evident by there being airtight gaskets in the SIM tray of the unlocked OnePlus 9 (a key indicator of a phone with water-resistant protection).
In other words, this means that every single OnePlus 9 and 9 Pro ships with water and dust protection, even though the unlocked OnePlus 9 doesn't have the actual IP68 label. It costs money for smartphone manufacturers to ship a phone with an official IP rating, and likely in an effort to keep the price of the OnePlus 9 as low as possible, OnePlus gave it the same protections without spending making it 'official.'
While there's an argument to be made that the unlocked OnePlus 9 should ship with IP68 given its $729 - $829 asking price, this is the state of water-resistance for OnePlus's latest devices. Don't try and get them wet or full of sand on purpose, but if something does happen, both the 9 and 9 Pro should be able to handle it like the champs they are.
Source: OnePlus