Rumor | The OnePlus 9 Pro will be IP68-certified, whereas the 9 and 9E will not

Some premium flagship OEMs have upsold their flagships through claims of officially-certified ingress protection for several years. OnePlus, on the other hand, has sought to compete with these companies since its inception by eschewing such add-ons in favor of a better price for its customers. Then again, it changed its tune in 2020 by finally extending the 8 Pro's feature-set with an IP68 rating.

Now, the tipster Max Jambar asserts that its next generation is getting the same treatment. However, it seems OnePlus is going no further than that, as the certification will again only be included in the 9 Pro, whereas its siblings will go without it. 

On this note, Jambar also reiterates earlier leaks concerning the introduction of a new variant called the 9E (expected to fall between the 9 and the Nord 2 in terms of specs) in March 2021. In other OnePlus news, Digital Chat Station has posted new schematics allegedly for the 9 Pro.

They show a similar rear camera hump as that linked to the vanilla 9 in another leak, in that it is dominated by 2 large lenses despite having additional components (which, according to a translation of the leaker's latest Chinese-language findings, will not include a periscope lens). The images also suggest the device in question has a flat display.

As welcome as this design choice might be for some, the "9 Pro" depicted here also seems to have an ultra-thin frame that requires the glass on both sides curves around by a good way to meet it. This may leave the front panel with a sizeable bezel, thus taking away from the screen's impact somewhat. Then again, none of these rumors are set in stone as yet.