- An eBay user has sold what’s claimed to be a OnePlus 9 prototype for $6,000.
- The device appears to be one from an earlier leak.
- Don’t be surprised if OnePlus turns the phone into a paperweight.
Remember that mid-December leak appearing to show live photos of the OnePlus 9? It’s back — and the device might have changed hands. XDA‘s Mishaal Rahman and Android Police report that eBay user Shamete1 was listing the prototype phone at auction and sold it for $6,000.
The eBay photos are of the same OnePlus 9 unit shown in a PhoneArena leak, just without the watermarks. They point to a relatively conservative design tweak versus the 8T, with the most conspicuous change being a large camera bump with three lenses and “Ultra Shot” branding (possibly an echo of Oppo’s “Ultra Steady”). Earlier rumors had the phone using 48MP primary and ultra-wide cameras as well as a smaller, third rear sensor.
Read more: OnePlus needs to hit a home run with the OnePlus 9
The seller also briefly included photos showing the OnePlus 9 running the latest, Android 11-based version of Oxygen OS, although those shots have since been deleted from the eBay listing (likely for including device identifiers).
It’s not certain if the eBay device was authentic. It’s possible someone had the unedited leak photos and merely used those to scam would-be OnePlus 9 buyers on eBay. This was an extremely risky purchase even if the phone is real, though. As Shamete1 warned, OnePlus is free to do what it wants — it could remotely disable the phone or send law enforcement after the buyer.
However real this hardware might be, you’ll likely have to be patient for any kind of confirmation. Rumors don’t have OnePlus releasing the 9 until mid-March. That’s also assuming there are no changes. While many phone makers lock down their designs in the final months before launch, we can’t completely rule out last-minute tweaks.