OnePlus has announced that it has entered a three-year partnership with camera-maker, Hasselblad, while also confirming that it will launch its next phone series on 23 March. 

The OnePlus 9 series will be unveiled on that day and will feature a camera system "co-developed" with Hasselblad, called the Hasselblad Camera for Mobile. 

This partnership will continue on to future generations of flagship smartphone too, for at least the next three years.

OnePlus and Hasselblad confirm partnership: OnePlus 9 Pro to launch on 23 March photo 1
OnePlus

As well as confirming the Hasselblad partnership, OnePlus has also shared some specs we can expect to see in the OnePlus 9 series. 

For starters, the OnePlus 9 series will use a custom Sony IMX789 sensor, which - incidentally - is the largest sensor OnePlus has used to date. 

Photographers will be able to snap in 12-bit RAW, as well as capture improved HDR video, while also shooting 4K video up to 120 frames-per-second, or 8K at 30fps. 

In the press release OnePlus states that the partnership involves colour tuning and sensor calibration to begin with, and will lead to more areas in future. 

By the sounds of it, it means that photos taken with the OnePlus 9 series will have colour that appears more accurate, with a natural appearance. 

We're also going to see a 'Hasselblad Pro Mode' in the camera which uses the Swedish company's sensor callibration to offer photos ideal for editing and colour correction afterwards. 

It'll allow users to get "professional" fine-tuned controls for ISO, focus, exposure times and white balance, among other controls. 

How much real noticeable difference it'll make to the 9 series' camera is yet to be seen. It's always hard to say with these things how much of it is a branding exercise, and how much of it yields benefit for the end user. 

The proof of the pudding - as they say - will be in the eating. In other words: we'll find out when we get our hands on the next generation OnePlus flagship. 

Of course, OnePlus hasn't said specficially how many phones are in the 9 series, or said what they might be, but rumours have suggested we might see up to three phones in the family for 2021. 

Rumours suggested only the 9 Pro would feature Hasselblad's camera model, and that could well turn out to be true. Thankfully, there's not too much longer to wait until all the beans are spilled.