According to the latest leaks, the OnePlus 9 Pro could receive a welcome display upgrade with the use of LTPO panels.

OnePlus' upcoming Pro phone is likely to feature the same kind of variable refresh rate display seen on the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra. This is great news for OnePlus, as it should theoretically rival Samsung's best new phones in battery life and screen smoothness.

LTPO (low-temperature polycrystalline oxide) is a type of backplane, the bottom layer of a smartphone display. Its design means that it consumes less power than traditional OLED screens and can change refresh rates based on what the phone is being used for at the time, without requiring additional hardware.

Some users might have expected OnePlus to adopt LTPO technology, given the company's touted speed and smooth user experience. That doubt was confirmed thanks to a tweet from leaker Max Jambor. [Like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, the OnePlus 9 Pro will feature a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. However, we don't know what minimum refresh rate OnePlus will use; the S21 Ultra can drop to 10Hz, so we have an idea of the possibilities, but without more information we can't be sure.

Jambor's reply to our comment on his original tweet claims that the OnePlus 9 Pro's display will be QHD resolution. This is the same as last year's OnePlus 8 Pro and S21 Ultra.

Other Samsung Galaxy S21 models also offer variable refresh rates, although the minimum refresh rate is higher. Perhaps this is what the basic OnePlus 9 will feature. Last year's OnePlus 8 only had a 90 Hz refresh rate display, but the upgraded OnePlus 8T ups it to 120 Hz. Hopefully, we will see a successor to the 8T, not the original 8.

The OnePlus 8 Pro is on our Best Android Phones and Best Overall Phones lists. And when the OnePlus 9 arrives (probably around April or May), we expect it to go there.

But with several other rumored changes in this phone, including a new Hasselblad-tuned camera, the Snapdragon 888 chipset, and the OnePlus 8T's 65W charging, we could see this phone climb the ranks and be a dangerous challenger to Samsung's crown We may see it prove to be.