I think people were expecting more:
1) No E5 grade screen (which fellow family brands alr using in previous gen's flagship)
2) No upgrade of the primary lens IMX789
3) Seemingly not impressive ultrawide lens Samsung JN1 vs IMX766 on the Oneplus 9 Pro
But well.... indeed there was an adjustment down in price from Oneplus 9 Pro..... but i don't think Never Settle fans will mind paying more for the best in class
This gives alot of room for improvement in the Oneplus 10T Pro.... which i think they will definitely launch in 2nd half of the year when they realize the uptake of the Oneplus 10 Pro is not as great as what they were expecting