Another year, another set of smartphones to watch out for
As we start 2018, we have heard a good number of news reports about the upcoming releases from leading smartphone brands. That being said, we list up five smartphones we are excited to see in person and possibly do a full review for the 1st half of 2018. A good majority of these phones will be coming out at MWC 2018, and we will be there in Barcelona to give you the latest news, so watch out for that.
For the meantime, here are the five smartphones that are on our radar:
Samsung Galaxy S9/S9+
While recent leaks point to both the Galaxy S9 and S9+ as incremental updates to the Galaxy S8 and S8+, Samsung’s upcoming flagships boast of a relocated fingerprint scanner at the back, upgraded internals, and for the S8+, a dual camera setup similar to the one found on the Galaxy Note 8. In addition, both phones will be powered by new processors: Samsung’s Exynos 9810 for global models, and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 for US models.
As for the launch, recent reports point to Samsung launching the Galaxy S9 and S9+ during the week of MWC 2018.
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Huawei P20/P20 Plus/P20 Pro
Huawei was not kidding about teasing about a triple rear camera-equipped P20 smartphone boasting of features such as Pro Selfie, Pro Night, Pro AI Camera, and Pro Leica-branded lenses. While they are expected to be equipped with the Kirin 970 processor along with at least 6GB RAM and 64GB internal storage, the P20 Pro is rumored to be using an updated Kirin 975 processor instead. We have yet any details on what makes the Kirin 975 different from the Kirin 970 for now, so we will wait for more news reports on this new processor.
Like the Galaxy S9 and S9+, the Huawei P20/P20 Plus/ P20 Pro is slated to launch during MWC 2018.
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Apple iPhone SE 2nd Generation
While the buzz with iOS devices has been with the iPhone X these past few months, Apple is reportedly working on a successor to the small-screened iPhone SE. Slated to release by 1st half of 2018, the iPhone SE Gen 2 is rumored to have an A10 Processor, 2GB RAM, 12-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel front camera, and either 32GB or 128GB of storage. Other rumors include a slightly bigger screen and battery, and that the home button will remain.
ASUS ZenFone 4 Max Plus M1
Not to be left behind, ASUS will be launching its first 18:9 display smartphone this January with the ZenFone 4 Max Plus M1. Initially released as the Pegasus 4S in China, the ZenFone 4 Max Plus M1 is an update to the Zenfone 4 Max, with a bigger and sleeker 18:9 display, a rear-mounted fingerprint scanner, and a hefty 4130mAh battery. We will be reviewing this phone soon as we get our hands on it this month.
Sony Xperia XZ2
With the aging OmniBalance design coming to an end, Sony is expected to release an 18:9 display Xperia flagship in time for MWC 2018. Aside from being one of the first smartphones to use Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 chip, the alleged new design for the XZ2 is very promising. Could this give a boost to Sony’s Xperia line? We will know soon.
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