Q4 2018: Smartphones to watch out for

With the fourth quarter of the year upon us, we have seen most of the flagships launched. The biggest launch of September saw Apple announce not one but three flagship smartphones. While the iPhone XS was a bit overshadowed, the iPhone XR and XS Max didn’t shy away from the spotlight. The latter of which when it launches will come in a few bold colours that are definitely going to turn a few heads as this time it’s not unapologetically plastic but finished in premium glass. Samsung had also announced the Galaxy Note 9 and it garnered critical approval across the globe.

With the biggest smartphone manufacturers already out their wares, we now look ahead to what the rest of 2018 has on offer.

 

Google’s Pixel 3

The largest tech brand that’s yet to announce a smartphone this year is Google and though there have been plenty of leaks, we are still a bit clueless if the search giant will throw in a surprise or not.

However, out of the upcoming Pixel 3 series, the Pixel 3 XL has been floating in and about of the rumour mill. This handset is expected to sport a 6.2-inch display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 1440 x 2960 pixels, run on Snapdragon 845 with an Adreno 630 GPU. Leaked images also show a front-facing speaker and a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor. Unlike the trend that’s sweeping across the smartphone industry, Google appears to be sticking with a single rear 8MP shooter instead of dual rear cameras. The battery found here is said to be 3430mAh.

Both the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are believed to sport 4GB/6GB RAM configurations and run Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. As for the Pixel 3, it will come sporting a 5.4-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2160 pixels. It is believed to feature a Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. It will come with dual 8.1 cameras for selfies and will have a 3000mAh battery.

One thing we don’t know is if Google is planning on throwing in a surprise fully bezel-less Pixel 3. A handset that sports no forehead or chin was spotted online which lead us to speculate that Google may have something in store for us after all. However, we will know more when Google takes centre stage on October 9.

 

OnePlus 6T

It has just been a few months since OnePlus released the 6 and now it appears that the brand is preparing to launch its successor. The OnePlus 6T is expected to be unveiled on October 17 and this will be their first handset with an in-display fingerprint sensor. Without being officially announced, the handset is already doing the rounds on Television commercials with Amitabh Bachchan.

Apart from the in-display fingerprint reader, the handset is also expected to have a smaller notch like the ones found on the Vivo V11 Pro. Besides this, the OnePlus 6T will come with a Snapdragon 845 chipset paired with up to 8GB of RAM and run Android 9.0 Oreo out-of-the-box. As of now, there is no word on the camera configuration, but we expect it to sport a dual camera system on the rear.

 

Samsung 4X Fun

This device is shrouded in mystery. As of now, the only information that’s available is that Samsung will be hosting an event on October 11 with the tagline 4X Fun. This could mean a couple of things. Samsung could debut a handset with four rear cameras or launch a handset with 4X optical zoom. As of now, details are pretty slim but whatever handset Samsung does announce, it's going to be a mid-ranger and not a flagship smartphone.

 

Samsung foldable phone

This is a phantom device from Samsung and absolutely no renders or specifications have been leaked. The only clue we have about this smartphone was when Samsung’s mobile division CEO said “It was time to deliver” on a foldable smartphone. This information was conveyed after a consumer survey was carried out by Samsung. The CEO didn’t reveal how such a device would work but claimed that it would have a unique functionality where Samsung would differentiate it from a tablet when it was unfolded.

Previous rumours indicate that this though smartphone would seem like a traditional flip-phone that’s dependant on a hinge to open it, the upcoming device will utilise a single screen that bends.

Apart from these, other rumoured phones include the Razer Phone 2, Huawei Mate 20 and 20 Pro and the LG V40ThinQ that are yet to debut later this year.

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