Some smartphones are worth waiting for, and there are some sunners coming in 2016, including the best new Android phones, best new iPhones, best new Windows phones, best new Samsung phones, best new Sony phones, best new HTC phones, best new LG phones and more.
In this feature we’ll show you some of the exciting new iPhones and new Android phones (listed alphabetically) that will launch over the coming year.
Apple iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 will be Apple’s brand-new flagship phone for 2016, and following tradition should be announced in September. Although the final release date is still many months away, that hasn’t stopped the rumour mill going crazy over the upcoming iPhone.
We’ve already seen rumours that the new iPhone will feature big design changes, with an all-new D-jack headphone jack, waterproofing protection and an eSIM. Loads of rumours are circulating about the screen too – will it get bigger? Will it feature a curved edge? Will it have a Touch ID display, or edge-to-edge glass?
One things for sure, the new iPhone will be faster than ever, with an A10 processor and embedded M10 motion co-processor, plus 2GB of RAM.
Google Nexus 6 2016
It’s very early days for new Nexus 6 rumours, but we’ve already heard a tip-off that the smartphone will once again be made by Huawei, and that it will feature a Snapdragon 820 chip, which is more powerful and energy efficient, and builds in support for Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0.
Some other stuff we ‘know’ includes the fact it will be the launch vehicle for the new Android OS, Android N, and it will most likely arrive in October. This will be a large-screen phablet (the clue is in the ‘6’) and with support for USB-C now built into Android it will use that format for data transfer and charging.
HTC One M10
Now that we know the phone unveiled by HTC in October was an HTC One A9, we’re still expecting to see the HTC One M10 in March 2016.
HTC One launches are traditionally held just prior to March’s Mobile World Congress show, and HTC chairwoman Cher Wang has said there would be significant improvements in innovations and design for the next flagship model next year.
A key area in which HTC now lags behind its rivals is the screen, with the M9 featuring a full- rather than Quad HD display. We’d expect to see some key improvements here, as well as some general performance enhancements.
LG G5
It’s not long since we welcome the LG G4, but the LG G5 will be here by the end of spring 2016.
Obviously very little is known so far about LG’s next flagship, but we have heard that the company is working with Irience to bring an iris scanner to the G5. And that’s something of a surprise, given that the LG G4 doesn’t even feature a fingerprint scanner. This isn’t brand-new tech, and in fact we have an UMI Iron phone in front of us with the same iris-scanning technology, but it will bring iris scanning in front of a UK audience for the first time.
The new LG G5 is thought to have a larger-capacity battery – perhaps up to 4000mAh – and the company is expected to retain the ability to remove- and also wirelessly charge the battery.
Microsoft Surface Phone
Surface Phone rumours have been few and far between, leading some to think it’s nothing more than a myth. But it was recently revealed by Wired that Microsoft Corporate VP Panos Panay has been working on a prototype of a new phone.
Should it truly exist, the Surface Phone is expected to arrive in 2016, with a 5.5in Quad-HD AMOLED display, 4GB of RAM, 64- and 128GB storage options (with microSD support), a 64-bit Intel processor and 21Mp rear- and 8Mp front cameras. The Surface Phone could also get a Surface Pen and a USB-C port.
Nextbit Robin
Things on Kickstarter are often a complete load of rubbish but the Nextbit Robin is a success story which we’re looking forward to seeing in the flesh.
The firm was founded in 2012 and its key staff have been involved with Android since the beginning. Collectively, they’ve worked on launching phones including the G1, Nexus and HTC One M8 and M8.
Due to arrive February 2016 with a price tag of $399, the ‘cloud-first’ smartphone has a different approach to most other Android devices on the market. There is on-board storage but the phone will automatically optimise by doing things like moving unused apps and photos to the cloud.
OnePlus 2 Mini
Despite having only recently announced the OnePlus X, a smaller OnePlus smartphone than the company’s flagship OnePlus 2, there are rumours that we’ll soon see a third OnePlus smartphone.
This new OnePlus phone will be smaller than the OnePlus X, but with performance to match the OnePlus 2, so we assume it will be priced somewhere in between the two – that’s if it ever sees the light of day.
The rumours of a OnePlus 2 Mini phone stem from an entry in the GFXBench database of an unknown OnePlus device with a 4.6in screen (the OnePlus X has a 5in screen and the OnePlus 2 a 5.5in screen). That’s a full-HD (1808p panel), and other specs include a 1.7GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, 64GB of storage and 12Mp/5Mp cameras. In common with the OnePlus 2, there’s no NFC.
Samsung Galaxy S7 & Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
Although Galaxy S6 is a brilliant product from Samsung since it’s unveiled. Samsung doesn’t rest on its laurels too long, though, and in March 2016 at Mobile World Congress we will see the new Samsung Galaxy S7 revealed – potentially alongside a new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge.
In the S6 Samsung turned its back on Qualcomm and instead used one of its own Exynos processors; while it’s possible that we could see a continuation of this trend, we know Samsung has already been testing out the Snapdragon 820. In fact, Samsung is thought to be working alongside Qualcomm in manufacturing the 820 with 3GHz Kyro CPU cores. This also means the new S7 could see Adreno 530 graphics and LP-DDR4 RAM – possibly as much as 6GB, although 4GB is more likely.
We don’t expect to see anything new in the already very good screen, so expect a 5.1in Quad HD SuperAMOLED panel. The fingerprint scanner and heart-rate montor found in the S6 will also likely feature. The Samsung Galaxy S7 will come with Android 6.0 Marshmallow and TouchWiz.
Sony Xperia Z6
There’s little in the way of leaked information on the phone but it does seem that Sony will stop its six-month refresh cycle meaning the Xperia Z6 will arrive around September 2016.
We’re expecting a similar offering to the Z5 with waterproofing and a fingerprint scanner but we hope it will shake things up a bit with something very different to past phones.
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