Several phone-makers including Samsung and Motorola among others are slated to unveil new flagship phones in August.
To provide a better perspective, we have listed top mobiles you should keep a tab this month and who knows one might pique your interest so much so that you might buy it right away.
Global launch:
Samsung Galaxy Note9:
South Korean consumer electronics giant Samsung is all geared up to pull the wraps off the new Galaxy Note9 in the New York City on August 9. As per reliable reports, it is coming with subtle but meaningful changes in design language compared to Galaxy Note8.
It is said to flaunt gorgeous Infinity Display design, but it is expected comes with much slimmer bezels in the top and bottom, thereby increasing real estate of the screen on the phone's front panel and have more than 85 percent screen-to-body ratio.
It is said to sport a bigger 6.4-inch Wide Quad High Definition (WQHD) super AMOLED screen with 18.5:9 aspect ratio, improved sunlight readability. [Note: 2017-model has 6.3-inch screen]
On the back, Samsung has trans-located the fingerprint sensor below the camera. This makes sense as it will be easy for fingers access and also most importantly consumers will less likely to touch the camera sensors, which was one of which was one of the nagging issues for the Galaxy Note8 owners and critics alike.
It has the biometric sensor right beside the camera lens and many device owners touched it leaving sweaty smudges all over it. Now, this issue is unlikely to recur in the 2018-model.
As far as the internal hardware is concerned, Galaxy Note9 will have top-of-the-line processors, cameras, bigger battery, feature-rich S Pen, which will make it the standout among rival brands.
Depending on the region of sale, Galaxy Note9 will also be offered in two chipset variants. Devices, which will be shipped to the US, China and South Korea will have Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor.
The Samsung flagship phablet sold in India and Russia, among other global markets, will house an Exynos 9820 octa-core processor. Rest assured, both the variants will offer the same level of performance and would set a new benchmark in performance among Android phones.
The company is also said to have improved the ISOCELL technology for Galaxy Note9's camera, in addition to enhanced Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) and variable aperture (F1.5-F2.4) to capture high-quality pictures in low-light.
Samsung is expected to open up Galaxy Note9 pre-order service in multiple global regions soon after the global unveiling on August 9. In India, the company is expected to host a local launch event and start taking orders for the Android phablet from August 19 onward and would be retailing the device for prices starting at around Rs 73,000.
Motorola Moto Z3:
Lenovo-owned Motorola is hosting an event on August 2 at its Chicago HQ. It is expected to unveil multiple products including Google Android One series- Moto One, Moto One Power and most probably Moto Z3.
First up is Moto One. It will run pure Android Oreo software and come with Apple iPhone X-like display on the front, glass-clad shell on the back with the dual-camera module and the company's iconic batwing logo in a circular capsule doubling up as the fingerprint sensor. It is also expected to come with a Type C USB port.
On the other hand, One Power, as the name suggests, is most likely to come with a big battery and faster and powerful processor backed by higher RAM and storage capacity, while the rest of the specifications are expected to be same as the generic model.
As far as the Moto Z3 is concerned, it is expected to come with the slim body, latest display standards (18:9 or 19:9 aspect ratio), powerful Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core, 6GB RAM, 64GB/128GB storage and long-lasting battery.
There are also rumours of Motorola unveiling Moto Z3 Force. It is expected to come with better internal hardware and tough body including industry standard-setting Shatter-Shield technology and come with top-of-the-line Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 backed by ample RAM, storage and battery with TurboPower fast charging capability.
Oppo F9 series:
The new Oppo F9 smartphone series is coming in two variants-- a generic F9 and a top-end F9 Pro. They are said to come with a screen-to-body ratio of 90.8 per cent, MediaTek Helio P60 processor and a dual-rear camera module.
The standard model is said to come with 4GB RAM+64GB storage and the Pro model might feature 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
Local launch in India:
Oppo Find X:
The company has already revealed the Oppo Find X price (Rs 59,990) and it will be releasing in the market on August 2 via online and in the brick-and-mortar stores in the following day.
Oppo Find X is one of the best-looking smartphones on the market. Ingenious Oppo engineers have managed to create a unique design that makes full utilisation of the front-panel without losing display real estate for physical components such as the camera.
They have incorporated a fast sliding camera tray that hides both the front and back cameras. But, once you tap the camera icon on the screen, the top-portion slides out showing the camera and the company claims, it pops up in just 0.5 seconds.
Oppo is betting big on its advanced front-camera for Face unlocking feature which is said to be far more superior to other rival brands and also the physical fingerprint sensor. It uses 15,000 facial points to recognise the face and has a False Rejection Ratio (FFR) score of 1 in million compared to the former, which has 1 in 50,000 (FRR).
Other specifications include Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core, 8GB RAM, 256GB storage and 3,730mAh battery, which is more than enough to keep the phone running for a whole day under mixed usage. It also boasts VOOC flash fast charging capability. Oppo Find X costs Rs 59,990.
Moto G6 Plus:
Motorola has already started teasing Moto G6 Plus on Twitter, so it's safe to assume that it will be releasing this month, most probably before mid-August.
Motorola Moto G6 Plus flaunts unibody design language with high-grade metal and glass blend on the back exuding glossy premium feel. Also, the iconic batwing Moto logo for the first time has a working feature, as the company has incorporated fingerprint sensor into a circular module below the rear-side camera.
On the front, it sports a 5.99-inch Full HD+ (2160x1080p) display with 18:9 aspect ratio to offers cinematic viewing experience.
Under the hood, it comes packed with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor backed by 4GB/6GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage, a dual 12MP + 5MP main camera with up to 4KV video recording capability, an 8MP front-snapper and a 3,200mAh battery, which is more than enough to keep the phone running for a whole day under mixed usage.
Nokia X6 aka Nokia 6.1 Plus Android One:
HMD Global Oy has already released Nokia X6 global variant dubbed as Nokia 6.1 Plus in a couple of markets — Hong Kong and Taiwan — and word on the street is that it might make its debut in India by the end of August.
Nokia 6.1 Plus sports a 5.8-inch full HD+ screen with an iPhone X-like notch on the top, which houses a 16MP front camera with facial recognition feature. On the back, it comes with metallic shell, vertically aligned dual-camera and fingerprint sensor below it.
Under-the-hood, Nokia 6.1 Plus expected to house a Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 octa-core CPU, 4GB/6GB RAM, 32GB/64GB storage, a 3060mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0, Bluetooth v5.0 and other standard connectivity features.
BlackBerry Evolve series:
The company is hosting product launch event in India on 2 August and going by the teaser, it is expected to unveil Evolve series. Rumour has it that that the company will be revealing two models-- Evolve and Evolve X. Both the variants are expected to come with full screen display having 18:9 aspect ratio and a big 4,000mAh battery.
More phones are expected to be unveiled both globally and locally in India, but there are no official confirmations from phone-makers, as they tend to send invites a week or two before the unveiling event. So, we will be adding more products to the list in coming days. We will be keeping our ears to the ground.
