With a number of new smartphones making their way to India soon, now is the time to do all the market research about what you want your next smartphone to be.
As we head into March, new smartphones that were unveiled at the Mobile World Congress prepare to make their entries into Indian soil. There is a lot to look forward to, as Nokia is making a return, and other companies are also playing to their strengths. Alongside flagship devices, we expect a number of budget smartphones as well in India. Here’s taking a look at all the phones that we know are slated to launch in India this year.
Moto G5 and G5 Plus
Moto will be taking a new, metal-laden approach to the budget smartphone segment with the new G5 and G5 Plus. The two phone are slated for a mid-March launch, and offer what seems to be attractive design to the budget buyer. Moto has gone with tried-and-tested Qualcomm SoCs with 2-4GB of RAM and multiple storage configurations. The cameras on these phones, and especially the G5 Plus, also seem fairly impressive.
Moto G5 specifications
Display: 5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
RAM: 2/3GB
Storage: 16/32GB
Camera: 13MP, 5MP
Battery: 2800mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Moto G5 Plus specifications
Display: 5.2-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
RAM: 3/4GB
Storage: 32/64GB
Camera: 12MP, 5MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Huawei P10
Huawei has been experimenting with dual camera phones for some time now, and the company has gotten quite good at it. The new Huawei P10 offers a new dual-camera setup in partnership with Leica. Similar to the Huawei P9, the company has improved it with seemingly better algorithms, lenses and ISPs. The phone is also supposed to provide better performance with the new Kirin 960 SoC.
Huawei P10 specifications
Display: 5.1-inch, 1080p
SoC: HiSilicon Kirin 960
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32/64GB
Camera: 20MP + 12MP, 8MP
Battery: 3200mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
LG G6
This year, LG’s main focus was on offering a better display. The LG G6 has something called a ‘Univisium’ display that delivers an unorthodox 18:9 aspect ratio to enhance the visual experience. The large, 5.7-inch QHD+ display supports HDR 10, but somewhat disappointingly. the rest of the hardware is taken from 2016.
LG G6 specifications
Display: 5.7-inch, 2880 x 1440p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 821
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32/64GB
Camera: 13MP + 13MP, 5MP
Battery: 3300mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Nokia 3, 5, 6
Nokia is coming back to India with three Android devices – the Nokia 3, 5 and 6. The Nokia 3 is at the bottom end of the lineup, although all three have familiar designs reminiscent of the old Lumia phones. On paper, compared to other budget devices in the market, the Nokia devices do not really look too tempting, but with “Pure” Android interface and Nokia’s staggering brand and emotional value, the three devices can be quite interesting.
Nokia 3 specifications
Display: 5-inch, 720p
SoC: MediaTek MT6737
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 8MP, 8MP
Battery: 2650mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Nokia 5 specifications
Display: 5.2-inch, 720p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
RAM: 2GB
Storage: 16GB
Camera: 13MP, 8MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Nokia 6 specifications
Display: 5.5-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 430
RAM: 3/4GB
Storage: 32/64GB
Camera: 16MP, 8MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 7.1.1 Nougat
Samsung Galaxy S8 & S8+
Samsung is also gearing up to launch its flagship smartphone for 2017, in the form of Galaxy S8 and S8+. Like LG, Samsung will also be emphasising on the display as the two new devices are expected to flaunt near-bezel-less curved displays. Moreover, the Galaxy S8 lineup should run on Qualcomm or Exynos’ latest SoCs, making them interesting devices to look forward to.
Samsung Galaxy S8 rumoured specifications
Display: 5.8-inch, 1440p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 / Exynos 8895
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Camera: 12MP, 8MP
Battery: 3000mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Samsung Galaxy S8+ rumoured specifications
Display: 6.2-inch, 1440p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 / Exynos 8895
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Camera: dual 12MP, 8MP
Battery: 3500mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Sony Xperia XZ Premium
At MWC this year, the phone that turned most heads was the Sony Xperia XZ Premium. In true Sony fashion, the XZ Premium offers top-of-the-line specs such as a world’s first 4K HDR display, an all-new camera with slow motion video capturing ability at 960fps, and the much-anticipated Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. Sony has not yet declared availability, but our resident experts point at a mid-2017 India launch.
Sony Xperia XZ specifications
Display: 5.5-inch, 2160p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 835
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 64GB
Camera: 19MP, 13MP
Battery: 3230mAh
OS: Android 7.1 Nougat
Sony Xperia XA1, XA1 Ultra, XZs
Sony also announced four other smartphones alongside the XZ Premium, with seemingly pedestrian specifications in comparison to the new Sony flagship. The Xperia XA1 will replace the XA, while the XA1 Ultra will replace the XA Ultra. The Xperia XZs, meanwhile, replaces the Xperia X. All three devices currently do not have a launch date.
Sony Xperia XZs specifications
Display: 5.2-inch, 1080p
SoC: Qualcomm Snapdragon 820
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 19MP, 13MP
Battery: 2900mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Sony Xperia XA1 specifications
Display: 5-inch, 720p
SoC: MediaTek Helio P20
RAM: 3GB
Storage: 32GB
Camera: 23MP, 8MP
Battery: 2300mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Sony Xperia XA1 Ultra specifications
Display: 6-inch, 1080p
SoC: MediaTek Helio P20
RAM: 4GB
Storage: 32/64GB
Camera: 23MP, 16MP
Battery: 2700mAh
OS: Android 7.0 Nougat
Nokia 3310
While Sony’s launch was all about latest hardware that seems ready to take on the future, Nokia played the nostalgia card by bringing back the Nokia 3310 feature phone, once revered for the tank-like build, weeks of battery life and the iconic Snake game on a monochrome display. The rehashed 3310 runs on Nokia’s old Series 30+ OS, and takes calls and messages on 2G network. Nokia has not attempted to introduce it to the world of the latest apps, instead claiming that the device will offer 22 hours of talktime and 32 days of standby time. In addition, it has a colour display and a rear camera to pledge its new-age outlook.
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