TECH WORLD ( PHONES): Most Exciting Phone Launches Still To come
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Best new phones 2015/2016
2015 has been a bumper year for new smartphone launches, but the best is still to come in late-2015 / early-2016. We round up some of the best new phones coming to the UK within the next few months. Also see the best new tablets you should be most excited about in 2015.
We've listed the most exciting new smartphones still to come in 2015/2016 in alphabetical order, or you can scroll through our list of the best new phones to see some brilliant examples of smartphone tech that has already been unveiled in 2015. Read on for the best new phones from Apple, Asus, Google Nexus,
HTC, Huawei, LG, Microsoft, OnePlus, Samsung, Sony, Tesco, Xiaomi and more.
Google's Nexus phones have always been popular, but the 2014 Nexus 6 didn't go down quite so well. Was it too expensive? Was it too big?
Google is now hedging its bets with not only a new Nexus 5X but also a Nexus 6P (see the next slide) - so, there is something for everyone.
The new Nexus 5 is made by LG and comes with a 5.2in full-HD screen, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 CPU, a rear fingerprint scanner, a USB Type-C charging port, 12.3- and 5Mp cameras, 2GB of RAM and 16- or 32GB of storage, plus a front-facing speaker. It also runs Android 6.0 Marshmallow.
The new Nexus 5X is available to pre-order now and will ship in October.
You've just read about the new Nexus 5X for 2015, made by LG; now see the new Nexus 6P from Huawei.
This new Google phone is the more capable of the two, with a 5.7in Quad HD display, a metal unibody chassis, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2 processor, 3GB of RAM, a fingerprint scanner, a 12.3Mp rear camera and 8Mp at the front.
Following poor sales of the HTC One M9, it's rumoured that HTC could launch its successor as early as October 2015 with an all-new naming scheme, either HTC Two or HTC O2 or even HTC A9.
HTC One launches are traditionally held just prior to March's Mobile World Congress show, and we haven't seen enough on the rumour mill to convince us otherwise just yet, but HTC chairwoman Cher Wang has indeed said we will see a hero product in October (and also that there would be significant improvements in innovations and design for the next flagship model next year). We reckon this won't be the successor to the M9 but rather a second high-end HTC, with the M10 due in March 2016 as expected.
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.
Rumour has it LG has an even bigger and better flagship than the G4 planned for 2015. The LG G4 Note, if it materialises, will be a metal-chassis phablet with a faster Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chip and a massive 4GB of RAM. This could be what we'll see from LG at September's IFA 2015.
It's not long since we welcomed theLG 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.
Part of the reason we're so excited about the upcoming Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL is that they are among the first handsets to run full Windows 10 - Microsoft is to finally tackle the Windows Phone apps problem by running one OS across phones, tablets, PCs and laptops. The Lumia 950 has the beefiest spec of any Windows Phone we've seen too, and the XL is a larger version with a 5.7in Quad HD screen and a faster Snapdragon 810 processor. Both new phones will go on sale in November, priced at £450 for the 950 and £550 for the XL.
The Galaxy S6 is a brilliant product from Samsung, and there has been so much intrigue in its Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge that it has since unveiled theSamsung Galaxy S6 Edge+ phablet. 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 withAndroid 6.0 Marshmallow and TouchWiz.
Expect the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge to go on sale in April 2016.
The new Sony Xperia Z5 is the flagship we were hoping for from Sony when we got the Sony Xperia Z3+. It's caught up with its rivals with the Snapdragon 810 processor and 3GB of RAM inside, and gets one over on them with waterproofing protection, a brilliant 23Mp camera, and microSD support up to a whopping 200GB.
The Sony Xperia Z5 also comes in Premium and Compact versions (click Next for more details) and will go on sale in the UK in October.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium is the first 4K phone to market, with a 5.5in 2160x3840-pixel display that has a crazy-high pixel density of 806ppi.
The Premium is necessarily larger and heavier than the standard Z5, and has a slighly larger-capacity battery. In other respects it's the same phone, which means you get a Qualcomm Snapdagon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, microSD support up to 200GB, 23- and 5Mp cameras and a brand-new fingerprint scanner.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Premium will go on sale in November.
We've had mummy and dady, now here comes baby. The Sony Xperia Z5 mini (better known as the Z5 Compact) is a great follow-up to the Z3 Compact, smaller in size and likely to be around £100 cheaper in price, yet with few sacrifices in the specification.
In common with the Z5 and Z5 Premium the Z5 Compact offers the Snapdragon 810 processor, along with microSD support up to 200GB, the new fingerprint scanner and 23- and 5Mp cameras. It has a smaller (4.6in) and lower-resolution (720p HD) screen, and has a lower-capacity 2700mAh battery, but remember that there will be less drain from the screen. One other difference is that you get 2- rather than 3GB of RAM.
The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact will go on sale in October.
The Hudl tablet has seen phenomenal success, allowing the masses to enter the world of tablet computing. Tesco's taking a slightly different tack with itsTesco Hudl smartphone, however, which will be a high-end device with an aggressive price. Just the type of device we get excited about. The Tesco Hudl smartphone was supposed to be here in time for Christmas 2014, but Tesco put the project on hold - possibly forever, we're beginning to think. Despite recent financial problems causing Tesco to sell off its Broadband & Homephone and Blinkbox services, it claims to remain committed to its mobile business.
Best new phones 2015/2016: Out now
We've just looked at some of the best new phones still to come in 2015/early 2016, but some great phones have already been released this year.
There are some key changes in the new iPhone 6s, with a new Rose Gold colour option and a 12Mp iSight camera with support for 4K video recording. Live Photo is a fun new feature, with the iPhone recording a second and a half of video either side of the still image to help it come to life.
iOS 9 comes preinstalled on the new iPhone, and there's a new 3D Touch screen that can differentiate between a light and hard tap, allowing you to 'peek' and 'pop' into content. The screen is otherwise the same, a 4.7in Retina HD screen with 326ppi.
Also new is a second-gen Touch ID fingerprint scanner that's reportedly twice as fast, and an Apple A9 processor, now with the M9 motion coprocessor built-in and always-on. Apple says it's 80 percent faster for CPU tasks and 90 percent for GPU tasks.
As well as the iPhone 6s (previous slide), Apple has made available the new iPhone 6s Plus, on sale in the UK from 25 September.
As with the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, the key differences between these two phones are in their screen size and overall dimensions and weight. With a higher-resolution 5.5- rather than 4.7in screen, the iPhone 6s Plus is necessarily larger and heavier, at 158.2x77.9x7.3mm and 192g. It also has a larger-capacity battery.
The 6s Plus gets the same new features as the iPhone 6s, which means the A9 processor, 12Mp iSight camera with Live Photo, the 3D Touch screen (which can also go up to three times brighter to serve as a Retina Flash for the 5Mp selfie camera), and new Touch ID fingerprint scanner.
We've yet to get our hands on an Asus Zenfone 2, but the top-end model (ZE551ML) is now available at Amazon for £309.99 (Buy the Asus Zenfone 2 here). This powerful phone has a staggering 4GB of RAM and a 2.3GHz 64-bit Intel Atom Z3580 quad-core processor. For storage 32GB is fitted, and you can get more through microSD. There's 4G LTE support (dual-SIM, dual active), a 5.5in full-HD IPS screen, and 13Mp rear- and 5Mp front cameras. The stylish brushed-metal case is just 3.9mm thick at the edges. Running the fully customisable ZenUI software, the Zenfone 2 also has Trend Micro security preinstalled. The Asus Zenfone 2 is well worth a look.
We are massive fans of the HTC One M8, and the HTC One M9 is even better (Buy HTC One M9 here). Although HTC has kept the full-HD screen rather than the quad-HD screens seen in the new Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, the HTC One M9 is a very attractive phone with some impressive performance. You can check out our HTC One M9 review here, and learn more about the HTC One M9 release date, price and specs here. The phone went on sale in the UK on 31 March from £569 SIM-free, making it £30 cheaper than its rival the Samsung Galaxy S6.
A 5.5in-screen phablet version of the HTC One M9 is the HTC One M9+ - and this is the one we were waiting for, with a Quad-HD screen and a fingerprint scanner. It's been announced only in China at 4,299 Yuan (£522), and although HTC's PR team got in touch to tell us that the M9+ will never officially make it to the UK, rumours are spreading that it is coming to Europe after all. For now, though, if you want one you'll have to buy it online from a grey-marketimporter.
Huawei's latest flagship has a gorgeous unibody metal design that's stylish enough to rival HTC and Apple, yet it undercuts the price of those smartphones with a starting price of 499 Euro, or £357. There is a standard 5.2in Huawei P8, or a huge 6.8in Huawei P8 max. The phone and phablet should have gone on sale in the UK in April, with a worldwide launch following 15 May. We're unable to find the Max version for sale right now (check out our Huawei P8 and P8 max UK release date, price and specs), but keep your eyes peeled - it's worth hunting down.
LG is calling the LG G4 the 'most ambitious smartphone yet', which is focused on delivering 'comfortable elegance, a great visual experience and a human-centric user experience'. (Buy the LG G4 here.) We stand by our statement that the LG G3 was the very best phone you could buy in 2014, and things just get better with the LG G4 - although opinion is divided on that leather case (also available in ceramic versions). Key specifications include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 processor, a 5.5in Quad HD IPS Quantum display, 32GB of storage (with microSD support) and a 3000mAh removable battery. TheLG G4 was unveiled at a press event on 28 April, and went on sale on 28 May from £500 SIM-free.
The G4 and G4 Note aren't LG's only exciting new smartphones for 2015. At CES 2015 it unveiled the LG G Flex 2, a curved-screen handset. (Buy LG G Flex 2 here.) The G Flex 2 is a 5.5in-screen smartphone with a 64-bit Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 octa-core chip, and it features self-healing technology.
The OnePlus One is an amazing phone that was for a long time virtually impossible to get hold of. Priced from £229 it has the spec to match a £600 smartphone, hence OnePlus marketing it as a flagship killer. The OnePlus 2 is so much better, with improved specs and just £239. It was unveiled on 27 July in a unique virtual-reality product launch, and went on sale on 11 August (find out how to get a OnePlus 2 invitehere). Highlights among the spec list include a second-gen Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor, 4GB of RAM, USB Type-C and a fingerprint scanner.
Samsung has confirmed its Samsung Galaxy A7, a gorgeous phablet with a 6.3mm unibody metal chassis, a 5.5in Super AMOLED screen and a 64-bit octa-core processor. The Samsung Galaxy A7 is not yet on sale on the UK, but will come in both single- and dual-SIM variants.
Everyone always bangs on about Samsung's Galaxy S line-up, but it's the Note series that really impresses. The Note 4 was unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked event prior to September's IFA tradeshow (3 September 2014), and right now sits at the top of our fastest smartphone and best phablet charts. Traditionally Samsung's Note launches are held at IFA in September, but the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 was this year unveiled several weeks early in August to give it a headstart on the new iPhones. But in the US only.
If you're a Samsung fan but would rather stick to a phone than a phablet then the Samsung Galaxy S6 is just what you're looking for. (Buy the Samsung Galaxy S6 here.) With Samsung finally answering build-quality criticisms, it follows in the trend of the Galaxy Alphaand Galaxy Note 4 with a metal and glass body. There's also a quad-HD screen, plus plenty of other radical new features, including a super-fast Samsung Exynos processor (paired with 3GB of RAM), and a redesigned fingerprint scanner that works a lot more like Apple's Touch ID and, you know, actually works. TheSamsung Galaxy S6 was unveiled at a Samsung Unpacked event on 1 March 2015, and went on sale on 10 April 2015. Prices start at £599 SIM-free.
The Samsung Galaxy S6 Active has now been confirmed by the company, although unfortunately for UK customers it's exclusive to the US. If you really want one keep your eyes peeled on the likes of eBay and Amazon. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Active is a rugged version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 with IP68 waterproofing protection and three physical buttons below the touchscreen. Many of the remaining specs are the same as that of the S6 itself, although the Active also features an Activity Zone, allowing you to quickly launch a compass, torch or stopwatch.
A second version of the Samsung Galaxy S6 launched alongside the standard S6 at MWC. (Buy the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge here.) It follows the trend set by the Samsung Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy Note Edge, but with two curved screen edges rather than one and a marginally higher-capacity battery than is found in the S6. In other respects the specs are in line with the standard S6, but expect to pay a premium for that fancy screen. The Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge went on sale in the UK on 10 April 2015. Prices start at £760 SIM-free for the 64GB version.
A larger version of the Galaxy S6 Edge has recently been announced as the S6 Edge+. It's in essence a larger version of the S6 Edge with a 5.7in screen.
Best new phones 2015/2016: Sony Xperia Z3+ (UK Sony Xperia Z4)
After all the rumours that the Sony Xperia Z4 would be delayed until September, the Z4 was recently unveiled in Japan. The Z4 won't come to the UK, but in late May Sony announced its Sony Xperia Z3+ over here. (Buy the Sony Xperia Z3+ here.) The UK version of the Z4, the Z3+ is almost identical - read our Z3 vs Z3+ comparison to see exactly how it differs to both Z3 and Z4. In essence, the Sony Xperia Z3+ is a slightly slimmed down and much faster version of the Z3, with performance we expect to fall in line with the HTC One M9. The Z3+ went on sale in the UK in June.
Xiaomi has officially unveiled itsXiaomi Mi Note and Mi Note Pro, with the latter hailed as the most powerful phone in the world. Both offer staggering value at £244 and £350 respectively, given their amazing specs. These two Chinese phones are fitted with 5.7in curved screens - the Mi Note full-HD and the Note Pro Quad HD. The Mi Note Pro in particular should offer unrivalled performance, thanks to a 2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 64-bit octa-core chip, a massive 4GB of RAM and Adreno 430 graphics. And still it's thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus. There's loads more to drool over in Xiaomi's juicy spec sheet too. The Mi Note went on sale in China on 27 January and sold out within minutes, while the Mi Note Pro went on sale on 6 May. These phones won't officially go on sale in the UK, but it's probable that you'll be able to get them on grey-market or auction sites
Best new phones 2015/2016: Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
Best new phones 2015/2016: Sony Xperia Z5 Compact
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