We’ve already seen a slew of major smartphone launches this year. From Samsung’s flagship unveil in February 2023 where the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra made a big impression with its rear camera, to Google’s first foldable smartphone that didn’t hit Indian retail shelves. And, more recently, Samsung unveiled its Galaxy Z Flip5 and Z Fold 5. The Z Flip 5 made a big impression with its expanded cover display that makes a strong case for a flip smartphone. OnePlus bolstered its flagship line with the OnePlus 11, while OPPO and Moto both launched flip smartphones that broke the clutter. It wasn’t just the S23 Ultra, Vivo and Xiaomi leveraged their partnerships with brands like Zeiss and Leica to up their camera game.
The intensity of the launches is likely to heighten with Apple’s annual iPhone refresh in September. We’ve rounded up key rumours and updates we have on some of this year’s most anticipated smartphones.
iPhone 15 line up
As early as September 2022, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who keeps close tabs on Apple, tweeted that we could see the debut of the first iPhone with an ‘Ultra’ branding. Apple had already set out to clear a distinction between the iPhone 14 and the 14 Pro twins with the Dynamic Island and the 2022 A16 bionic chip being restricted to the iPhone 14 Pro devices. This year, the Pro Max could become the ‘Ultra’ with some clear distinction (aside from a larger screen) from the iPhone Pro, making this Apple’s premier offering.
It’s not just the Ultra branding. MacRumours has suggested that the iPhone 15 Pro models powered by the upcoming A17 Bionic chip could be kitted with a customisable Action button, thus becoming the first iPhones without a Ring/Silent switch. The customisable Action button is likely to become a hot key of sorts (like the Apple Watch Ultra) that users can assign different system functions like Ring/Silent or Flashlight. The Ultra models could switch to a titanium frame (another design element from the Apple Watch Ultra) from the stainless steel frame. Apple is also racing against time to comply with EU regulations that has directed all smartphone manufacturers to migrate to USB-C charging by 2024. The iPhone 15 could be the first iPhones with a USB-C port.
OnePlus Open
OnePlus has already teased its first foldable smartphone at the OnePlus 11 launch earlier this year. Max Jambor, one of the best known OnePlus ‘leakers’, suggested that the OnePlus foldable is likely to be branded as OnePlus Open. His leak was based on some of the trademark names that OnePlus registered that also includes names like Wing. This might mean that there could be more than one foldable in the mix. Jambor has also suggested that the phone could debut as early as August 29th.
Xiaomi Mix Fold 3
Xiaomi’s foldables haven’t been launched for the Indian market yet. We’re unsure if the brand’s next big foldable will keep its date with India. Notebook Check shared a Weibo update from Digital Chat Station. According to the leak, the Mix Fold 3 could arrive in the third quarter of 2023 and be powered by the best of breed Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset. It’s also likely to feature an under display selfie camera.
Google Pixel line-up
We’re intrigued to see what Google’s next-generation chip will bring to the table. We’ve already seen the practical benefits of the current generation of Google Tensor chips that enables features like Magic Eraser. The Pixel 8 line comes hot on the heels of the Pixel Fold and is likely to debut in Q4 2023. German tech blog WinFuture had reported that the Pixel 8 twins for 2023 are codenamed Shiba and Husky and will feature a new processor (code name – Zuma).
The ultimate camera phone?
Even as the spotlight continues to shine on Samsung’s all-new foldables smartphones, the leaks and rumours around the next Ultra have already surfaced. Tipped for a February 2024 release, the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra is likely to feature a thinner and more power-efficient OLED display. But it’s the rear camera that’s likely to take centrestage, yet again. In early 2023, Samsung bumped up the primary lens for the S23 Ultra to 200MP. It’s the zoom camera that might see a big upgrade in 2024. According to tipster Ice Universe, the upcoming Ultra is likely to feature a 50MP telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom and also include a bigger 1/2.52-inch camera sensor. This might also enable the S24 Ultra to shoot 8K 30fps videos with the telephoto camera for the first time. We could also see better image quality for zoom images shot in lowlight.
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