Hot hot fall: 7 amazing yet unofficial phones that will rock your world soon
The Nokia Lumia 1020 is here and it has changed our little smartphone world, but it’s not the only revolutionary device we expect. We looked through all rumors, leaks and whispers to narrow it down to the 7 absolutely hottest and most anticipated phones expected to launch this fall.
Starting with the Motorola Moto X that is now leaking practically every day and finishing with a glorious refresh of Apple’s iPhone due this fall, there is a lot going on under the surface.
Not just that but the Sony Honami, another revolution in smartphone cameras after the Lumia 1020, is coming up soon (chances are in September!).
There is also the Samsung Galaxy Note III of course, the phablet that started the move towards larger and larger screens on our devices is getting its third iteration which should be better than ever.
Finally, we have the LG Optimus G2, the brand new LG flagship that - if rumors are true - might serve as the base for the next Nexus phone. The HTC One Mini rounds it all up in style with its compact aluminum body.
Can you imagine - all of that is coming this fall! Should you wait for one of those device and which one? Take a look right below for the answers to these questions.
The Motorola Moto X promises to be the most different launch this year - a device with middling specs, it focuses on function instead of specs. The Moto X is different by design. Google is said to be trying to make it extremely customizable allowing all sorts of colors for the back plate and baking in unique functionality like Moto Magic Voice that has the phone listening to user commands at all times, just like sci-fi super-computers like Arthur Clark’s HAL 9000.
Additionally, the Moto X will feature an extremely fast camera with a new interface. All of that should come in an extremely affordable price wrapper.
The Moto X is the first device that would truly show how Google has transformed Motorola and we are very excited about it. Good news is we should not wait long until we get to see it officially. PhoneArena originally broke the story that the Moto X is coming to Verizon on August 23rd, so the official unveiling should come in the next couple of weeks.
The LG Optimus G2, or simply the LG G2, has leaked extensively in both images and videos and there seems to be little mystery left around it. It does not mean that the G2 is less exciting - it is the first phone to employ a new design where the volume rocker is actually on the back of the device. Moreover, LG’s new flagship should come with a new vivid extremely thin display with narrow bezel.
LG is not shying away from making the G2 the most powerful device on the planet. Rumors agree that LG will bundle in a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip, 3GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel camera and a 5.2-inch 1080p display.
For those excited by pure specs, the device promises to be a beast.
The Samsung Galaxy Note III is the third-generation phablet and what seems certain about it is that it will be even larger than the first two phablets. Samsung established the form factor with the original 5.3-inch Note, upgraded it to 5.5 inches with the Note II and now is said to go larger, possibly with a 5.7-inch or a 5.9-inch device. Our bet would be on the more conservative, 5.7-inch Note III.
Rumors have gone wild about this third generation phablet and the latest word on the street is that Samsung could deliver a wide variety of Note IIIs. There could be a limited edition bringing all the premium features a user could crave - solid non-plastic body, a flexible screen and top notch camera. From there Samsung could go down to a plastic Note III with a less capable camera.
We don’t think Samsung would miss the opportunity to officially unveil the Note III in September at IFA, following on an established yearly tradition, so stay tuned.
The Sony Honami is a device that many devout Sony fans eagerly await to become the new Android camera superphone. The initial high expectations however have dwindled in the past couple of weeks as rumors now agree that the Honami will have a smaller camera sensor than initially expected.
Could it still be better than the newly announced Nokia camera heavyweight, the Lumia 1020, though? It seems that the Honami would neck to neck with Nokia's 1020. A source within sensor manufacturer SDI has spoken that instead of the first expected 1/1.5” sensor, the Sony i1 aka Honami would use a 1/ 2.3” sensor.
Actually, we already know Sony’s strategy has been to deliver a flagship device in the spring and upgrade it in the fall. The Honami looks like a bigger than usual upgrade, but still only an upgrade over the Xperia Z.
The Apple iPhone Lite is probably the most exciting launch for Apple. If it happens, of course. We’ve all heard the rumors and seen the countless leaked colorful parts. We however cannot vouch for their authenticity.
Summing up all that’s leaked out so far, though, we can round up expectations of the iPhone Lite being offered in five colorful versions and featuring the same 4-inch display as on the original iPhone series. Its biggest differentiator should be price and it should have a camera slightly less capable than the one on the original.
If Apple were to launch this, we expect the unveiling to happen along with the iPhone 5S in late Q3.
Apple’s next generation iPhone is a yearly tradition that the world is looking forward to. By now, Apple has established a two-year tick-tock routine refresh cycle where one year we get a redesign and the next we get a feature/silicon bump. We have already gotten the new design in 2012, so this is the tock year when we see more and improved features along with new and more powerful chips inside the supposed iPhone 5S.
Not much should change otherwise. The new iPhone 5S is projected to remain the same sized, built out of the same sturdy and elegant aluminum. If Apple follows its yearly upgrade time, we should see an official announcement somewhere in the September-October timeframe.
The HTC One Mini is expected to be a smaller, 4.3-inch version of HTC’s flagship One smartphone. It will carry the same unibody aluminum design in a more compact body that is easier to use single-handedly.
Rumor is that HTC has refined the UltraPixel camera and will also include it in the HTC One Mini. PhoneArena was the first to publish a press render of the device, so make sure to stay tuned to our coverage as we expect HTC to officially lift the cover off the One Mini very soon.
Here is a quick breakdown of the expected technical specifications of the One Mini:
Starting with the Motorola Moto X that is now leaking practically every day and finishing with a glorious refresh of Apple’s iPhone due this fall, there is a lot going on under the surface.
There is also the Samsung Galaxy Note III of course, the phablet that started the move towards larger and larger screens on our devices is getting its third iteration which should be better than ever.
Finally, we have the LG Optimus G2, the brand new LG flagship that - if rumors are true - might serve as the base for the next Nexus phone. The HTC One Mini rounds it all up in style with its compact aluminum body.
Update: The Motorola Moto X will be announced on August 1st! Stay tuned for our live coverage.
Additionally, the Moto X will feature an extremely fast camera with a new interface. All of that should come in an extremely affordable price wrapper.
The Moto X is the first device that would truly show how Google has transformed Motorola and we are very excited about it. Good news is we should not wait long until we get to see it officially. PhoneArena originally broke the story that the Moto X is coming to Verizon on August 23rd, so the official unveiling should come in the next couple of weeks.
LG is not shying away from making the G2 the most powerful device on the planet. Rumors agree that LG will bundle in a 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 chip, 3GB of RAM, a 13-megapixel camera and a 5.2-inch 1080p display.
For those excited by pure specs, the device promises to be a beast.
Rumors have gone wild about this third generation phablet and the latest word on the street is that Samsung could deliver a wide variety of Note IIIs. There could be a limited edition bringing all the premium features a user could crave - solid non-plastic body, a flexible screen and top notch camera. From there Samsung could go down to a plastic Note III with a less capable camera.
Could it still be better than the newly announced Nokia camera heavyweight, the Lumia 1020, though? It seems that the Honami would neck to neck with Nokia's 1020. A source within sensor manufacturer SDI has spoken that instead of the first expected 1/1.5” sensor, the Sony i1 aka Honami would use a 1/ 2.3” sensor.
Actually, we already know Sony’s strategy has been to deliver a flagship device in the spring and upgrade it in the fall. The Honami looks like a bigger than usual upgrade, but still only an upgrade over the Xperia Z.
The Apple iPhone Lite is probably the most exciting launch for Apple. If it happens, of course. We’ve all heard the rumors and seen the countless leaked colorful parts. We however cannot vouch for their authenticity.
If Apple were to launch this, we expect the unveiling to happen along with the iPhone 5S in late Q3.
Apple’s next generation iPhone is a yearly tradition that the world is looking forward to. By now, Apple has established a two-year tick-tock routine refresh cycle where one year we get a redesign and the next we get a feature/silicon bump. We have already gotten the new design in 2012, so this is the tock year when we see more and improved features along with new and more powerful chips inside the supposed iPhone 5S.
Not much should change otherwise. The new iPhone 5S is projected to remain the same sized, built out of the same sturdy and elegant aluminum. If Apple follows its yearly upgrade time, we should see an official announcement somewhere in the September-October timeframe.
The HTC One Mini is expected to be a smaller, 4.3-inch version of HTC’s flagship One smartphone. It will carry the same unibody aluminum design in a more compact body that is easier to use single-handedly.
Rumor is that HTC has refined the UltraPixel camera and will also include it in the HTC One Mini. PhoneArena was the first to publish a press render of the device, so make sure to stay tuned to our coverage as we expect HTC to officially lift the cover off the One Mini very soon.
Here is a quick breakdown of the expected technical specifications of the One Mini:
- 4.3-inch screen, 720 x 1280 pixels
- 1.4GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon
- Adreno 305 GPU
- 1GB RAM
- UltraPixel camera
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