There's lots to be excited about in 2017. As usual, smartphone makers will announce quite a few interesting high-end and mid-range devices throughout the year and try to compete for consumer attention. If you're wondering which smartphones will be announced this year and when will they be available, keep reading. You'll find all the details regarding the LG G6, Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC 11, and a bunch of other smartphones down below.
January – March (Q1)
Samsung Galaxy A series (2017)
Samsung has already announced the 2017 Galaxy A lineup. At the beginning of the year, the company took the wraps off the Galaxy A3, Galaxy A5, and Galaxy A7. They are all mid-range devices that sport a metal frame, a glass back, and are water resistant (IP68) for the first time. The smartphones are currently already available in Russia, and will soon make their way to other markets across the globe. Samsung has said that the Galaxy A series will be widely available in early February.
HTC U Ultra
HTC announced its phablet, the U Ultra, at the beginning of the year. The device comes with a 3D contoured glass back which looks similar to the one found on the Galaxy S7. HTC also decided to take a page from LG's playbook, as the U Ultra features a 2-inch secondary display above the main one, which is great for notifications, contacts, and reminders, among others. The device is already up for pre-order in some countries (USA) and will start shipping to customers in mid-March. It is expected to be available in other markets around the same time.
BlackBerry Mercury
A BlackBerry-branded smartphone called the Mercury – made by TCL Communication — is set to make an appearance at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on February 25. We have already seen the pre-production version of the device at CES in Las Vegas, so we know what it looks like. Its biggest feature is definitely the iconic QWERTY keyboard that made BlackBerry phones popular among consumers. The device also runs Android and is rumored to use the same camera sensor as the Google Pixel.
LG G6
It appears that the LG G6 will be the first flagship device to be announced this year. LG has already scheduled a press event that will take place on February 26, a day before Mobile World Congress officially kicks off. The device is expected to be quite different from its predecessor. The company has already been teasing us with features like waterproofing, thin bezels, a large screen, and more. LG's upcoming flagship is expected to ditch the modular design, which wasn't really that well received among consumers.
If you want to know more about the device, check out our LG G6 rumors post.
Nokia flagship
HMD Global, the company that bought the rights to sell Nokia-branded devices, will be present at MWC. It has already sent our press invites for an event which will kick off on February 26. The company is expected to announce a new Nokia flagship device that will, unlike the Nokia 6, be available in Western markets as well. We don't really know what to expect from the upcoming smartphone, but we hope that it will do justice to the iconic brand.
Huawei P10 and P10 Plus
Huawei announced the P9 and P9 Plus back in April 2016. but it looks like the company will unveil its 2017 flagships a bit earlier this year. The Chinese manufacturer has already sent out press invites for an event taking place on February 26 at MWC. Although not confirmed, there's a chance that the P10 and P10 Plus will see the light of day in Barcelona. We don't know much about the upcoming devices but feel like they should come with a different design. The last two P series look quite similar and it would be nice to see something new this year.
Moto G5 series
The Moto G4, Moto G4 Plus, and Moto G4 Play were announced in May 2016. As the G series of smartphones has proven to be quite popular, Lenovo is expected to take the wraps of the Moto G5 lineup this year. So far, we have only heard about two devices called Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus. Rumors suggest that these two smartphones will be unveiled during Lenovo's MWC press event on February 26. Both of them will have mid-range specs and will appeal to those who don't want to spend a small fortune on their next smartphone.
Sony Xperia X, Xperia XA, and Xperia X Performance (2017)
At MWC 2016, Sony took the wraps of three new smartphones called the Xperia X, Xperia XA, and Xperia X Performance. Judging by the fact that the company has sent out media invites for its MWC 2017 event that will take place on February 27, we assume that Sony will unveil the 2nd gen/2017 editions of the mentioned handsets in Barcelona. Unfortunately, not much is known about the devices. We hope that Sony will make some serious changes to the X lineup this year especially in terms of design, which hasn't really changed that much since the introduction of the now discontinued Xperia Z series.
April – June (Q2)
Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Edge
Samsung will take the wraps off its flagship devices a little later than usual this year. The Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8 Edge will likely be released in mid-April. The latest rumors claim that sales will start on April 21, although these haven't been confirmed yet. As already reported, the Galaxy S8 and S8 edge will probably be the first smartphones powered by the Snapdragon 835 chipset. We also expect a few design changes, as the devices should come with thinner bezels and will apparently ditch the home button.
There are quite a few rumors going around the upcoming devices. To learn more, check out our "Samsung Galaxy S8: all the rumors in one place" post.
Xiaomi Mi 6
A couple of weeks ago, photos of the Xiaomi Mi 6 leaked. Rumors started spreading that the device will be unveiled soon, especially because its predecessor — Mi 5 — was launched at MWC last year. However, Xiaomi will skip this year's event in Barcelona, which means that the Mi 6 won't be announced at MWC. The latest rumors claim that the device will be released in April or possibly even in May when the Snapdragon 835 chipset becomes widely available. The Xiaomi Mi 6 will come in three variants and will offer the same great price-performance ratio we've come to expect from Mi devices. The only problem is that it might not launch in Western markets, though you will be able to get it from Chinese retailers like GearBest.
ZTE Axon 8
Along with the OnePlus 3T, the ZTE Axon 7 was one of the best budget smartphones of 2016. We're excited to see what its successor, the Axon 8, will bring to the table. If the company sticks to the traditional one-year release cycle, it will announce its upcoming flagship in May, with sales starting about a month later. In order to compete with more established brands on the market, the ZTE Axon 8 will try to spark consumer interest with great specs and a relatively low price.
Asus Zenfone 4, Zenfone 4 Deluxe, and Zenfone 4 Ultra
The new Zenfone 4 series of smartphones is expected to be announced at Computex in Taiwan, which kicks off at the end of May. We're still quite a few months aways, so we don't really know what to expect from the devices. As the Asus brand isn't really that well established in the smartphone world, the company will have to innovate and take some risks if it wants to compete with the big boys like Samsung, Huawei, and others.
HTC 11
HTC has already confirmed that the U Ultra isn't the only high-end device it will release this year. The company said that we can expect a Snapdragon 835 powered HTC in 2017 — probably HTC 11 — which is expected to be officially announced sometime in the second quarter. The HTC 10 was announced in April 2016 but its successor will probably make its debut a little later this year when Qualcomm's latest chipset becomes available. We expect that the device will be released in May or June. As of now, not much is known about it. But as the HTC 10 didn't do so well on the market, we expect that the HTC 11 will, therefore, come with a fresh new design and hopefully a lower price-tag.
OnePlus 4
The release date of the OnePlus 4 is kind of hard to pinpoint. The OnePlus 3 was announced in June 2016, but just five months later the OnePlus 3T was unveiled. Nevertheless, our guess is that the OnePlus 4 will make an appearance at the end of the second quarter — June. As always, we expect it to feature high-end specs and an affordable price tag, which is the combination that made the company and its products famous in the first place.
Moto Z and Moto Z Force (2017)
Last year's Moto Z and Moto Z Force took the modular approach to the next level. Some people loved it, while others weren't so impressed. Nevertheless, both are great devices and we are looking forward to seeing their successors this year. Not much is known about them, except that they will probably still boast a modular design that will make them different from most other smartphones on the market. Our best guess at this point is that they will be announced by the end of second quarter (June) at the latest.
July – September (Q3)
Honor 9
Last year's Honor 8 is a great device, especially when considering its price. It offers solid specs along with a glass body that really is easy on the eyes. Although we don't know much regarding its successor, the Honor 9, we expect that the company will opt for the same strategy that made the Honor 8 successful. It should go on sale in July, assuming that the company sticks to the standard one-year release cycle.
Samsung Galaxy Note 8
Despite the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco, Samsung will still release a new version of its popular phablet this year. Samsung Galaxy Note 8, as it will likely be called, should be announced sometime in the summer. Probably in August, just like the last two Note smartphones, though the delay of the Galaxy S8/Edge could change that. The device will presumably look somewhat similar to the Galaxy S8 and will also feature the popular S Pen, that will hopefully come with a bunch of new tricks. Let's just hope that the upcoming Note 8 won't experience the same problems as the Note 7, which was recalled by the company because of the whole "exploding in your hands" issue.
Sony Xperia XZ2
Sony's flagship device — Xperia XZ — was officially announced back at IFA 2016 in September. Its successor, which is likely to be called the Xperia XZ2, will therefore probably be officially unveiled during IFA 2017 in Berlin. The Xperia XZ brings a slightly different design to the table and we hope Sony will make some additional changes in this department to the upcoming XZ2.
October – December (Q4)
LG V30
Those of you who like phablets are probably looking forward to the upcoming LG V30. You will, however, have to wait quite a few month before you'll be able to get it, as the device will probably be announced in October. But it should be worth the wait. The V20 is one of the best phablets on the market, and we expect that the V30 won't be any different in that regard. Its biggest feature, in addition to the large screen, is the secondary display on top, that is great for notifications and shortcuts.
Google Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2
Google's phones have impressed us with their excellent camera and a great software experience. However, they do have their faults that Google will hopefully address with the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2. Despite the glass window on the back, the overall design of the devices could be described as bland. We hope that the next Pixel generation will offer something new in terms of design and also come with a more affordable price tag. There are also rumors claiming that it will be waterproof. Google will presumably announce the Pixel 2 and Pixel XL 2 in October.
Xiaomi Mi Note 3
This is another phablet we're looking forward to seeing in 2017. Its predecessor, the Mi Note 2, was announced in October, which is why we expect to see the Mi Note 3 around the same time in 2017. In addition to a great price-performance ratio, the smartphone is expected to feature a large screen that is slightly curved on both sides like the Galaxy Note 7. It will be available in a few different variants, just like the Mi Note 2.
Huawei Mate 10
The Mate 8 and Mate 9 were announced in the month of November, so there's no real reason to think that Huawei will change things up this year. We can, therefore, expect that Chinese manufacturer to officially take the wraps off its phablet in November. As the Mate 9 came out not too long ago, it's still a bit early to talk about specs and features. We do, however, expect to see a great looking high-end device that will appeal to those who want a phone with a big screen.
There you have it – our predictions on when to expect the biggest Android releases of 2017. Missed anything, let us know in the comments!
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