As expected, we have seen several new smartphone launches at the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. However, only a few of them will be hitting the markets in the month of March. We are also expecting a few new devices to launch in the next few weeks. Below is the list of top smartphones that are going on sale for the first time or making their debut in new markets.
• Samsung Galaxy S9 & Galaxy S9+ Mor than anything else, the new Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ smartphones bring a major upgrade to the cameras. While the Galaxy S9 comes with a 12MP single rear camera, the Galaxy S9+ offers 12MP dual rear cameras. The company now moved the fingerprint sensor to the bottom of the camera sensor. Both the Galaxy S9 devices will be offering the dual aperture mode where the user can physically choose f/1.5 or f/2.4 aperture. Both these devices are rumored to be launch on March 6th in India. The base variants of the Galaxy S9 & Galaxy S9+ will come with an MRP of Rs. 65,900 & Rs. 72,900 respectively. Unlike the U.S variants, the Indian variants of the Galaxy S9 will be powered by the in-house Exynos 9810 octa-core processor.
• Xiaomi Mi MIX 2S & BlackShark Xiaomi is long rumored to unveil the Mi MIX 2S smartphone at the 2018 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Just before the MWC began, the company confirmed the Mi MIX 2S to launch on March 27th in China. It is already confirmed to come powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor and might even offer dual rear cameras. Last year’s Mi MIX 2 came with the Snapdragon 835 processor and a single rear camera. A few leaks also hint the company might also unveil the Black Shark gaming smartphone on the same stage. As of now, there is no confirmation whether the Black Shark smartphone will have Xioami (Mi) branding or not. However, the Antutu listing revealed it to pack Snapdragon 845 processor and 8GB of RAM.
• Huawei P20 & P20 Pro Huawei has already confirmed to launch the Huawei P20 smartphones on March 27th in Paris, France. As seen with the newly launched smartphones at the MWC 2018, the upcoming Huawei smartphones will also embrace the iPhone X-like notch. The company will be naming the high-end variant as Pro instead of Plus. These new smartphones will sport a triple-lens camera on the rear featuring an RGB sensor, a Monochrome sensor, & a Telephoto sensor. Both the front and cameras on these devices will be developed in partnership with Leica. Under the hood, the devices will be powered by the Kirin 970 AI chipset.
• Micromax Bharat Go & Lava Z50 At the MWC 2018, Google showcased both the upcoming Android Go smartphones. The list includes the Micromax Bharat Go & Lava Z50. Both the devices will run on the latest Android 8.1 Oreo Go Edition out of the box. The devices come with a polycarbonate body and sports a 4.5-inch display with FWVGA resolution. Talking about the internals, the smartphones include a MediaTek quad-core processor, 1GB RAM, & 8GB of expandable storage. Even with the basic specifications, the Android Go smartphones should offer seam-less experience compared to entry-level smartphones with the regular version of Android OS. Airtel will be offering additional cashback on these two smartphones through the “Mera Pehla 4G Smartphone” initiative.
• Asus Zenfone 5 Lite At the MWC 2018, Asus unveiled the Zenfone 5, Zenfone 5Z, and Zenfone 5 Lite smartphones. Expect the Zenfone 5 Lite, the other two smartphones are almost similar in terms of specifications and design. The company only mentioned the Zenfone 5 Lite will be going on sale in the month of March. It comes in two different variants powered by Snapdragon 630 & Snapdragon 430 processors. It sports a 6″ Full HD+ display with 18:9 aspect ratio and is covered by a 2.5D curved glass. It packs a total of four camera sensor, 16MP dual cameras on the rear & 20MP dual cameras on the front.
• LG V30S ThinQ As rumors suggested, LG unveiled the LG V30S ThinQ smartphones as an upgrade to last year’s LG V30 smartphones. The new devices will be running on Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box and brings new AI features onboard. While the LG V30S ThinQ comes with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of internal storage, the LG V30S+ ThinQ includes 6GB of RAM and 256GB of internal storage. In the camera app, the new smartphones will be including QLENS and AI CAM options. As of now, LG has only confirmed to launch these two new smartphones in South Korea in March. However, the company is yet to reveal the pricing of the LG V30S ThinQ smartphones.
• Vivo APEX Vivo surprised everyone at the MWC by announcing the Vivo APEX concept smartphone. It comes with very minimal bezels on all the four sides and offers highest screen-to-body ratio ever seen on a smartphone. Even though the device was showcased at the MWC 2018, the company has scheduled an event in China on March 5th. Just like the original Mi MIX concept smartphone, Vivo is also rumored to launch the APEX concept smartphone in limited numbers. It will be mostly sold exclusively for the Chinese consumers. The pricing and exact availability dates will be known in the next few days.
