The smartphone market in India never rests and with consistent launches in regular intervals gives users have too many options to pick from. While this is a good thing usually, it also creates a lot of confusion as to which one to chose. With mid-range phones inching closer to flagships in terms of performance and hardware, it creates a lot of confusion for users to pick that one right phone. For that reason alone, we bring you a list of top 10 upcoming smartphones in 2019 that users can consider having on their list when they are getting ready for purchase. Read along.
Note: The article covers a range of phones across different price segments catering users needs.
Realme 3 Pro: Realme has set a benchmark for itself in recent times going head on head with Xiaomi in the same price segment. The company recently launched the base Realme 3 variant in India and is now gearing up to launch the Pro variant in India soon. What makes the phone a standout in the segment is the fact that it will come powered by the Snapdragon 710 which is like a flagship of mid-range chipsets since it is based on the 10nm process. Thanks to VOOC 3.0 fast charge support, the phone should be charged fully within no time. Following the bandwagon of 48MP shooters, the Realme Pro 3 will also embrace the same giving users a better camera. However, not everything is good as the phone would still run on ColorOS which is not the optimal skin that users including would want. While the latest iteration has introduced some decent features, it still isn’t as smooth as stock Android. According to sources, the Realme 3 Pro is expected to launch in the 3rd week of April.
Nokia 9 PureView: Nokia’s most hyped Penta camera smartphone was finally launched at the MWC 2019 event in February. Going by the company’s teaser videos, promotional activities in recent weeks, HMD Global is planning on bringing the phone to India very soon. As said, the phone comes with five cameras at the back with two RGB and three monochrome lenses to collect up to 10-times the amount of light than a single colour sensor. This brings an impressive amount of details to photos and it also allows users to capture in RAW mode to edit it after clicking. However, this comes at a cost. The phone is powered by 2018’s Snapdragon 845 chipset which is competing against the latest Snapdragon 855. Going by the initial reviews, the in-display fingerprint sensor is quite slow to unlock the phone and this gets annoying as you keep using the phone. There’s no official launch date yet, but seeing the flow of Tweets and hype surrounding it, the launch might happen later this month or early May.
OnePlus 7: OnePlus is the new flagship segment’s king in India. After the huge success of OnePlus 6T, the company is expected to launch the OnePlus 7 as early as May. The flagship will come with Snapdragon 855 chipset with a curved display and minimal bezels. The phone is expected to bring wireless charging abilities, IP67 or IP68 rating for water and dust resistance. However, this time around, the pricing won’t be cheap as the company seems to be going all out with the phone this time.
Redmi Y3: Launched as selfie-centric series back in 2017, the Redmi Y-series is all about the Youth audience. Post the success of Redmi Y2, the company is gearing up to launch the Y3 in India. The device is expected to come with 32MP selfie shooter up front and will run on Android 9.0 Pie. Like with most Xiaomi phone’s, the Redmi Y3 will also have MIUI custom skin on top and this will result in ads all over the operating system which can get quite annoying. However, the 32MP Samsung bright sensor is a premium sensor that can produce brilliant results which would please selfie lovers. While we await details about the launch, we guess the company might make it official in May.
Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL: Touted to be the mid-range flagships, the Google Pixel 3a and 3a XL are expected to pack the same camera as the regular camera. Meaning, the mid-range camera game is on the verge of going places with the entry of these phones. While we don’t have knowledge about the launch date yet, a May launch is very much likely. Despite the good cameras, the Pixel flagships had always suffered from laggy performance even in the camera app. With the Pixel 3a and 3a XL, Google is opting plastic build and it needs to be seen how users would adapt to it. While it isn’t confirmed, the phones are expected to be powered by the Snapdragon 710 chipsets right out of the box. Either way, we should know more details soon.
Nokia X71: Launched in China a while ago, the Nokia X71 could be launched in India pretty soon. It will feature a triple rear camera setup and a punch hole display on the front to accommodate the selfie shooter. It comes with a 93% screen-to-body ratio offering minimal bezels giving it a premium look. However, the phone is still powered by the Snapdragon 660 SoC which is quite dated for today’s day and time. It runs on Android 9.0 Pie and when it launches in India, the phone will be under Android One branding so it should receive two major updates.
Samsung Galaxy A90: Samsung with its A-series has been doing a terrific job in markets like India and China where it has been losing a huge chunk of its market share to Chinese brands. To get back its lost users, Samsung has been putting its energy on its new A-series. The company at its Galaxy Event is expected to launch the Galaxy A90 which is a mid-range smartphone with triple rear cameras and an in-display fingerprint sensor. The phone will have a rotating camera that would work for both selfie and rear shooter. This literally would be a selling point for the phone when it goes official. Other specifications include a Snapdragon 6150 chipset, up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB storage. With a rotating camera, the Galaxy A90 sure looks impressive.
Honor 10i: Huawei’s Honor brand has been doing very well in India especially in the sub Rs 20,000 price segment. Now, the company is gearing up to launch the Honor 10i in India. This mid-range phone comes with triple rear camera in-line with market expectations and will be powered by the Kirin 710 SoC. Since it is an Honor phone, you can’t really have expectations about future software updates as the company has a bad reputation of not pushing updates regularly. The Hono 10i should be priced under the sub Rs 20,000 price segment when launched.
Apple 2019 iPhones: Apple is slated to launch three new iPhones including the iPhone Xs, Xs Max and Xr successor. The high-end model of the iPhone 11 will come with triple rear cameras one of which is expected to be a wide-angle lens keeping up with the trend. These will come with A13 chipset based on 7nm+ process bringing performance improvements and more. However, the pricing yet again remains a key factor for the upcoming iPhones. Apple hasn’t seen enough success with the 2018 iPhones as it got the pricing very wrong. We hope the company keeps up with the competition this time otherwise, it would have to face a similar fate.
Google Pixel 4: After introducing the Android Q in May, Google will launch the Pixel 4 series in October this year. While it might be too early to be talking about the flagship series, it is rumoured to come with a dual rear camera setup for the first time and a punch-hole display for the selfie snapper. Like always, Pixel 4 will have industry best camera with impressive new features, but Google is blamed for poor software optimization causing lag and stutters in the interface just a few days into using it. Despite packing flagship chipsets, performance has always been a drawback and we hope this time, Google bundles enough RAM for the device to function smoothly.
Verdict: These are the upcoming 10 smartphones launching in 2019. Each phone has its own advantages and disadvantages, so it all comes down to user’s requirement and what they are looking for. There are phones focusing on cameras, performance, battery, and more, but can’t shine in each department all the time. Of all the phones, we are particularly waiting for the iPhones 2019 and Google Pixel 4 series which are slated to bring some major upgrades including upgraded chipsets, fresh design and more. We will keep updating the list as we learn more in the coming days.
