We’re now past the reveal of one of the most anticipated releases of the year – the Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus. There are plenty of written reviews and videos for anyone considering buying or just looking to educate themselves about the Samsung flagship. I passed on the Galaxy, since it was just too hefty a price for my wallet and because I’m looking to other devices expected to be released this year. Consequently, with one of the really big hitters of 2017 out of the way, I thought I’d write about what other Android devices I’m looking for the rest of the year and that you might be anticipating also. Some are so-called flagships and others mid-rangers. Either way, there are some really good phones still upcoming for most any pocketbook. So, here’s a quick look forward.
The Blackberry KeyOne will be official in the US and Canada on May 31st and there are already some big sites and You Tubers showing it off. If you’re a Blackberry fan or just a nostalgia nerd, this might be the one for you this year. The device is already available in at last one store in the UK, so be ready to buy. US pricing is expected to be $549 for the unlocked version.
From this point forward no pricing information is available, so I will refrain from bringing it up. Generally, we hope the prices for each subsequent mentioned device is at least in line with last year’s pricing.
The ZTE Axon 8 will hopefully be announced in May also. If it follows the timeline of the Axon 7, it should become available for purchase about a month later. The Axon 7 was one of the best mid-rangers of 2016, the stand out feature being the awesome front-facing speakers, so we hope the newer, updated version of the ZTE flagship (yes, that’s what it is to me) will only continue to build upon a great start.
The Asus Zenfone line (all the iterations of the Zenfone 4) is expected to be announced at Computex in Taiwan at the end of next month. The Zenfone 3 made a bit of a splash in 2016 with a wide range of opinions of the devices. Asus knows that they really need to “bring it” if they want to continue the momentum started by last year’s phones.
The HTC U or HTC U 11 (as some rumors have it called) is expected to be the second high-end device from HTC for 2017. The U Ultra, released this past March, though generally considered a high-end flagship, was both praised by some reviewers and bashed rather badly by some of the bigger names. We should be seeing some word from HTC regarding the new device anytime now.
Of course, every year there is much excitement for the latest OnePlus handset and this year seems to be no exception. Expected in June, the OnePlus 5 will need to continue to build upon the favorable reviews it began receiving for the OnePlus 3 and even more so the OnePlus 3T. OnePlus made a rather astonishing turnaround from the bad press it received in the first two years regarding their marketing practices. The company and phones, especially the 3T, have garnered a lot of praise for the past two iterations, so let’s hope that trend continues with both the company practices and device quality.
This year’s Moto Z2 and Moto Z2 Force (at least that’s the expected monikers) should generate some good press, as long as the modular approach continues to be as well accepted as last year’s devices were. Both the Moto Z and Z Force were highly praised as being the first phones to get modularity right. Here’s hoping that trend continues. They are expected by the end of June.
Stay tuned as next week, I’ll continue this thought with the smartphones we’re looking to see in the rest of 2017.
Source: Android Authority
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Began writing for Bane-Tech August 2014, due to an ever-growing passion for mobile and Android in particular.
Computer programmer 1981 to 2015. Currently retired. Active You Tuber (Mobile Geezer:
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Sax player and singer in various bands (rock and R&R) since the mid 60's. Avid motorcycle rider (Gold Wing), bicyclist and exercise enthusiast. Extreme lover of driving and biking (motorcycle). The more thousand miles the trip, the happier I am as the driver.
Dedicated, Bible-believing Christian who makes no judgments on others .
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