Top 7 Smartphones Coming in October 2017; And A Special Mention

 

The last two months have witnessed some of the biggest global smartphone launches from some of the most prominent mobile manufacturers in the world. From Apple to Samsung, everyone had something big and exciting to unveil to the world. The Indian market too is not very far behind and has seen quite a few local launches in the last couple of months.

In the upcoming month, a number of affordable and flagship smartphones are lined up for launch. In no particular order, here are top 7 smartphones slated for an October release.

Google Pixel 2 & Pixel 2 XL

After the Note and the iPhones, these are probably the next most-anticipated smartphones. Google has confirmed the launch of Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL on the 4th of October. Both these smartphones are going to be the first ones in the world to run the latest Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box. Being the successors to first-gen Pixel phones, Pixel 2 is being expected to cost $649 (around Rs. 43,000) and the base variant of the Pixel 2 XL will cost $849 (around Rs. 56,000).

The Pixel 2 will be made by HTC with an almost same design as the first-gen Pixel devices. It will feature the latest Active Edge technology similar to the Edge Sense on HTC U11. Pixel 2 XL will be made by LG featuring their Full Vision display with an 18:9 aspect ratio and a Quad HD OLED panel. Both the devices will be powered by Snapdragon 835 clubbed with 4GB of RAM.

Xiaomi Mi MIX 2

Xiaomi launched the Mi MIX 2 and Mi Note 3 around two weeks ago, in China. The company confirmed the imminent launch of the Mi MIX 2 in the Indian market. Though there is no exact date announced, the Mi Mix 2 is expected to launch this month.

The smartphone sports a 5.99” bezel-less display with a 18:9 aspect ratio and Full HD+ (2160 x 1080 pixels) resolution. Though touted as bezel-less, it does have a small chin at the bottom of the display. The Mi MIX 2 offers a clean look with the non-existent bezels and optional ceramic body. It carries a Snapdragon 835 processor under the hood with 6GB or 8GB of RAM. For photography, there is a 12MP shooter at the back with a 4-axis OIS. The 5MP front camera is unusually placed at the bottom of the screen due to absence of bezel at the top. It also features facial recognition.

Motorola Moto X4

Motorola has already launched the Moto X4 in the European market, and Lenovo has launched a Moto X4 Android One version in the U.S on the Google Fi network. Lenovo has confirmed India launch on 3rd October. The Indian price and local availability of Moto X4 will be revealed on the launch day.

The Moto X4 will sport a 5.2 inch Full HD, 1920 x 1080 pixels, IPS display and will get powered by a 2.2GHz Snapdragon 630 octa-core processor. The Moto X4 will come with a dual-camera set up (12MP + 8MP) at the rear. Up front there is a 16 MP front shooter with f/2.0 aperture and LED selfie flash. It will pack in a 3,000mAh battery and support ‘TurboPower’ fast charging technology. The device is IP68 certified with water and dust resistance.

Honor 9

Honor has already launched their new flagship smartphone dubbed, Honor 9 in China. It was rumoured to launch in the Indian market in August. Now it is expected to go official in the country within the next few weeks. In the past, Honor 8 and it’s versions have experienced good response from Indian smartphone users.

Honor 9 will carry the same Aluminum frame and light-catching glass finish like its predecessors. It will feature a physical home button up front with an embedded fingerprint sensor. It will sport a 5.15” full HD, 1920 x 1080, display with 2.5D curved glass on top. It will be powered by 2.4GHz Kirin s960 octa core processor coupled with 4GB/6GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB of onboard storage. At the back, there is dual camera setup (20MP + 12MP) with Laser autofocus, PDAF and dual tone LED flash. The front camera is an 8.0-megapixel shooter with f/2.0 aperture.

Apple iPhone X

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus are already available for pre-orders bundled with some great launch offers. Though the all-screen iPhone X will make it’s way in the country in November, the pre-orders will begin from 27th of October, while the sales will go live from 2nd of November. In India, the 64GB version is expected to cost Rs. 87,000 and the 256GB variant will cost Rs. 1,02,000.

The new iPhone X will forego the Touch ID for a full bezel-less front. Instead, it will introduce an all-new Face ID for security. Like the new iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, the iPhone X will be wrapped in a glass body with support for wireless charging. This smartphone is IP67 certified, making it resistant to dust and water. iPhone X will be powered by Apple’s latest A11 Bionic hexa-core SoC integrated with a dedicated Neural engine. At the back the smartphone will carry two 12MP wide-angle and telephoto sensors with 2X Optical Zoom, Portrait Lighting, Dual OIS and Quad LED flash.

Huawei Mate 10 Lite

Huawei launched their latest Maimang 6 in China with a 18:9 aspect ratio display and four cameras (dual rear and dual front cameras). This same device is expected to get an international launch on 16th of October as the Mate 10 Lite. The Mate 10 Lite is the least expensive among the four Mate 10 devices scheduled to launch. All the four devices will come with a dual camera setup at the back and front.

The Mate 10 Lite will sport a 5.99” Full HD+ display. It is rumoured that the device will run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box based on EMUI 5.1 with the new Kirin 970 octa-core processor. It will be paired with Mali G72 12 core GPU and a dedicated NPU. The device will come with its own virtual AI assistant. The company has already been teasing about the fascinating AI features of the new Mate 10 series.

Nokia 8

Nokia 8 variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of onboard storage is expected to launch on October 20. The higher variant with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage was officially confirmed by the new Nokia owners, HMD Global. The 6GB RAM model of the Nokia 8 will only be available in the ‘Polished Blue’ colour variant. It will cost around Rs. 51,700/-, Rs. 8,000 more than the regular 4GB RAM variant.

The device sports a 5.3 inch Quad HD display. Under the hood it is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 SoC. It comes with three 13MP shooters, of which two are at the back and one is at the front. The dual 13MP rear setup has one RGB sensor and another is a monochrome sensor. The main shooter has an f/2.0 aperture, optical image stabilization and features Carl Zeiss optics. The 13MP front shooter features phase detection autofocus with an f/2.0 aperture.

Special Mention: Micromax Bharat One 4G VoLTE Feature Phone

Micromax, in association with BSNL will launch their first 4G VoLTE feature phone, “Bharat One” in the Indian market in the first week of October. It is going to be priced at Rs. 2,000. The Micromax 4G feature phone will come bundled with BSNL offers like unlimited free voice calls and data. Though, BSNL is still stuck at 3G speeds, Micromax has promised 4G upgrades over existing feature phones. The device will feature a 2 inch screen with 2,000mAh battery capacity. It will come with a 2 megapixel camera at the back and a VGA selfie camera.