5 Upcoming Android Phones That May Be Worth The Wait

5 Upcoming Android Phones That May Be Worth The Wait

Samsung's Edge display technology

There have been some wildly successful phone released in 2016, as well as some monumental flops. The question is, should you get one of 2016's best Android phones or wait and see what happens in 2017? Committing to a new phone is a risk—there's always something else just around the corner. Maybe one of those devices will be exactly what you want in a phone. Before you make a purchase, you should know what's coming. These are the upcoming Android phones you might want to wait on.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung is just coming off the stunning blunder that was the Galaxy Note7. This phone launched with very positive reviews, but a battery defect caused the phone to catch fire much more often than other devices. Samsung is looking to regain consumer trust with the Galaxy S8, which will launch sometime in the first half of 2017. It was originally believed to be slated for an unveiling at Mobile World Congress in late February, but that might be pushed back now.The Galaxy S8 will again use Samsung's latest Super AMOLED displays, but 2017 might be the year flat Samsung phones start fading away. The "Edge" variants (see above) have been selling far better, so Samsung might just stick with that design for both a small and large variant of the phone. The resolution is unclear, but a move to 4K is plausible considering Samsung's interest in virtual reality. If any display manufacturer can make 4K AMOLED displays viable on mobile, it's Samsung.

It will most likely have a next-generation Snapdragon 835 ARM chip and a USB Type-C port. The iris scanner from the Note7 will probably also make a comeback in the GS8. It's rumored Samsung will remove the 3.5mm headphone jack, though. You can also expect it to launch running Android Nougat with Samsung's TouchWiz interface, which isn't bad these days.

OnePlus 4

With Google's discontinuation of the budget-oriented Nexus flagships, OnePlus finds itself in a very strong position. The OnePlus 3 and 3T are powerful phones available for very competitive prices; they are the best available in the "budget flagship" category. That makes the 2017 OnePlus 4 something to look forward to.

The OnePlus 3.

If OnePlus holds to its pattern, the OnePlus 4 should be out sometime in June or July of 2017. It will also have whatever the most recent iteration of Qualcomm's Snapdragon chip is at the time, most likely the Snapdragon 835. You can also expect 6-8GB of RAM (just a little more than other 2017 phones) and 64-128GB of internal storage 

The pricing on OnePlus phones has been creeping upward each year with the OnePlus 3T topping out at $480 for a 128GB model. The company will probably try to keep the base OnePlus 4 closer to $400, though.

Nokia D1C

Nokia probably made a mistake when it selected Microsoft alum Stephen Elop as its CEO in 2010. He oversaw the sale of Nokia's mobiel business to Microsoft, which promptly failed to capitalize on Nokia's brand recognition and engineering as it pushed Windows Phone. Now, what remains of Nokia in Finland has partnered with another Finnish company called HMD to make Android powered smartphones. The first ones are expected in early 2017.

Alleged Nokia D1C leak.

The upcoming phone is allegedly called the Nokia D1C and will come in two variants. There will be a smaller 5-inch model with a 1080p screen, 2GB of RAM, a 13MP camera, and a Snapdragon 430 ARM chip. The larger 5.5-inch model will step up to 3GB of RAM and a 16MP camera, but it'll keep the processor and 1080p resolution.

These are mid-range phones. so you should be able to pick one up unlocked for a few hundred dollars in the first half of 2017. An announcement at MWC 2017 in late February seems plausible.

LG G6

I think we can all agree that the LG G5 was a huge flop. LG came back from that defeat somewhat with the competent LG V20, but saving its flagship line in 2017 is a top priority for the company. The LG G6 is rumored to have undergone a near-complete redesign after the failure of the G5 became apparent over the summer. For one, it won't feature the modular "friends" that offered little in the way of customization. Thank goodness.The G6 will be able to match to GS8 in specs with (probably) a Snapdragon 835 and 4GB of RAM. LG is expected to stick with a removable battery as one of its defining features. The wide-angle camera will probably remain on the phone as well. LG is rumored to be looking at improving the build quality of the phone, including water-proofing and an aluminum frame more like the V20's. It may also switch from LCD to OLED for the display, giving the G6 support for Google's Daydream VR.

The LG G6 is expected to make its debut at Mobile World Congress in February, but you're looking at maybe another month or two after that for retail availability.

HTC Ocean

The HTC 10 was a good phone, but it didn't sell well enough to turn around HTC's fortunes after years of poor performance. While HTC is manufacturing the Pixel for Google, it's also prepping a new phone under its own brand for 2017 code named "Ocean." Chronologically, this would be the HTC 11, but we don't know if HTC is sticking with that naming scheme yet.

Most of what we know about the Ocean comes from a demo video showing the device's "Sense Touch" interface. It has no physical controls, relying instead upon touch, gestures, and voice. The edge of the phone has touch-sensitive areas that can be used to change the volume, zoom the camera, and so on. The video is merely a concept based on leaked information, but noted leaker Evan Blass says the Ocean is real.

The specs of this device are unknown, but it will probably fall in line with other 2017 flagships; Snapdragon 835, 4GB of RAM, and so on. This might be HTC's last chance to be a major player in branded smartphones, so expect big things.