Mobile reviews

7 smartphones to look forward to this August

The Indian smartphone market is expected to witness multiple smartphone launches in August.

1. BlackBerry KeyOne

BlackBerry KEYone to Launch in India Tomorrow: Will it be Priced Under Rs 40,000?

The BlackBerry KEYone is priced at $549or around Rs 36,585) and it would be interesting to see if the company launches the smartphone for under Rs 40,000 in India or not.

The Blackberry KEYone Android smartphone is all set to launch in India on August 1 at an event in New Delhi. The BlackBerry KEYone was first introduced during MWC 2017 in February. The smartphone, which was earlier dubbed as BlackBerry Mercury, comes with a smart QWERTY keypad with loads of goodies by the company on the software and security fronts. However, the device is made by TCL. The BlackBerry KEYone is priced at $549 (or around Rs 36,585) and it would be interesting to see if the company launches the smartphone for under Rs 40,000 in India or not.

The BlackBerry KEYone QWERTY Android phone comes with a special Space bar which doubles as a fingerprint scanner. It offers a 4.5-inch display in 3:2 aspect ratio. The BlackBerry KEYone Android phone is also powered by the DTEK app, which was first released with the Priv. The KEYone comes with BlackBerry Hub. All messages are unified in one inbox. BlackBerry KEYone comes with the latest version of Android Nougat.

BlackBerry KEYOne specs:
Android 7.1 Nougat
4.5-inch scratch-resistant IPS LCD display (1620 x 1080p)
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625
3 GB RAM

12MP rear, Sony IMX378 sensor, 4K video, f/2.0
8MP front camera
32 GB + microSD
3,505 mAh (non-removable)
Quick Charge 3.0

2. Samsung Galaxy Note FE

While the Samsung Note 8 launch has been announced for August, we expect Samsung to launch the Note FE (Fan Edition) in India first.

The Fan Edition is the same as the Note 7—5.7-inch 
2k super amoled display, 
Exynos 8890 processor, 
4GB RAM, 
64GB storage and a smaller 3,200mAh battery.

It boasts of the 12MP camera with f1.7 aperture and OIS as the Galaxy S8.

Other features include 
5MP front camera, 
Iris scanner, 
fingerprint scanner, 
USB Type-C port and IR port.

The Note FE can fill the gap between the Note 5 the Note 8 in prices.

3. Lenovo K7 Note

Lenovo has started the teaser campaign with its Killer-Note hashtag which has been associated with new Note devices in the past few years.

The details regarding K7 Note are not confirmed at the moment but we expect the phone to feature a 5.5-inch full HD display and an all metal design.

Hardware specs are expected to be Snapdragon 660/Helio P20, 

4GB RAM, 

32/64GB storage  

4,000mAh battery.

4. Sony Xperia L1

Sony has been slowly populating its smartphone catalogue for the Indian market.

Out of all the announcements it has made over the year, the only phone not launched in India is the Xperia L1.
The L1 is a mid-range offering with a 5.5-inch HD display and Android 7.0.
It is powered by MT6737 processor, 

2GB RAM, 

16GB storage 

2,620mAh battery.
It has a 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, expandable storage and USB Type-C port.

5. Moto Z2 Force

Moto announced the Z2 Force just a few days back but we expect it will be coming to India in August itself.

The Z2 Force has a 5.5-inch 2k P-OLED screen which is a ShatterShied display— it is guaranteed to not crack or shatter.

Hardware specifications are top-notch with Snapdragon 835 processor, 

4/6GB RAM,

64/128GB storage

2,730mAh battery.

It is the company’s first device with dual camera (dual 12MP) and has a 5MP selfie camera on the front.

Other features include fingerprint scanner, USB Type-C port, expandable storage and compatibility with Moto Mods.

​6. Infinix Zero 4

Inifinx will be the latest brand to launch in India by Transssion Holdings.

The company has already shared an invite for the launch and the it is expected that they will launch the Zero 4 first. The Zero 4 has a 5.5-inch full HD display and runs a custom interface based on Android 6.0/Android 7.0.

Hardware includes Mediatek MT6753 processor, 

3GB RAM, 

32GB storage

3,200mAh battery. 

The phone is meant for camera lovers with its 16MP rear camera that also has OIS, laser focus and an 8MP front camera with LED flash.

​7. Nokia 6

While Nokia announced this one last month, it will only be available towards the end of August. The Nokia 6 has a 5.5-inch full HD display and runs the latest Android 7.1.

Inside is a Snapdragon 430 processor,

3GB RAM, 

32GB storage

3,000mAh battery. 

Camera lovers get a 16MP primary camera with f2.0 aperture and large 1um pixel size while on the front is an 8MP shooter.

Other features include expandable storage, stereo speakers, fingerprint scanner and Dolby Atmos sound enhancement.