What’s the next phone worth waiting for? [POLL]
It’s an exciting time in the smartphone world. Mobile World Congress kicks off at the end of the month. Samsung is holding an Unpacked event mid March. It looks like the new HTC One (M7) is set to launch March 22nd. Google I/O is coming in May. Heck, even rumors of the next iPhone have started heating up.
With all of these upcoming events and releases, I find myself facing a personal dilemma. I’m eager for an upgrade, but what is the phone worth waiting for? Here is the shortlist:
- The Samsung Galaxy S IV
- The HTC One (M7)
- The ‘X Phone’
- The next iPhone (5s, 6?)
Samsung Galaxy S IV:
I was not a huge Samsung fan until the Galaxy S III. The phone offered great specs and was sexy to boot. The S3 has stood the test of time as it could be argued that it’s still the best all-around phone on the market. The S4 looks to build off of the success of its predecessor with rumored specs including a 4.99-inch (can we just call it 5-inch?) 1080p Super AMOLED display. There are currently conflicting reports on the chipset the next Galaxy will use, be it the Samsung Exynos 5 Octa or Qualcomm Snapdragon S4. Either way Samsung will sell boatloads of these when it launches sometime after the rumored mid-May launch event.
The HTC One (M7)
Build quality has been a hallmark of HTC and made me a fan of their phones. The HTC One X is a high point in smartphone design. The company’s trademark Sense UI adopts a new modern look for version 5.0, a look I find very attractive. The HTC One/M7 is rumored to have all the modern specs including a 4.7 inch 1080p HD display, 2GB of RAM and a Snapdragon S4 Pro chipset. HTC is including a new camera that uses three 4.3 megapixel sensor layers placed on top of each other making up a 13 megapixel image. The One/M7 will likely be announced February 19th (tomorrow!), sporting a skin that looks decidedly iPhone-esque.
The ‘X Phone’
The mysterious X Phone is thought to be the first product with Google’s direct influence since it acquired Motorola Mobility in May 2012. Rumored specs are, of course, off the charts, but perhaps most interesting are comments Google CEO Larry Page made during a quarterly earnings call. “In today’s multi screen world, the opportunities are endless,” he said, “battery life is a huge issue…when you drop your phone it shouldn’t go splat. There’s a real potential to invent new and better experiences.” Questions about the X Phone’s status as a Nexus device will likely have to wait till Google I/O on May 15th.
The Next iPhone:
Why look at the next iPhone? The iPhone 5 might not have been the most radical upgrade Apple could have offered, but rumors suggest Apple might have some tricks up its sleeve. Customers have been moving to bigger screens, and it’s widely thought that the iPhone will move to a 4.8″ screen, or Apple could offer multiple screen sizes. With the competition surpassing the iPhone in many respects, I’m interested in what we will see out of Apple’s iPhone 5s or 6. Android fans would be remiss to think that Apple would continue to be upstaged. The company has mountains of cash and some of the world’s best designers on staff.
Other
I have covered the phones I am most excited for, but they are not the only show in town. Some new devices will make their debut at Mobile World Congress, I expect Chinese Manufacturers, Huawei and ZTE to make some moves And Sony’s waterproof Xperia Z made its debut at CES and looks like the bee’s knees.
Many of us have suffered smartphone purchase regret. You do your research, wait for a killer phone, only to see a better option released a month later. With all of these awesome devices coming out over the next few months, this could be one of most important times to wait for the right phone.
Jump in the poll and tell us what phone is worth waiting for.
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