IFA 2018: Expected launches from Sony, HTC, LG, Google, Samsung, Lenovo, and more

Sony at IFA 2018

Sony has been a prominent player at IFA. And this year, the company is expected to launch the Sony Xperia XZ3 with the top of the line specifications.

The Sony Xperia XZ3 is expected to have a 5.7-inch display with FHD+ (2160 x 1080px) resolution protected by a 2.5D curved tempered glass. The smartphone will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with up to 6 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage.

The device is likely to house a 3240 mAh battery with fast charging support via USB type C port, and the device might not feature a dedicated 3.5 mm headphone jack. Regarding OS, the smartphone is expected to ship with Android 9 Pie with custom LG skin. A previous report also states that the Sony Xperia XZ3 will have a single powerful camera with a whopping 48 MP resolution. Do note that this could be the highest resolution camera sensor that we have seen on a smartphone.

Just like every other flagship smartphone from the company, the Xperia XZ3 also has a dedicated camera shutter button to offer faster access to the camera. The smartphone is likely to have a dual SIM card slot with 4G LTE and VoLTE capability on both the grooves with a dedicated micro SD card slot for additional storage expansion up to 400 GB. The smartphone is expected to cost upwards of Rs $700 (Rs 50,000) or more.

HTC at IFA 2018

As the company has already launched the flagship HTC U12+, the brand is expected to launch the mini flagship smartphone, aka, the HTC U12 Life with mid-tier specifications.

According to the leak, the HTC U12 Life has an FHD+ display with a resolution of 2160 x 1080px resolution protected by 2.5D curved tempered glass. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 636 Octa-core chipset, which is based on 14nm FinFET architecture along with Adreno 509 GPU. The Snapdragon 636 is a widely used chipset, which is seen on the smartphones like the Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 Pro and the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1.

The smartphone offers 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage with a micro SD card slot for additional storage expansion along with a dual SIM card slot, with 4G LTE and VoLTE support. The smartphone is also expected to offer other connectivity features like Bluetooth 5.0 and dual channel Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz and 5.0 GHz).

The smartphone has a dual camera setup on the back of the smartphone with a 16 MP primary sensor and a 5 MP depth sensor on the back of the smartphone with a rear-facing fingerprint sensor. On the front, the device has a 13 MP front-facing selfie camera. The chipset does support 4K video recording, and the device is expected to offer the same.

Finally, the smartphone has a 3600 mAh sealed Li-ion battery, and the smartphone is expected to offer fast charging as well. Lastly, the smartphone is based on Android 8.1 Oreo OS with custom HTC skin on top. Considering the price of the HTC Desire 12 and the HTC Desire 12 Plus, the HTC U12 Life is expected to cost more than Rs 20,000 price mark. However, this launch is not happening in India, and the company might launch the same in India in the later part of the year.

LG at IFA 2018

LG is speculated to launch the LG V40 ThinQ at IFA 2018, which is one of the few smartphones with five cameras (three on the back and two on the front) with a notch design display.

According to a leaked render of the LG V40 ThinQ, the smartphone has 5 cameras and is one of the first smartphones to offer this feature. According to the renders, the device has a triple camera setup on the back and a dual camera setup on the front of the smartphone. Just like the LG G7 ThinQ, the V40 ThinQ also has a notch design, which can be hidden via settings to get a uniform display.

The device has trimmed bezels on both top and the bottom portion of the smartphone compared to the G7 moniker. Unlike most of the flagship smartphones, the LG V40 ThinQ does have a 3.5 mm headphone jack along with a USB type C port for charging and data syncing. Do note that the smartphone also has a rear-facing fingerprint reader, so, no in-display fingerprint scanner from LG any time soon.

The renders also confirm that the smartphone has a premium glass sandwich design and the smartphone is likely to offer IP certification along with wireless charging capability as well. Expected features Just like the LG G7, the smartphone is supposed to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with at least 6 GB RAM and 64 GB storage and the device is likely to support storage expansion via micro SD card slot.

The smartphone is likely to come with the Corning Gorilla 6 protection as well. The smartphone is expected to launch in November 2018, and the device is expected to offer Android 9 Pie OS with custom LG skin on the top. Considering the aggressive pricing of the LG G7 ThinQ in India, the LG V40 ThinQ is likely to cost less than Rs 45,000 in India with at least 6 GB RAM and 128 GB storage.

Huawei at IFA 2018

Huawei is expected to launch the Mate 20 series of smartphone, where the company might launch the Huawei Mate 20 and the Huawei Mate 20 Lite with a new Kirin 980 Octa-core chipset.

According to TENAA listing, the Huawei Mate 20 Lite has a 6.3-inch display with a resolution of 2340 x 1080p, offering a 19:9 aspect ratio with a notch on top of the screen. Under the hood, the smartphone is powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 710 Octa-core chipset with 6 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage with a micro SD card slot for storage expansion.

The HiSilicon Kirin 710 is the first seven series chipset from Huawei which is manufactured using the 12nm process. The Kirin 710 is an Octa-core chipset, in which four powerful cores are based on ARM Cortex-A 73 architecture with 2.2 GHz, and four efficient cores are based on ARM Cortex-A 53 with 1.7 GHz frequency along with the ARM Mali-G51 MP4 GPU.

The Huawei Nova 3i is the first smartphone to be powered by the HiSilicon Kirin 710 SoC. Coming to the optics, the smartphone has a dual camera setup on the back with a 20 MP + 2 MP setup and also has a dual camera set up on the front with a 24 MP + 2 MP sensor. The primary camera is likely to record 4K videos, whereas the secondary selfie camera can record 1080p videos and is expected to offer Face Unlock.

Regarding connectivity, the device is expected to offer a dual SIM card slot with dual 4G VoLTE and LTE support on both slots with Bluetooth 4.2 LE, Dual Band NFC, and GPS. Finally, the smartphone is based on a 3650 mAh Li-ion battery with the backing for fast charging and the smartphone does have a 3.5 mm headphone jack as well. Except for a minor camera change and a slight battery capacity bump, the Huawei Mate 20 Lite is similar to the Huawei Nova 3i, which retains in India for Rs 20,990.

Samsung at IFA 2018

As Samsung recently launched the Samsung Galaxy Note9 in New York, the company is expected to launch a new range of smart televisions with up to 8K resolution offering either Quantum DOT or AMOLED technology.

These smart televisions will be capable of supporting HDR content and other premium multi-media features to improve the overall television watching experience.

Lenovo at IFA 2018

Lenovo is expected to launch a new series of laptops under the Yoga branding, and the company is also expected to launch the new series of smartphones under Moto one branding, where the brand is expected to launch the Motorola Moto One and Moto One Power smartphones.

The Motorola Moto one reminiscent of the iPhone X as it has one of the most prominent notch that we have seen on any smartphone. The smartphone has a metal unibody design with plastic antenna bands on the top and bottom of the smartphone, which looks a lot similar to the Asus ZenFone Max Pro M1.

Coming to the camera setup, it has a vertical dual camera set up at the back, which once again makes it looks like an iPhone X. Considering the antenna bands, the Moto One Power looks like an entry-level to a mid-tier smartphone, which might launch at a price range of $250 (Rs 15,000).

At the back, there is a fingerprint sensor with an embedded Motorola logo, and in the bottom, the smartphone has an Android One logo, which means the smartphone will receive Android updates directly from Google for the next two years and the phone will also receive security updates for three years after the launch.

Motorola's first Android one certified smartphone was the Moto X4, and according to a report from Android Headlines, this could be rebranded version of the Moto X5. As of now, there is no information on either pricing, launch date or the specifications of the Moto One Power. However, considering the word power, the smartphone is likely to have either a powerful chipset or a massive battery or both.

Blackberry at IFA 2018

Blackberry has started to tease the launch of the Blackberry KEY2 LE, which will be a downgraded version of the Blackberry KEY2, which was recently launched in India.

The BlackBerry KEY2 LE is also expected to flaunt a physical QWERTY keyboard. And, the space bar of the keyboard is likely to double as the fingerprint sensor. The smartphone is believed to flaunt a 4.5-inch display with an almost FHD resolution of 1620 x 1080 pixels. The smaller screen size and resolution make sense as there will be a keyboard on the device. Under its hood, the smartphone is likely to make use of an octa-core Snapdragon processor clocked at 1.8GHz.

This processor is expected to be paired with 4GB RAM and 32GB/64GB storage space. At the rear, the BlackBerry smartphone is likely to house a dual-camera setup with 13MP and 5MP sensors. The selfie camera is also said to be a 5MP module. The whole package is expected to be backed by a 3000mAh battery.

Google at IFA 2018

Google is expected to launch the next generation of Google Home speakers with improved features. Along with the smart speakers, the company might also tease the launch of the Google Pixel 3 and the Google Pixel 3 XL.

The Google Pixel 3 and the Google Pixel 3 XL are expected to come with new features like wireless charging capability with a notch display. These smartphones will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC with at least 4 GB RAM and 64 GB internal storage.

The Pixel 3 series of smartphones will have a single camera setup and are expected to offer better images with AI capability. These smartphones are also the first set of devices to provide Android 9 Pie OS.