The future smartphones of 2023

The cutting edge of tech is the smartphone - and here are all the exciting phones from the likes of Apple, Samsung, Google and more.

With the pace of smartphone evolution moving so fast, there's always something waiting in the wings. No sooner have you spied the latest handset, that there's anticipation for the next big thing. Here we look at those phones that haven't yet launched, the upcoming phones for 2023. We'll be updating this list on a regular basis, with those device rumours we think are credible and exciting. As for already-launched handsets, we've rounded up the best smartphones of 2023 elsewhere - those we consider to be the best across all platforms. If your budget is a little smaller, there is also our budget smartphones - and there's a mid-range roundup up, as well. 

The upcoming generation of phones

Before we dive into the detail, here are some of the anticipated handsets for 2023 and beyond: 

• Google Pixel Fold 

• Huawei Mate X3 

• OnePlus V Fold and V Flip 

• Vivo X Flip

•  Nothing Phone (2)

•  iPhone 15 and 15 Pro 

•  Galaxy Z Fold 5 

• Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

•  Google Pixel 7a 

• Google Pixel G10/Pixel 7 Ultra

•  Motorola Razr(s) 2023 

• Xiaomi Mix Fold 3 

• New Microsoft Surface foldable

Google Pixel Fold

Google hasn't confirmed this one, but the rumours surrounding the foldable pixel have been circling for a long time.Rumours of the folding Google Pixel have been around since 2019, and the company still hasn't launched one or even confirmed that there's a release any time in the near future. Recent news on the device suggests Google isn't happy with it and has delayed its launch. It is expected to be a book-style foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but more compact. Over the first few months of 2023, we saw a number of fresh rumours surrounding the device, including some detailed renders, and a possible sighting on a New York subway.

Huawei Mate X3

The Mate XS 2 was launched in 2022 and the Mate X3 is predicted to follow soon.

Having already launched the outward-folding Mate XS 2 in summer 2022, it's been claimed the company will launch the inward-folding Mate X3 next. December 2022 was slated as the timeframe to look out for, but it's not been confirmed as yet. It's expected to be slimmer and more durable than its predecessor. 

OnePlus V Fold and V Flip

At its OnePlus 11 and Buds Pro 2 launch event, the manufacturer teased the upcoming launch of its first foldable phone(s), which are going to be launched in the third quarter of 2023. It's been rumoured that - like its parent company, Oppo, it will launch both horizontal and vertical (flip) style foldable smartphones. Beyond that, we don't know a huge amount, but it's safe to assume that they'll be tweaked versions of the Oppo Find N2 and Find N2 Flip. 

Vivo X Flip

Like its cousin brands - OnePlus and Oppo - Vivo is expected to enter its own clamshell foldable to the smartphone market this year. A little like the Oppo Find N2 Flip, it has a large cover screen on the exterior, except it's landscape-oriented and not arranged vertically, dominating the top half of the front cover. 

Nothing Phone (2)

Nothing - Carl Pei's relatively new company - has announced that it intends to expand into the US, and that will include the second generation Nothing Phone. The company has also confirmed that - unlike its first model - this phone is going to be powered by a flagship-grade chipset. Specifically, that's going to be the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 platform, not the newer Snapdragon 8 Gen 2. It's expected to launch in the second half of 2023. 

Apple iPhone 15 range

As surely as night follows day, Apple releases a new range of iPhones every year. iPhone 14 have just launched, and that means next year we'll see iPhone 15.Despite iPhone 14 still being a new device, rumours about the next generation iPhone 15 have already started. Apple has already confirmed the move from Lightning to USB-C, while other rumours speculate that Apple will move from physical buttons to solid-state/haptic buttons, and further leaks suggest a move to 120Hz displays for all models. The next models will almost certainly land in September/October 2023.

 

Pixel G10/Pixel 7 Ultra

The Pixel G10 is a bit of a mystery device, in that all we've heard is that it's in the works and that has the same display as the 7 Pro.Following rumours of the Pixel 7a series, another unannounced Pixel device broke cover. The Pixel G10 has been discovered, but it seems no one really knows what it is. It's supposed to feature a large 6.7-inch QuadHD display - like the Pixel 7 Pro - and it could be the Pixel 7 Ultra, but we're unsure on this one. 

Google Pixel 7a 'family'

Almost as soon as the Pixel 7 was announced, the 7a series was teased on Amazon.In something of a surprising move, Amazon offered up pre-registration for the 'Google Pixel 7a family' almost as soon as the Pixel 7 and 7 Pro were launched. Since then, we've got a better glimpse at the full picture of this phone. It's said to feature a 6.1-inch 90Hz display, feature a design reminiscent of the Pixel 7, and a dual camera system. It's also said to feature the same second gen Tensor processor from Google. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5

Rumours have already started up for Samsung's next foldable flagship, and it's sounding a lot like Samsung has taken onboard criticism and is addressing a couple of consumer pain points. One of those is the crease on the display. It's been suggested that the next model will feature a droplet curve in the display to avoid that easily visible, distinct crease and remove the gap when closed. Some rumours have even suggested we could see a silo for the S Pen built into the frame of the phone, but more recent suggestion states that isn't the case, so it's a bit of an unknown. 

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 5

It would be incredibly unusual for Samsung to release a new Z Fold, without the accompanying clamshell Z Flip, so we're also expecting the company to launch the new Z Flip 5 alongside it. Cover displays seem to be something of a focus this year for most manufacturers, and it's been rumoured that Samsung's new Flip will have a much larger cover screen taking up nearly all the space on the front cover of the phone. 

Motorola Razr(s) 2023

It's been claimed that Motorola could launch two Razr phone models in 2023, following the Razr 2022 from last year. So far, we've seen images leaked - both digital renders and physical product photos - showing a device with a much larger cover display. In fact, the display takes up nearly all of the available space on the cover, with the dual camera system punched through it. We don't know much about the rumoured second model, but could the second one be a larger-screened foldable like the Galaxy Z Fold, or will Motorola build something like the Rizr concept usi ng its rollable prototype display? 

Xiaomi Mix Fold 3

Xiaomi hasn't officially confirmed the Mix Fold 3 exists, but rumours around the product are ramping up already. It's expected to land in the third quarter of 2023, and that's about all that's been said about it so far. It will, undoubtedly, be powered by whatever is the most high-end platform from Qualcomm's Snapdragon team, and will likely only be available in China. 

Microsoft Surface foldable

Having tried two generations of Surface Duo - with two screens that fold shut - it's been said that Microsoft has shelved plans for a third generation and is, instead, working on a phone with one large foldable screen instead. If so, it could see the Microsoft Surface foldable work more like a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold, and not a two-screened smartphone with a hinge.

source: www.pocket-lint.com

Apple Delays AirPods

Apple Delays AirPods, October Launch No Longer Happening

When Apple debuted its AirPods in September, the company said the wireless earbuds would launch in late October. Now that it's late October, people have been wondering if a release is imminent, but as it turns out, the AirPods are delayed.

Why I have finally taken off the Apple Watch for the last time

Why I have finally taken off the Apple Watch for the last time.

Gone for good: my wrist without an Apple Watch. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

Towards the end of May, I took off the Apple Watch I’d been wearing for nine months. I’ll never put it on again.

I’d been wearing the £479 38mm Apple Watch with a sapphire screen, stainless steel shell and white sport band – something I genuinely appreciated as an article of jewellery – since we bought it at the launch in April last year.

I’d taken it off before of course, not only every night to charge, but when my colleague Samuel Gibbs reviewed it and then reviewed its updated operating system. But this time, while another colleague used it, I realised there was no point in wearing it.

Taking off the Apple Watch. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

I’m no style guru (I’m now wearing a bashed-up Casio B640W), but I liked the look of the thing. It’s nicer in the flesh than in pictures, and there’s a certain dorky charm to having a computer on your wrist. But that’s faint praise for something that costs almost half a grand.

Before the Apple Watch came out, the key fear on the part of would-be early adopters was over the battery life. We pored over statements like Tim Cook’s: “We think you’re going to end up charging it daily. Overnight, that’s what we think.” How could anyone use a watch that needed charging every night?!

It turns out it’s really easy. You just take it off every night, and charge it. You don’t use your watch at night, because you’re asleep.

We all adjusted to this shifted expectation when smartphones were introduced, and while many would wish for a phone with a bit more battery life, few would trade their current device for a Nokia 3310, even through that got weeks out of a battery. And heck, unlike my iPhone, the Watch never once ran out of battery in a single day.

But that’s not necessarily a good thing. The reason why the Watch’s battery lasted so long is largely because I never really used it.

I wore the watch for nine months. In the week since I stopped wearing it, I have missed precisely one thing: the Dark Sky “complication” in the top left-hand corner of the watch face.

The (very) dear departed Apple Watch, with the much-loved Dark Sky complication in the top left. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

Dark Sky, a weather app, was one of the first apps I installed on the Apple Watch. But it, like every other watch app, was hampered by the fact that it takes an insanely long time to open: correctly hitting the right icon is a fiddly business requiring your full concentration, and it’s not really any better than just taking out your phone.

But when Watch OS 2 launched, in October, Apple gave third parties the ability to add “complications” – small data feeds – to the face of the main watch. That meant Dark Sky could now put the temperature on the watch face, visible at a glance, and replace it with a small umbrella icon if rain was predicted within the next 15 minutes.

It’s a small thing, but it was something I habitually checked every morning, as I was getting dressed, to help me decide what to wear (see above re: Not a Style Guru).

Tellingly, after a week of wearing an old-school digital watch, it is the only thing I find myself trying to do. Every single other use case – checking notifications, setting timers, or recording physical activity – has seamlessly, painlessly, slipped back to the state it was before the Apple Watch arrived in my life.

My replacement for the Apple Watch. Photograph: Samuel Gibbs for the Guardian

It would be boring to go through every feature point by point to explain why it’s useless. But a few fundamental flaws of the watch suffice to explain 95% of the issues: the watch is too slow to act as a speedy alternative to your phone; the user interface is too fiddly to use on the move; the notification model is too limited to do anything other than encourage you to pull out your phone repeatedly; and Siri sucks.

That last is bigger than it seems. The future of the watch can’t be the same iterative improvements that Apple has pulled off with the iPhone, iPod and iPad. The interface is just too ill-thought-through to work, even if the device itself is sped up significantly. But the most obvious alternative is to massively increase the amount of voice control the watch offers, and Apple simply doesn’t have the technical chops to do so. While Google and Amazon have been creating voice assistants that people seem to actually use and wax lyrical about, Apple … hasn’t. There’s no easy solution there.

But the saving grace for Apple is that the broader problem isn’t the company’s fault. It’s that smartwatches are a solution in search of a problem. A technology created, not to serve consumer demand, but to serve the need of device manufacturers to fill the revenue hole created by declining smartphone growth. You don’t need one, and neither do I. It just took me nine months of wearing it to realise.

source: theguardian