After a rather uneventful summer, it’s high time that we get some action, don’t you agree? Well, as we see it right now October is shaping up to be quite an interesting month. For some reason, a large number of Android OEMs have chosen this month to unveil their latest flagship efforts.
The schedule is pretty tight, so we won’t have much time to breathe in between. So in case, you’re wondering, here are all the big October Android announcements that you need to mark in your calendar. We wouldn’t want you to miss anything.
LG V40 ThinQ is coming on October 4
LG was been super prolific this year in terms of flagship smartphones. The V40 will be the third model from the V family launching this year. It’s set to follow the V30S ThinQ and the V35 ThinQ. Also this year, the Korean company unveiled the LG G7 ThinQ.
And now in a few short weeks, LG is going to take the wraps off the LG V40 ThinQ. Unlike the previous models launched this year, the phone is expected to feature a notched display just like the G7 ThinQ. The screen will be 6.4-inch in size and of POLED variety with 19:5:9 aspect ratio.
The phone’s rumored remaining specs are in line with most of today’s flagships and they include a Snapdragon 845, 6GB of RAM and five cameras on board. Indeed, it seems like the industry is moving in the direction first paved by Huawei with the P20 Pro. If rumors are correct, we should see the V40’s back host a combination of 12MP+16MP+12MP sensors. The front will be also upgraded to two 8MP+5MP sensors.
Other features expected with the V40 ThinQ include Quad DAC, Stereo Boombox and IP68 certification. Hopefully, the phone will launch with Android Pie out of the box.
Google Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL are coming on October 9
Five days after LG’s announcement, we expect Google to take the stage in New York and unveil its next-gen Pixel 3 phones. The first alleged press renders showing the phones in their full glory leaked yesterday. Thus confirming that the Pixel 3 will continue to sport a classic design, while the Pixel 3 XL will feature a pretty large notch on front.
At this point, we pretty much already know almost everything about the Pixel 3. Both will bring new features like wireless charging, Snapdragon 845, and improved cameras.
Speaking of which, while some manufacturers are putting three cameras on the back of their phones, Google is sticking to the classic formula: one sensor on the back. However, both Pixel 3s will have dual-front cameras and will launch with Android 9 Pie. Obviously, a few things will vary including display specs, battery size and perhaps even the amount of RAM offered.
Razer Phone 2 is coming on October 10
Right the next day we’re going to see another important smartphone announcement. This time Razer, will introduce its second attempt at making a gaming phone during an event scheduled to take place at the company’s headquarters in California.
However, the current information we have at our disposal hints that the Razer Phone 2 will be quite similar to the first iteration. According to a recent leak, the Razer Phone 2 which is codenamed “aura” will take advantage of last year’s Snapdragon 835. Other specs include 8GB of RAM, a 120GHz QHD display and Android 8.1 Oreo, just like the first generation Razor Phone.
Interestingly, the phone will apparently ship out with the Chroma app pre-installed. This is a Razor-developer LED lighting system which is usually used on the company’s keyboards and mice. Why is the Chroma app on the Razor Phone 2? According to industry insider Roland Quandt, this is because the phone will have the ability to light up when notifications come in.
New Galaxy phones coming on October 11
Samsung has set a highly mysterious event called “A Galaxy Event” for October 11. It’s speculated that the tech giant will unveil a new phone(s) from the formerly (?) mid-range Galaxy A lineup.
The teaser “4x fun” seems to suggest Samsung is prepping a device will have either four cameras on the back or a total of four cameras. Or maybe we’ll see two devices during the event.
Some recent leaks have suggested one of these devices could be the Galaxy A7, which is rumored to come with a triple camera assembly on the rear, as well as a Bixby button. On top of that, the Galaxy A9 Star Pro could also be in the cards. Word on the street has it, this might be the first Samsung phone to feature four cameras on the back.
Later edit: Samsung has just unveiled the Galaxy A7 with a tri-camera setup on the back. The phone will launch in select European and Asian markets at first, and then will expand into other markets.
Huawei Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro coming on October 16
Huawei’s next-gen flagships the Mate 20 and Mate 20 Pro will be unveiled in London on October 16. The two handsets will be the first to take advantage of Huawei’s newly announced Kirin 980 processor, which is based on a 7nm process.
On top of that, we heard the Mate 20 will probably come with a 6.3-inch LCD display, while the Mate 20 Pro will take advantage of a 6.9-inch OLED one. Both devices will feature a unique teardrop-shaped notch at the top.
We also expect at least one of the two models to feature a triple camera setup, which will be distinctively arranged in a square, together with the LED flash.
OnePlus 6T coming on October 17
This one wasn’t officially confirmed by the company. The date was deduced from a screenshot released by OnePlus which shows the date October 17 on what we assume to be the 6T’s display.
Last year, the OnePlus 5T was unveiled in November, so it appears this year the Chinese company will launch its second flagship for the year a little bit earlier.
The device is expected to feature a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with a tiny notch on top. It will include a Snapdragon 845 processor, in-display fingerprint scanner and Android 9.0 Pie out of the box.
What’s more, it appears OnePlus has partnered up with US mobile carrier, T-Mobile which will exclusively sell the device in America.