2018 has been a whirlwind year for the smartphone industry. Apple has been humbly dethroned by the likes of Huawei and other smartphone makers. Apple is also not the most innovative smartphone company in the world.
This means the year 2019 is going to be a blockbuster year for smartphone lovers.
2019 Upcoming Smartphones in Singapore
The Crazy – The Folding Samsung Phone
Samsung has always known to be the experimenters in the smartphone world. They are obsessed with creating physics-defying products even though nobody will buy them. Now they’ve taken this to the next level.
The Samsung Galaxy F is touted to have the world’s first Infinity Flex Display. The OLED screen of the phone can be folded. Unfolded, it measures around 7.3 inches and when folded it comes to about 4.58 inches.
The best part of the phone is its ability to fold the display itself. Previous foldable phones had two display in two different components. This is one big display that can be folded in half.
The merits of this phone are numerous
Multi-tasking
The Samsung Galaxy F can run up to three apps at once, which means it is great for business users and power users.
Easy to carry
With this phone, you can carry a 7.3-inch phone in your pocket without it being too bulky because of the fold feature.
Dual Batteries
The battery on this phone is dual which means it has double the power and can go on for a long time.
The only concern with this phone is its price tag, it’s a whopping $2,000 that is unaffordable for most users.
Read about: Samsung S10 Series in Singapore
The Innovative – Oppo and Nokia 9
Oppo Find X
Oppo has been obsessed about pushing the boundaries and since 2018 they have pushed the agenda for a 5G phone and in early December 2018, they tested a prototype of their 5G smartphone.
The Find X 5G’s engineering capabilities were showcased in the recently concluded Global Partners Conference in Guangzhou.
Although some rigorous tests have been conducted in the 5G space, the 5G phone isn’t ready for commercial launch and is expected to be launched in mid-2019.
Oppo is also reliant on other industry partners to set the 5G infrastructure to start producing 5G enabled smartphones.
Nokia 9
Nokia has had quite a mix of fortunes, just a decade back they were the industry leaders and now they are relegated to being the scapegoats in the smartphone bloodshed caused by Apple in 2007.
But their brand is still alive. Nokia now manufacturers stock Android smartphones and there a few takers for these phones.
To be a part of the big leagues, Nokia has to do big things and that is exactly what they are doing with Nokia 9.
The Nokia 9 is still a bit of a mystery but based on reports it is touted to have a Penta-lens setup. That is 5 primary cameras.
Although the reports aren’t substantiated, the task of the lens are as follows – Telephoto lens, Black-White, Color, Multi-lens and Wide-angle. This means there is a camera lens for each specific task. With the help of Zeiss Optics, Nokia hopes to compete aggressively in 2019.
The Expected – Apple and One Plus
One Plus 7
One Plus has had quite the journey. They’ve taken the world by storm with their smart advertising tactics and their limited launches which has made their phones a must-have.
In 2019, One Plus is coming up with the One Plus 7.
The One Plus 7 just like it’s predecessor is expected to have a hole-punch notch. One Plus also packs their phone with the most power, which means the most likely processor is the Snapdragon 855.
The 6T had an on-screen fingerprint sensor that couldn’t be counted on, One Plus has clarified that their future phones will have an on-screen fingerprint sensor that is going to be faster.
The One Plus 7 is also expected to have the Warp Charge feature. The Warp Charge feature is similar to the dash charger that could charge 50% within 30 minutes.
The Warp Charge can do better by charging 50% in 20 minutes.
Considering two lenses are passe, the One Plus 7 is expected to have at least 3 cameras with sensors.
iPhone X series (The Unnamed iPhone)
Finally, like every year, we can expect an iPhone release. The iPhone X in 2018 got an upgrade and became the Xs and Xs max.
The future iPhone of 2019 is expected to be called the iPhone 11 based on the historic naming convention.
The 2019 iPhone will have an OLED display and the chips are expected to be bionic A13 chips which have better AI handling capabilities.
Apple has done away with 3D touch and has made Haptic touch the default and in 2019 this trend is expected to continue.
Apple has the reputation of removing parts of products early on in the technology cycle such as the CD-Rom, the 3.5mm jack and so on. If rumours are to be believed, Apple is expected to remove the notch from their displays in totality or reduce the size.
Coming to the cameras, Apple is sure to continue the trend with multiple cameras by having three rear cameras. They will be improving their night photography features too.
The Year of Smartphones
Similar to what Netflix did to TV, the other OEM’s apart from Apple have thrown the smartphone race wide-open. For the first time, the industry leader isn’t Apple. Apple has lost its supremacy in China and is expected to be dwindling in other parts of the world.
Coming to the other manufacturers, Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and One Plus have all improved their product lineup’s over the years and are market leaders currently.
Some trends that are expected from smartphones are much better cameras and a minimum of 3 camera lenses, faster charging times with the quick charge or dash charge features that will make you not think about your battery life.
The year 2019 is going to be the year where consumers win.
Check out the best smartphones in 2018.
iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max Singapore
Samsung Galaxy Note 9 in Singapore
Huawei Mate 20, Mate 20 Pro and Mate 20X Singapore
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