As usual, we’d complied the list of upcoming smartphone launches which will occur for the month of December 2020 and January 2021. Those devices which have yet to receive official or credible confirmation on its launch date will be omitted from this list.
Among the list of upcoming smartphones, here are some of the notable launches which you shouldn’t miss out:
December 24th – OPPO Reno5 Pro+
OPPO had already announced the Reno5 and Reno5 Pro last week. However, the ultra high-end Reno5 Pro+ will be launched slightly later on December 24th. The Reno5 Pro+ will be an exciting smartphone that comes with flagship offering and a spectacular design.
From what we’d learned so far, the OPPO Reno5 Pro+ is expected to feature a 6.55-inches FHD+ AMOLED display with 90Hz screen refresh rate – just like its Reno5 Pro counterpart.
In the photography department, the quad camera system of the Reno5 Pro+ is said to be headlined by the upcoming 50MP Sony IMX766 primary shooter which is also expected to be used in the upcoming OPPO Find X3 series flagships.
As for the other three cameras, they’re likely to include a 16 megapixels ultra-wide lens, 13 megapixels telephoto lens, as well as a 2 megapixels macro camera.
Under the hood, the device will be powered by the Snapdragon 865 chipset with 5G connectivity for both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes. Finally, it’ll also be fitted with a 4,500mAh battery with 65W SuperVOOC 2.0 flash charging support.
December 28th – Xiaomi Mi 11 Series
The Xiaomi Mi 11 series had been confirmed to be the first in the world to debut with the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC, and will be officially announced on December 28th.
Thanks to a set of recently leaked images, we now know that the upcoming Xiaomi Mi 11 series will be featuring a redesigned camera housing which is squarish in shape. Other than that, it’ll be arriving with a triple camera system this time round rather than having four cameras at the back like its predecessor.
Interestingly, most of the leaked renders and images of the Mi 11 and Mi 11 Pro only reveal its rear design and the front design remains largely a mystery. Nonetheless, we do heard that the front display of the “Pro” model will be an AMOLED panel with QHD+ resolution and a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
December 29th – Vivo X60 Series
Vivo has officially confirmed that the much anticipated Vivo X60 series will debut on December 29th later this month.
So far, Vivo X60 series had already achieved an impressive feat ahead of its launch after garnering more than 200,000 registrations shortly after it was up for registrations.
Based on the official renders released by Vivo, the upcoming Vivo X60 and X60 Pro duo will be arriving with a central hole-punch design at the front, while their rear design will remain pretty much similar as the current X50 series smartphones.
The Vivo X60 series smartphones will be the first batch of devices to be powered by the latest Samsung’s Exynos 1080 chipset that comes with support for 5G connectivity for both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes.
In the camera department, both the Vivo X60 and X60 Pro are expected to feature a micro-gimbal camera system that delivers great stability while recording videos. Similarly, Vivo has also co-engineered the camera system with German optic giant ZEISS.
Therefore, we can expect the X60 series smartphones to come along with some really impressive imaging capabilities.
January 14th (Rumored) – Samsung Galaxy S21 Series
The highly-anticipated Samsung Galaxy S21 series has long been rumored to launch on January 14th next month. Prior to its launch, most of its official specs and even renders had already been leaked out.
Samsung Galaxy S21 & S21+
For those who’d missed out, the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ duo are expected to be arriving with a FHD+ LTPS Panel with 120Hz screen refresh rate. They will be maintain the same 6.2-inches and 6.7-inches display size respectively as the current Galaxy S20 and S20+ devices, but will receive a slight downgrade for their screen resolution from the current QHD to FHD+.
In the camera department, there isn’t much changes in this aspect with both devices expecting to arrive with a familiar triple camera setup consisting of a 12 megapixels primary shooter, 12 megapixels ultra-wide lens, as well as a 64 megapixels telephoto lens. For video recording however, both the Galaxy S21 and Galaxy S21+ are coming with 8K/30fps and 4K/60fps video recording options this time round.
Under the hood, the pair will be powered by the either the upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset and Samsung’s Exynos 2100 chipset depending on the region you’re residing. As usual, those residing in the U.S., North American regions, China, South Korea and Japan will be the ones that are receiving the Snapdragon 888 variants, while the rest of the world is expected to receive the Exynos 2100 variant.
Coming to its battery, the Galaxy S21 is tipped to be coming with a 4,000mAh battery, while its Galaxy S21+ counterpart has a slightly larger 4,800mAh battery. Although there isn’t any information pertaining to their charging capabilities, but they will feature at least 25W fast-charging.
For the vanilla Galaxy S21, it will be offered in four different colorways including Phantom Violet, Phantom Pink, Phantom Gray, and Phantom White. The Galaxy S21+ on the other hand, is available in Phantom Silver, Phantom Black, and Phantom Violet.
Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra
Coming to the higher-end Galaxy S21 Ultra, it will be touting 6.8-inches front display which is slightly smaller than the current 6.9-inches display on the Galaxy S20 Ultra. Compared to its Galaxy S21 and S21+ counterparts, the Galaxy S21 Ultra comes with an upgraded LTPO panel with WQHD+ screen resolution as well as an adaptatively 120Hz screen refresh rate.
In the camera department, the Galaxy S21 Ultra has a total of four cameras at the back consisting of a 108 megapixels primary shooter, 12 megapixels ultra-wide lens, 10 megapixels 3x optical lens, as well as a 10 megapixels 10x optical lens. This will be rounded out by a 40 megapixels selfie camera at the front.
Needless to say, the Galaxy S21 Ultra will also be powered by either the Snapdragon 888 or Exynos 2100 chipsets just like any other devices in the Galaxy S21 family. Likewise, it will also sport a slightly larger 5,000mAh battery as well.
In terms of color options, it will be offered in only two color options including Phantom Black and Phantom Silver.
January 5th – Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G
The Redmi Note 9 Pro 5G will be launched in the global market under the Xiaomi Mi 10i 5G branding on January 5th next month.
This device is expected to be one of the most affordable and value-for-money 5G smartphone which will compete with some big names including the Samsung Galaxy A42 5G and OnePlus Nord N10 5G.
In terms of specs, the Xiaomi Mi 10i will be arriving with a similar 6.67-inches FHD+ LCD display at the front which boasts a smooth 120Hz refresh rate.
Under the hood, it’ll be powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 750G chipset capable of supporting 5G connectivity in both standalone (SA) and non-standalone (NSA) modes. On top of that, you can also expect it to feature up to 8GB RAM and 256GB onboard storage in the memory department.
For photography, the Xiaomi Mi 10i relies on a quad camera system headlined by a 108 megapixels Samsung ISOCELL HM2 primary shooter which will be assisted by an 8 megapixels ultra-wide lens, 2 megapixels macro camera, as well as a 2 megapixels depth helper. Selfie-wise, it will be handled by a 16 megapixels sensor.
Keeping its lights on will be a 4,820mAh battery that carries support for 33W fast-charging which is capable of delivering a full charge within 58 minutes. Aside from that, other notable features also include the presence of a 3.5mm headphone jack, side-mounted fingerprint scanner and stereo speakers.
