5 Upcoming Android Phones That Are Worth Waiting For

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It sure is an interesting time to be an Android acolyte. Rumors for the iPhone 9 and XS suggest they’ll be pretty similar to the iPhone 8 and X, respectively. The Samsung Galaxy line is still the mainstream Android phone brand to beat, and the upcoming Galaxy Note 9 looks similarly impressive, but one of its standout features is the ability to play… Fortnite. So even though Samsung phones don’t burst into flames anymore we still can’t blame you for wanting to look at other options.
However, while the glut of different Android phones has its drawbacks (fragmentation mostly) the upside is you’re not limited to one questionable piece of hardware if you want a phone powered by that little green robot. So, now that we’ve seen the future at IFA  2018 and beyond, here are five upcoming Android phones worth waiting for. And if you’re impatient, we’ve also included links to great phones/Pie machines that are available right now.

Google Pixel 3

As the makers of Android, we still look to Google to show us precisely how its mobile operating system should best be used. And with Android 9.0 Pie now hitting the market, we’re expecting a third generation of Google Pixel phones to make the stock version of the OS shine. Rumors suggest there will be a standard and XL versions of the Pixel 3. The XL model will even feature that dumb iPhone notch. Other rumored specs include wireless charging, front-facing speakers, Adreno 630 GPU and Snapdragon 845 CPU, and new Google Pixel Buds headphones.
We expect the Google Pixel 3 to be revealed in early October and launch shortly after. In the meantime we recommend the HTC U12+

Sony Xperia XZ3

While the XZ2 Compact appealed to us as hold outs for smaller smartphones, the full-sized Sony Xperia XZ3 does seem to make the most of its expanded real estate. The 6-inch OLED screen features a 2,880 by 1,440 resolution and converts media to high-dynamic range even if it didn’t originally support it. Another nifty feature are pressure sensors on the side that allow you squeeze the phone in certain ways to access certain apps through Side Sense. Other features are more standard like a mediocre 3,300mAh battery, reused 19-megapixel camera, and an early shift over to the new Android 9.0 Pie. But remember, you can squeeze this phone.
The Sony Xperia XZ3 launches October 17 for $900. In the meantime we still recommend the Sony Xperia XZ2 Compact.

Blackberry Key2 LE

Blackberry has been back long enough as a modern smartphone manufacturer that it now feels a little out of touch to still keep pointing out how hard they had crashed before. A good entry-level phone, the Blackberry Key2 LE is light but durable with a 4.5-inch 1080p Gorilla Glass display. The modest specs include a Snapdragon 636 processor, 4GB of RAM, 32GB of initial storage, and 13MP and 5MP cameras. However, additional security features like fingerprint locks for specific apps as well as the physical keyboard Blackberry owners know and love let the Key2 LE compete in arenas beyond raw power.
We expect the Blackberry Key2 LE to launch soon starting at $399. In the meantime we still recommend the Blackberry Motion.

Honor Magic 2

In a smartphone market still obsessed with bezels, the surprising new Honor Magic 2 turns the sides (or lack thereof) of your phone into a selling points in their own right. The Magic Slide functionality pops the top camera in and out of view. So if you so choose you can look at nothing but screen with no edge bezels or camera notch. Less showy but perhaps more important details include 40W fast charging that can intelligently detect the correct cables as well as the continued debut of the new Kirin 980 processor featuring eight cores including one dedicated to AI.
Hard details for the Honor Magic 2 are still tough to come by. In the meantime we still recommend the Honor View 10.

Nokia 9

Unshackled from Microsoft, Nokia is once again free to make smartphones with operating systems users want. Probably coming later this year, the Nokia 8 and its premium counterpart the Nokia 9 might feature edge-to-edge displays very similar to the Galaxy S8 (5.5-inch and 1440 x 2560 pixels on the 9 specifically), two vertical 22.1MP cameras, and Android 7.1 Nougat from the start. Other specs include a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with eight, 2.5GHZ CPU cores and an Adreno 540 GPU plus 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The Nokia 8 is available for pre-order in Europe this September, while the Nokia 9 remains more shrouded in mystery. Is Nokia back?
In the meantime we recommend the Razer Phone