With the Mobile World Congress (MWC) hitting Barcelona, Spain at the beginning of March, it’s that time of year when top Android phone makers are preparing the new generation of Android phones for release. While nothing’s official yet, there are plenty of leaks from usually reliable sources that enable us to paint a picture of the newest Android-powered phones. Perhaps even more importantly, we can get an idea of what this means to mobile gaming and marketing in general.
The leading Android phone producers that are expected to launch new phones in the next few months include Samsung, HTC, LG, and Sony. All are expected to produce new versions of their flagship phones, which will of course be at the premium end of the price range. While these phones may not be responsible for the largest sales numbers in the year ahead among Android phones, they do define the top end — which in a couple of years will be the middle to lower end of phones. For game developers, it’s important to keep an eye on what’s happening at the cutting edge of technology to know what sort of features you can expect to see as widespread among Android phones in a year or two.
Samsung’s Galaxy S6 is an important phone for Samsung, which is looking to revive sales and profits from its mobile phone offerings. The company is apparently pulling out all the stops to make a killer phone, with the following features rumored:
- 64-bit eight-core 14nm CPU, 50 percent faster than Galaxy S5
- 5.1-inch Quad HD (2560×1440) Super AMOLED display with a 577ppi density, stunning outdoor visibility, super dim mode for late night
- 20 megapixel OIS camera sensor and a 5 megapixel f/1.8 front-facing camera with real-time HDR
- 32 / 64 / 128GB of storage
- 2550mAh battery
- Built-in wireless charging
- Four hours of usage on a 10 minute charge
- Quick connect charging
- Samsung Pay: works with 90 percent of existing magnetic stripe payment terminals, and NFC payment terminals
- Metal and glass body
- Gorilla Glass 4
- Cat 6 LTE
Meanwhile, HTC is also seeking to revive its Android phone division with the upcoming HTC One M9, also with impressive specs:
- Qualcomm octa-core Snapdragon 810
- 3 GB RAM
- 5 inch 1920 x1080 display
- 20.7 megapixel rear-facing camera
- 2840 mAh battery
- metal body similar to HTC One M8
LG is also said to be stepping up with the LG G4, said to be arriving sometime in May, with the following specs:
- Qualcomm octa-core Snapdragon 810
- 4 GB RAM
- 32 or 64 GB of internal storage
- 5.3 inch Quad HD (2560×1440) display, almost bezel-less
- 20.7 megapixel rear-facing camera
- 3500 mAh battery
- metal body similar to HTC One M8Â
Not to be outdone, Sony is getting the Xperia Z4 ready, with these specs rumored:
- 3 GB of RAM
- Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 CPU (2.8 GHz)
- Adreno 430 GPU
- 4 GB RAM
- 5.5 inch Quad HD (2560×1440) display, possibly 6.44 inches on the Ultra model
- 32 GB of internal storage (base)
- 3500 to 4000 mAh battery
- 20.7 megapixel rear-facing camera, 5 megapixel front-facing camera
- Improved audio with better stereo separation in the speakers
- IP68 water and dust resistant