This could easily be a
20-page column. 2017 will see companies that were doing well try to surge
further ahead, brands that were coming in from behind put in more aggressive
efforts, companies that were dead and buried rise from the ashes and some under
threat to die make a last all-out effort to survive. And each of them will do
it based on a kick-ass phone that will be born in 2017. Some of these made it
to my anticipated gadgets of 2017 column earlier. Even then, it’s impossible
for me to list them all, so here are the ones that will be the most
interesting.
Samsung Note 8
I’m not listing the
Galaxy 8 as that’s going to take forward a very successful story. The Note 8 is
where most of Samsung’s 2017 story will be written from. It’s where we will see
whether Samsung turns into a lion and takes innovation risks with the Note 8 or
morphs into a lamb and plays safe! Rumours talk about an AI assistant that
makes ‘Hey Google’ look like a joke, a camera that may beat the Nokia Pure View
42 megapixel and a new revolutionary note-taking ability. Rumours also suggest
that the battery will have materials inbuilt to make sure the phone can’t burst
into flames. I can relate to that!
Apple iPhone 10
I’ve been mocked and
made fun of for sticking to my theory that the next iPhone will be called the
10 (to celebrate the 10th Anniversary). Let’s just say I’m sticking to it for
certain reasons I cannot reveal. The next iPhone may have an all-glass design,
OLED curved screen, wireless charging, Touch ID sensor embedded in the screen,
dual camera on both models, a jet white colour option, completely new battery
technology and may be even a Touch Bar like second screen on the top. September
will tell us how much of this comes true!
Xiaomi Mi 6
This has got to be one
of the most interesting launches of the year. Not just because of the phone,
but also due to the story behind it all. Hugo Barra, the international face of
the company and the man who turned launch events into a giddy fanboy art form,
is gone. Xiaomi also struggles with mounting criticism for its service centres
and spare parts. The phone that will launch in the midst of all this melodrama
is the Mi 6. Expect it to have a ceramic body (aka Mi Mix), dual-curved
display, 6GB of RAM, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 chipset and some serious battery
life. Also, expect it to have a very tumultuous launch in India.
Blackberry Mercury
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You can call this the
new BlackBerry as this is the all-new BB phone that will come into existence
due to a licensing of the BB name to TCL. A phone with a classic BB physical
keyboard that you can use like a trackpad, a fingerprint scanner embedded in the
space bar, a USB Type-C port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, 3GB RAM, 18-megapixel
rear camera and a 3,400-milliamp hour battery pack. BB is back!
Nokia’s new portfolio
I’m not singling out
one phone for the new Nokia as they will build an entire portfolio this year.
Part of it will be some classic Nokia style feature phones and multiple
smartphones. The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona should be the start of this
journey. One smartphone announced there may just create the kind of euphoria
and buzz that all of us want Nokia to be associated with. Expect an India
launch right after.
HTC new flagship phone
If the new U phones
shown at the CES were any indication, HTC could be the dark horse that stomps
the competition into the ground and gallops ahead. A new flagship HTC is
expected in April 2017 that creates a ripple in design, optics, hardware and
features. Rumours also suggest a breakthrough innovation with sensors that has
never been done before. The last part is a new-found aggression in prices. Put
it all together and HTC seems to be standing tall in 2017.
2017 will also be the
year to see what Micromax will do as it’s lost tremendous market share, whether
Oppo and Vivo will continue to dominate offline sales, whether Huawei and Honor
continue their dream run, and if the One Plus 5 can rewrite history books
again. We will get to see how Indian brands will woo back the consumer and
whether Microsoft with its Surface phone will finally have its first ever
successful mobile phone (they’ve tried nine times before) that human beings
will actually buy
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