Thursday, October 27, 2016

The Best Phones of 2016

We round up the best mobile phones yet to be released in 2016, including Android smartphones like the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, as well as Apple's latest iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.


Android Phones Coming in 2016 and 2017


2015 was an amazing year for Android, with massive hits like the Samsung Galaxy S6, Sony Xperia Z5, and Blackberry Priv seriously impressing. But 2016 is already proving just as strong, with the HTC 10, LG G5 and Samsung Galaxy S7 all impressing the Recombu reviewers - and there's still lots more to come. Here's our pick of the best Android phones yet to be released in 2016, or coming in early 2017.

HTC Desire 10 Pro

Brand: HTC
Price: Expected from around £199 to £249
Release Date: October 2016
Our Review: HTC Desire 10 Pro preview

HTC is launching the new Desire 10 family phones in September, so they should be on sale here in the UK around October time. The Desire 10 Pro is the more premium of the two new mobiles, offering (hopefully) a solid camera experience, a sharp Full HD 5.5-inch screen, powerful BoomSound speakers and some respectable Snapdragon performance.

All of that, wrapped in a gorgeous white-and-gold or black-and-gold handset. And even better, we're hoping that HTC's asking price will make it stiff competition for the mighty Moto G4, another excellent 5.5-incher that costs under two hundred quid.

HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle

Brand: HTC
Price: Expected from around £199 to £249
Release Date: October 2016
Our Review: HTC Desire 10 Lifestyle preview

The Desire 10 Lifestyle is the cheaper, more basic model in the Desire 10 family. You can still expect the same attractive, eye-catching black or white finish of the Desire 10 Pro, with that funky gold edging. However, the Lifestyle's 5.5-inch display is rumoured to drop from Full HD to standard 720p HD.

And the Lifestyle's internals will likely take a hit too. So for example, expect a rather creaky Snapdragon 400 processor to be tucked inside, providing only very basic performance for messaging, web browsing and checking your social media feeds. Here's hoping the 13-megapixel camera is still a solid, dependable snapper for your everyday shots.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Brand: Samsung
Price: Expected from around £549
Release Date: April 2017
Our Review: Galaxy S8 preview

The Galaxy S7 is one of the best Android handsets of 2016 so far, packing some premium specs and a gorgeous design. Which means we're already super excited about the Galaxy S8, Samsung's 2017 flagship phone that's due to launch in a few months.

Expect the fresh new Snapdragon 821 processor and an industry-leading camera to compete with the new iPhone 7 Plus' snapper, plus plenty more besides. Check out our preview by following the link above to see how the S8 is likely to compare with this year's S7.

Moto E3

Brand: Motorola
Price: £99
Release Date: Autumn 2016
Our Review: Moto E3 Preview

We've already seen some great sub-£100 smartphones in 2016, including the Sony Xperia E5 and Voda's Smart Prime 7, but Motorola's Moto E3 could slay them all. This £99 mobile packs a 5-inch 720p HD screen and 8-megapixel camera, as well as a smooth-running vanilla version of Android Marshmallow.

Check out how the Moto E3 stacks up against the Moto G 2016 phones in our Moto comparison feature.

Apple iOS Phones Coming in 2016

Apple's iPhone 6s and 6s Plus were big critical hits for Apple in 2015, bringing 3D Touch and all-new camera tech to the tried-and-tested iPhone formula. In 2016 we're expecting more innovation from Apple, in the form of the iPhone 7.

iPhone 7

Brand: Apple
Price: From £599
Release Date: September 2016
Our Review: Coming soon

Apple's latest iPhone has just launched and has just been released in UK stores, bringing a new super-black design, a very exciting new camera, waterproof finish and lots more besides. Check out our massive iPhone comparison guide to see how the new iPhone 7 compares with the rest of the Apple smartphone family.

iPhone 7 Plus


Brand: Apple
Price: From $749 (likely £649)
Release Date: September 2016
Our Review: Coming soon

The iPhone 7 Plus is again a bigger version of the iPhone 7, but you also get a sharper Full HD screen, a bigger battery and Apple's super sexy new dual-lens camera tech. That secondary telephoto lens means you can zoom into your subject without any loss in detail, while also capturing some gorgeous bokeh in your photos.

Microsoft Windows Phones Coming Soon

Windows Phone has come on leaps and bounds in recent times, offering a user-friendly yet feature-packed experience, and now its natural successor Windows 10 is here, providing a consistent experience across mobile and desktop devices.

Microsoft is the primary producer of Windows Phone hardware now that it's sucked up Nokia, and we're expecting some seriously sexy new Lumia kit in 2016 to build on the solid Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL. There's no news so far, but we'll be sure to update this page as soon as those Lumia rumours emerge.

In fresh news, it appears that Nokia will unsurprisingly be back in the mobile hardware game come the end of 2016, focusing exclusively on Android devices.

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