Best upcoming phones: future phones for 2024
From affordable phones to fresh flagships and folding phones, there’s no shortage of exciting upcoming phones on the horizon
Apple iPhone 16 series
The one every Apple fan will be waiting for. The iPhone 16 line-up will almost certainly be revealed in early September 2024, bringing multiple sizes and at least one Pro variant. There’s little info out there right now, other than Apple is apparently going to go big on AI this year – just like the rest of the phone world.
A new generation of Apple silicon seems likely, as does a new version of iOS. We’re also hoping the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s 5x telephoto lens makes its way down to the more palm-friendly iPhone 16 Pro.
September 2024 feels like a long way off right now, though. The iPhone 15 line-up is as good as it gets in Apple land today:
Nothing Phone 2a
Nothing’s third ever smartphone was officially confirmed in the company’s February 2024 quarterly update. It will apparently focus on the “optimal daily smartphone experience”, borrowing features from Phone 2 and being a clear upgrade over Phone 1 in every area. Other than that, though? We’re in the dark.
The fledgling firm has sent out invites for an event in February at Mobile World Congress 2024, which may or may not see the handset fully revealed. The rumour mill suggested we’d be getting the first hardware details, with a separate launch to follow later.
It makes sense that the new handset will be a new entry-level model. Phone 1 will have been around for two years in July, so the time may be right to retire it. The higher-end Phone 2 likely has another year of life before it’s due an upgrade. Patent filing images hint at a very similar design – transparent rear and glyph lighting – to the current Nothing line-up.
We’re expecting Nothing to continue selling Phone 2 for the foreseeable, and it’s up there with the best mid-rangers around:
Xiaomi 14 series
Xiaomi usually unveils its next-gen smartphones in December, with home nation China receiving them first before a more global rollout in the Spring of the following year. 2023 broke that trend, with the firm announcing the first of its new generation mobiles around chipmaker Qualcomm’s annual Snapdragon Summit in October.
The reason? They were among the first phones to rock a new Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 CPU, which brings incredible on-device AI smarts as well as improved performance, efficiency and camera cleverness. The Pro also got an iPhone 15-aping titanium frame, while both have screens with super high 3000 nits peak brightness; there’s a 6.36in panel on the Xiaomi 14, and a 6.73in screen on the Xiaomi 14 Pro. Both have 120Hz refresh rates. Each has a trio of rear cameras, but the Pro adds variable aperture smarts to the mix to help in low light. Leica is on board again to help, too.
China was still first in line, of course; rumours point to the rest of the world joining the party after Mobile World Congress in late February. Interestingly tech whisperers are now expecting only the vanilla Xiaomi 14 will make the trip, with the Pro staying home. That’s because an even more premium Xiaomi 14 Ultra is apparently in the works.
Until then, you can still pick up a Xiaomi 13 or Xiaomi 13 Pro – both are some of the best phones around when it comes to photography.
Honor Magic 6 Pro
Another smartphone confirmed at Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, the Honor Magic 6 Pro eventually went on sale in China in January 2024. A global launch is widely expected to come at Mobile World Congress, after Honor teased an announcement for the show.
Naturally it’s powered by a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor. It’ll use that chip to bring “Magic Capsule”, an eye-tracking information pill at the top of the screen that looks partly inspired by Apple’s Dynamic Island. Photography remains a key part of the offering, with a mammoth 180MP periscope zoom lens as well as a large main snapper.
The Magic 5 Pro is still up there with the best phone cameras, and can be picked up for less than RRP right now:
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