Best upcoming smartphones 2016: All the release dates for Apple, Samsung, LG, HTC and Sony's next phones

Everything we know about the upcoming smartphones of 2016

We all know there' going to be an iPhone 7 next year. That’s easy. What’s a little trickier is knowing when all the other major smartphones are going to launch. Here at Alphr, we have a calendar that keeps track of when we expect the year’s upcoming smartphones to launch, which allows us to prepare for them. So, under the flag of goodwill we thought we’d share that information so you can plan your purchase(s) accordingly.

Oh, and I’ve added a little information about a few of the key upcoming smartphones for the hell of it.

To help you with your decision, here’s a list of the best upcoming smartphones 2016. Be warned: the list below isn't based on official release dates, but on internet rumours instead, so try not to hammer me in the comments section if some predictions don’t turn out to be 100% accurate. Dates, in particular, can change.

Upcoming smartphones 2016:

• Samsung Galaxy S7 - February
• Sony Xperia Z6 - February
• LG G5 - March
• HTC One M10 - March
• Huawei P9 – April
• Samsung Galaxy Note 6 – August/September
• Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge+ – August/September
• Apple iPhone 7 – September
• Apple iPhone 7 Plus – September
• Nexus 5 (2016) – October
• Nexus 6 (2016) – October

Upcoming smartphones 2016 (in detail):

Samsung Galaxy S7 & Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge (February 2016)

It’s rumoured that the Galaxy S7 will be revealed at a special global event in February 2016, with it going on sale two to four weeks later. The past two years have seen Samsung launch its new flagship phones at special events hosted at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) trade show in Barcelona. Expect this to continue.

Leaked details are currently pretty thin on the ground for the S7, but we’ve managed to unearth a couple. Perhaps the biggest rumour of all is that Samsung is set to copy the iPhone’s 3D Touch feature and equip the S7 with a pressure-sensitive screen. More modest advancements are expected to be a new USB Type-C charging/data port and either a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 or an Exynos 8890 processor.

Things aren’t expected to change much elsewhere. Storage will be available in multiples of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB and 124GB, with RAM expected to stay at 3GB.

Head over to our Galaxy S7 rumours round-up page to find out more about the phone.

Sony Xperia Z6(February 2016)

Sony used to release a new flagship smartphone every six months. The thinking behind this was it wanted to show off how innovative it was as a brand, and the best way to do this was to update its flagship smartphone regularly. However, this strategy caused confusion rather than excitement and has now been scrapped.

It’s now understood that as of 2016, Sony will revert to launching a new flagship every 12 months, starting with the new Xperia Z6 at MWC in February.

A 4K Ultra HD screen is set to be the Z6’s killer feature, borrowing tech from the recently launched Sony Z5 Premium. Also, Sony is keen to promote its smartphones as having the best cameras on the market, so expect to see new camera features/tech to solidify this position. Expect all of your favourite Xperia Z5 features waterproof, fingerprint sensor, big battery to be rolled over into the Z6 also.

LG G5(March 2016)

LG is likely to follow the pattern of the past few years and produce a smartphone that offers something ever so slightly different. This is usually a bigger and brighter screen than the competition although to the detriment of the handset’s battery life.

Expect a full 4K screen in the LG G5, backed up with a few quirky design tweaks, à la the leather back of the G4.

Historically LG hasn’t offered much more in terms of spec breakthroughs instead, it offers a point of difference in its asking price. The LG G5 is likely to undercut the competition by around £30.

HTC One M10(March 2016)

HTC has built up a solid reputation with its flagship One phones. Why? Good question. On paper, the phones are pretty standard high-end Android devices that don’t offer ground breaking features. However, HTC considers the design of the phone to be the USP. The One’s large front-facing speakers and overlaying Sense UI software are very popular.

With that in mind, predicting the specs of the next-gen HTC flagship phone isn’t overly challenging (providing it sticks to the same formula). Expect a big, bright screen similar to 2015’s Galaxy S6, a fast processor (either a Snapdragon 810 or the newer 820), 2-3GB of RAM, two large front-facing speakers and a metallic frame.

iPhone 7(September 2016)

The iPhone 7 should be more revolution than evolution and will come with a raft of new features, all packaged in a totally redesigned handset. This time round, Apple has kept most of the iPhone 7 details under wraps, but as we approach its release date, we’re slowly uncovering more details about the next iPhone.

iPhone 7 at a glance:

2016 release date

Completely waterproof

Possible OLED display

Huawei P9(April 2016)

The Huawei P9 has the potential to be one of the most exciting phones of 2016. Huawei has huge ambitions for its brand to be a force in the West, and as you’d expect it’s aiming to win people over with its flagship smartphone.

The rumoured P9 specs are pretty incredible too. It’s reported Huawei is working on its own Kirin 950 processor, which leaked benchmarks suggest will be faster than Samsung’s Exynos 7420, making it one of the fastest Android processors to date.

Other rumoured features suggest it could have two front-facing cameras, a rear-facing fingerprint sensor and 4GB RAM.

Upcoming Samsung smartphones of 2015/2016

It’s no secret that Samsung like to make sure it fills every market niche there is. From its high-end Galaxy S range down to its budget ‘Z’ devices, Samsung knows what its customers want and delivers it.

Naturally, this hedge-maze of a catalogue makes it difficult to know which phone is best for you and when you should invest in a new Samsung handset. Thankfully we’re here to alleviate that confusion, pointing you towards the Samsung phones you really need to be keeping an eye out on, no matter what your budget.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

Samsung’s least kept secret is that it’s hard at work on a follow up to its impressive Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge. While we’ve already given you the rundown of what you can expect on the previous page, it’s worth remembering that despite rumours of a February reveal Samsung tends to use Mobile World Congress to launch the latest phone in its Galaxy S line.

If you want to find out more about what you can expect from the Galaxy S7, read our extensive guide.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5

You may wonder why a phone that’s already out is in our list of upcoming Samsung phones, but for reasons only Samsung knows, the highly anticipated Galaxy Note 5 isn’t available anywhere in Europe.

Hopefully we’ll see the Note 5 arrive in the UK before the end of the year, especially as it’s looking like Samsung is squaring up the handset to European regulations. But, without a concrete date set, it’s not worth getting your hopes up just yet.

Samsung Galaxy A8

Samsung’s mid-range Galaxy A3 and A5 phones were a welcome surprise when they launched back in February of this year. So when Samsung announced it would be releasing a successor in the form of the super-thin A8 we were definitely interested, but then Samsung made the stupid decision to keep it exclusively to China.

I can only hope that Samsung will reverse its terrible decision and bring the A8 to the UK and Europe by the start of next year.

Samsung Galaxy A3 and A5 successors

Even though the Galaxy A8 is technically a hardware update to the A3 and A5, it’s 5.7in screen is far larger than its predecessors. This means that there’s plenty of room for two smaller Galaxy A phones to come to market, hopefully by the start of next year.

Samsung Z3

While not as impressive as the Galaxy Alpha or its Galaxy A successors, the Z3 is yet another mid-range Samsung smartphone. Developed with a lower-end price point in mind, the Z3 doesn’t have much grunt and it won’t turn heads either. The only reason you should give a damn about Samsung’s unheard of handset is because it runs on Tizen, the Samsung-developed operating system.

Currently only available in India which is a clear indication of the audience this is aimed at Samsung is set to bring it to the UK and 10 other European countries by the end of the year. Budget tech geeks need to keep this one on their radar for sure.