Here we're looking at those phones that haven't yet launched, those
we know are coming, or are anticipated. Some will be rumour, some will
be fact, but here we'll cut a swathe through the speculation to
highlight those phones we really want to see. We'll be updating this
list on a regular basis, with those device rumours we think are credible
and exciting, and devices just announced.
The LG G2 is stealing headlines, with a 5.2-inch full HD display that's wonderful to behold. It's one of a new generation of smartphones running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 platform, clocked at 2.26GHz, along with 2GB of RAM, meaning it's fast and smooth, and will be able to attack anything you throw at it.
This 4G handset comes with all the connectivity you'd expect from a handset at the top of its game and you'll be pleased to hear there's a 3000mAh battery onboard. That should give it the stamina to get you through the day.
The LG G2 release date is unknown at the moment, launching first in Korea, before spreading internationally. In the UK it's confirmed for O2 and Three, we expect others to follow suit as we approach launch date.
Although Sony has announced the Xperia Z Ultra, and we've had the chance to play with it, it's still yet to become available. The 6.4-inch display is really impressive, with great colours and plenty of space to play, backed up with all the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, here clocked at 2.2GHz.
The really impressive thing about the Xperia Z Ultra is the attention to design: the slim phablet is only 6.5mm thick and 212g, so despite being a monster, you can easily slip it into your pocket.
With handwriting support, as well as that from any normal pen not just a dedicated stylus, the Z Ultra is also water resistant like the rest of the family, so could be a great companion whether in the boardroom or beside the pool.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra price is looking high however, potentially more than £600. There's no word on the release date just yet, but it's certainly a device to look out for.
Sony has had a great 2013, with the Xperia Z winning fans and the Xperia Tablet Z showing that Sony is serious in building a family of devices. Topped off by the announced-but-not-yet-available Sony Xperia Z Ultra, there's another device in the wings, codenamed Honami.
This is said to be a 5-inch device following the same slick design as the previous Z devices, but with a 20-megapixel Sony G lens. That might sound a little ridiculous, but it's also been spotted attached to the Sony Lens Camera. Sony, it seems, doesn't seem scared to experiment.
Elsewhere the Honami is said to be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800-powered device, with a 3000mAh battery, along with microSD expansion for the memory - something you'll really need if you're snapping off 20-megapixel photos.
There's nothing official as yet, but with IFA 2013 in September just around the corner, we could see Sony make another big hit.
Apple is one of the few smartphone manufacturers yet to update in 2013 and the year is drawing on. But Apple is also a creature of habit and we know we'll see a new iPhone this year. Whether it will be the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 6 is open to debate, but there's no reason to suggest that Apple would deviate from the cycle of adding an S and keeping the same design.
There are swirling rumours of fingerprint scanners and some purported leaked component photos suggest a very minor change to things like the camera flash. We don't think there will be a big change to the screen resolution, but there will certainly be a bump in internal specs.
At WWDC in June, Apple ushered in a change with iOS 7. iOS 7 strips away a lot of the graphical complexity to give a flatter, cleaner, more minimalist user interface that's updated and ready to take the fight to Android. iOS 7 is due to launch later in the year, and we'll bet our Grandmothers that the iPhone 5S launches at the same time around September 2013.
Apple might have another phone waiting in the wings, and that's the long-rumoured budget iPhone. It's still in the realms of fantasy at the moment, as Apple have said nothing to either confirm or deny the rumours, but there's been a flood of component leaks as well as a number of photos depicting a plastic iPhone body.
Of course, this could just be fake models destined for markets in China, but the Cupertino company could be about to upset the Apple cart but releasing a more affordable handset to compete with the flood of affordable but competent mid-range Android devices.
There's no real word on specs, but we'd take a punt and say that the iPhone 5C will appear with specs close to the iPhone 5, leaving the bump in specs to the new iPhone 5S.
The HTC One and the HTC One mini are both a hit with us: we rate the HTC One as the best phone you can get right now, but that could be swept aside if the rumours of a larger HTC One model prove to be correct. Our own sources tell us that a larger device is coming and there have been plenty of leaks detailing what we might expect.
First up is a 5.9-inch full HD display, putting the HTC One Max into phablet territory. This is joined by the rumour of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, meaning plenty of power.
It should also retain the features of the HTC One family that we love: that'll mean you're looking at a slick aluminium design, twin front-facing BoomSound speakers as well as the rear UltraPixel camera.
All will be pulled together by the lovely HTC Sense 5 user interface layered over Android. There's no official confirmation, but there's a world of rumours building for the HTC One Max.
BlackBerry promised a selection of devices in 2013 on the new BlackBerry 10 platform and it seems there's another, larger, model to sit about the BlackBerry Z10.
Named as the BlackBerry Z30, there's no official word from the struggling company, but a series of leaks reveal some of the details. We're looking at a 5-ich display giving you more room to play, along with wireless charging. There's talk of a 720p resolution on that display, which might not appeal to those Android users looking at a 1080p display, but if you want to go large with BlackBerry, then this might be the way.
No confirmation yet as to when we might see the device launch.
The Samsung Galaxy Note family is somewhat disruptive. Some see it as a tablet, some people see it as a phone, but almost all agree that the Note devices have been very good and Samsung has had great success with the line. It's not alone these days, with big devices emerging from all corners, but it's time for a Note update.
The current run of gossip has the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 display at 5.68-inches, an eight-core processor and 3200mAh battery. Then there's the S Pen and we're sure there will be a drizzle of new features in Samsung's software to help you get the most out of your stylus.
Samsung has already issued invitations for its Unpacked event being held at IFA 2013, in Berlin, Germany, so circle 4 September in your calendar for all the news. Who knows, you might even see a Samsung smartwatch launched at the same time.
LG G2
The LG G2 is stealing headlines, with a 5.2-inch full HD display that's wonderful to behold. It's one of a new generation of smartphones running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 platform, clocked at 2.26GHz, along with 2GB of RAM, meaning it's fast and smooth, and will be able to attack anything you throw at it.
This 4G handset comes with all the connectivity you'd expect from a handset at the top of its game and you'll be pleased to hear there's a 3000mAh battery onboard. That should give it the stamina to get you through the day.
The LG G2 release date is unknown at the moment, launching first in Korea, before spreading internationally. In the UK it's confirmed for O2 and Three, we expect others to follow suit as we approach launch date.
Sony Xperia Z Ultra
Although Sony has announced the Xperia Z Ultra, and we've had the chance to play with it, it's still yet to become available. The 6.4-inch display is really impressive, with great colours and plenty of space to play, backed up with all the power of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, here clocked at 2.2GHz.
The really impressive thing about the Xperia Z Ultra is the attention to design: the slim phablet is only 6.5mm thick and 212g, so despite being a monster, you can easily slip it into your pocket.
With handwriting support, as well as that from any normal pen not just a dedicated stylus, the Z Ultra is also water resistant like the rest of the family, so could be a great companion whether in the boardroom or beside the pool.
The Sony Xperia Z Ultra price is looking high however, potentially more than £600. There's no word on the release date just yet, but it's certainly a device to look out for.
Sony Xperia Honami
Sony has had a great 2013, with the Xperia Z winning fans and the Xperia Tablet Z showing that Sony is serious in building a family of devices. Topped off by the announced-but-not-yet-available Sony Xperia Z Ultra, there's another device in the wings, codenamed Honami.
This is said to be a 5-inch device following the same slick design as the previous Z devices, but with a 20-megapixel Sony G lens. That might sound a little ridiculous, but it's also been spotted attached to the Sony Lens Camera. Sony, it seems, doesn't seem scared to experiment.
Elsewhere the Honami is said to be a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800-powered device, with a 3000mAh battery, along with microSD expansion for the memory - something you'll really need if you're snapping off 20-megapixel photos.
There's nothing official as yet, but with IFA 2013 in September just around the corner, we could see Sony make another big hit.
Apple iPhone 5S
Apple is one of the few smartphone manufacturers yet to update in 2013 and the year is drawing on. But Apple is also a creature of habit and we know we'll see a new iPhone this year. Whether it will be the iPhone 5S or the iPhone 6 is open to debate, but there's no reason to suggest that Apple would deviate from the cycle of adding an S and keeping the same design.
There are swirling rumours of fingerprint scanners and some purported leaked component photos suggest a very minor change to things like the camera flash. We don't think there will be a big change to the screen resolution, but there will certainly be a bump in internal specs.
At WWDC in June, Apple ushered in a change with iOS 7. iOS 7 strips away a lot of the graphical complexity to give a flatter, cleaner, more minimalist user interface that's updated and ready to take the fight to Android. iOS 7 is due to launch later in the year, and we'll bet our Grandmothers that the iPhone 5S launches at the same time around September 2013.
Apple iPhone 5C
Apple might have another phone waiting in the wings, and that's the long-rumoured budget iPhone. It's still in the realms of fantasy at the moment, as Apple have said nothing to either confirm or deny the rumours, but there's been a flood of component leaks as well as a number of photos depicting a plastic iPhone body.
Of course, this could just be fake models destined for markets in China, but the Cupertino company could be about to upset the Apple cart but releasing a more affordable handset to compete with the flood of affordable but competent mid-range Android devices.
There's no real word on specs, but we'd take a punt and say that the iPhone 5C will appear with specs close to the iPhone 5, leaving the bump in specs to the new iPhone 5S.
HTC One Max
The HTC One and the HTC One mini are both a hit with us: we rate the HTC One as the best phone you can get right now, but that could be swept aside if the rumours of a larger HTC One model prove to be correct. Our own sources tell us that a larger device is coming and there have been plenty of leaks detailing what we might expect.
First up is a 5.9-inch full HD display, putting the HTC One Max into phablet territory. This is joined by the rumour of a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 chipset, meaning plenty of power.
It should also retain the features of the HTC One family that we love: that'll mean you're looking at a slick aluminium design, twin front-facing BoomSound speakers as well as the rear UltraPixel camera.
All will be pulled together by the lovely HTC Sense 5 user interface layered over Android. There's no official confirmation, but there's a world of rumours building for the HTC One Max.
BlackBerry Z30
BlackBerry promised a selection of devices in 2013 on the new BlackBerry 10 platform and it seems there's another, larger, model to sit about the BlackBerry Z10.
Named as the BlackBerry Z30, there's no official word from the struggling company, but a series of leaks reveal some of the details. We're looking at a 5-ich display giving you more room to play, along with wireless charging. There's talk of a 720p resolution on that display, which might not appeal to those Android users looking at a 1080p display, but if you want to go large with BlackBerry, then this might be the way.
No confirmation yet as to when we might see the device launch.
Samsung Galaxy Note 3
The Samsung Galaxy Note family is somewhat disruptive. Some see it as a tablet, some people see it as a phone, but almost all agree that the Note devices have been very good and Samsung has had great success with the line. It's not alone these days, with big devices emerging from all corners, but it's time for a Note update.
The current run of gossip has the Samsung Galaxy Note 3 display at 5.68-inches, an eight-core processor and 3200mAh battery. Then there's the S Pen and we're sure there will be a drizzle of new features in Samsung's software to help you get the most out of your stylus.
Samsung has already issued invitations for its Unpacked event being held at IFA 2013, in Berlin, Germany, so circle 4 September in your calendar for all the news. Who knows, you might even see a Samsung smartwatch launched at the same time.
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