It’s the best time to buy a smartphone, which also means that it’s the worst time to buy a smartphone. Confused? Paralyzed? Welcome to the club. There’s always something great on the market to buy, but if intuition serves you right, something even better could be just over the horizon.

We’ve got to be straight with you: the start of the year is the worst time to buy a new smartphone. Don’t do it. Resist the urge. You’ll be rewarded by your patience in just a few months when 2018’s heavy-hitters swing for the fences.

If you’re waiting for the next flagship, we’ve listed the features worth waiting for below. And thankfully, the laws of supply and demand reward those looking for last year’s model on a discount, as well, so keep an eye on our updated list of best phones.

We’ve also added some models we expect to see deeply discounted as 2018 plows onward. Win-win.

Snapdragon 845 will bring more than just a power boost

Qualcomm’s new mobile chipset, Snapdragon 845, will bring the usual set of upgrades to 2018’s smartphones. As such, you can expect a boost in speed, an increased ability to handle robust applications with finesse, and greatly enhanced battery life for power users.

Touching more on the battery performance, we’ve been told that the Snapdragon 845 will yield 30% better performance when it comes to gaming, watching video, or using VR and AR applications.

It also has the potential to bring HDR video capture to smartphones packing the chipset, meaning you’ll have even more HDR content to share or watch on your HDR-ready screen, which are very likely be the standard moving forward for high-end phones.

Embedded fingerprint sensors

This futuristic smartphone feature has been promoted from an “if” to “when” thanks to the launch of the Vivo X20 Plus UD. It takes the trusty fingerprint sensor and embeds it into the display, essentially making it invisible to the naked eye.

While no other 2018 flagship smartphones have been confirmed to carry an in-screen fingerprint scanner, is next trend for makers should jump on. 

As far as how that will give you the advantage versus what your current phone has, it’s mostly a cosmetic gain at this point. When we saw Vivo’s smartphone at CES 2018, we noted that the fingerprint sensor built into the all-screen display works as intended, though noticeably slower than what we’ve seen implemented in even mid-range phones, let alone the cream of the crop. 

Still, the cool factor is undeniable and it might be worth waiting for if a phone’s worth to you is tied to how it looks.

Better cameras

There are few technologies that have improved as quickly in such a short amount of time than the mini, but mighty cameras inside of a smartphone. 

Just in the past three years, the pictures taken with the most expensive, capable devices on the market have gone from “not bad” to “pretty good” and recently, a bit further to “actually good”, which is what you’ll experience today with phones like the iPhone X, Google Pixel 2 and the Samsung Galaxy S8.

But of course, progress never ends, so this year’s flagship devices look to up the ante even more. Samsung is first, which will announce the Samsung Galaxy S9 at MWC 2018 at the end of February. The company has teased that it is taking its camera tech back to the drawing board, but hasn’t yet explained how exactly it will improve over last year’s excellent effort. However, that hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from providing a few unofficial, yet interesting details.

Samsung's big improvement seems to be the aperture, which is rumored to operate on a variable f/1.5-2.4 scale. The current leader in low-light shooting is the Google Pixel 2 thanks to its advanced machine learning camera software. It remains to be seen how the S9 will perform, but if the numbers provide the results we’re hoping for, the S9 could take the cake.

Other camera features that will play big into 2018’s most alluring phones are optical image stabilization (OIS) for both the front and rear-facing cameras, and packing in a dual-set of lenses for each side to make photos rich with depth and detail.

The unsung hero of what makes for a successful camera on a phone its software. While phones like the LG V30 made bigger promises than it could fulfill in terms of camera performance, its robust camera software made using practically any other phone’s snapper a bit dull in comparison.

Generally, it’s hard to fail at finding a worthy smartphone these days. Given the breadth of options available at a wide range of prices, there’s something for everyone. But if you’re only out for the best of the best, it’s worth waiting for the right time. 

Thankfully, the time to buy has almost arrived.

• Have you seen the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus?

The reports of the iPhone X death are greatly exaggerated, but like a lot of rumors, there’s a reason people are suddenly talking about Apple canceling what many consider to be its best phone in years. 

What’s the real story behind the so-called iPhone X cancellation? Disappointing sales led to a predicted slowdown in production, which then led to an overreaction of what that means for the phone.

About a week ago, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities shared his latest findings of what’s what on Apple’s year ahead. Most notably, he shared that the current iPhone X model is slated to end its stint on the production line by Summer 2018, which if true, would be the shortest shelf life for any of Apple’s smartphones thus far.

This is the part of the story where, understandably, the red flag goes up for many. On paper, it seems troubling that a phone with such tremendous buzz would fizzle out rather unceremoniously less than 10 months after its debut. But, contrary to the tone of some earlier reporting on the topic, it’s not the end of the iPhone X – it’s just the start. 

X is just the beginning

Murmurs about Apple products spread like fire, proved once again by the response to the Kuo’s research first published by AppleInsider. 

But as is the case with any and all rumors, including analyst predictions, anything that’s not fact should best be taken with a grain of salt – or else you might end up wrong at best, or at worst, creating a whole lot of confusion.

Kuo’s findings highlight that while the first iPhone X might not be part of the company’s current product lineup for long, the story doesn’t end there. Its design and hardware will carry forward in a total of three new iPhone X2 (it could also be called the iPhone XI) smartphones for 2018. 

Measuring success for context

The scale in which the success of Apple’s product are measured is different than that of other companies. By that, we mean that if it were a fledgling smartphone company selling hundreds of thousands of a particular smartphone, it might spell good times. But Apple forecasts its product to move in the millions.

Taking a look at what’s considered a “win” for a company as big as Apple can work to provide a lot of useful context for consumers to take away when analyst predictions and rumors like this pop up, as they most certainly will. For a product with as much hype as the iPhone X, Apple and analysts can reasonably predict how many phones it will sell, which informs how many it needs to make in order to meet demand.

Hearing that a product is set to leave the production line will never not sound like failure, or like a premature dashing of an idea mid-execution. And because of that, any sizeable company is an easy target to jump on, let alone Apple.

Given these claims, much more of the iPhone X story is likely to play out in the coming months and we’re excited – but cautious – about what’s to come.

Apple is preparing for the iOS 12 release date for your iPhone and iPad later this year, but the exciting new features it had planned might be saved for 2019.

It's all in the name of reliability and performance fixes, according to a report by Axios, citing a quality control directive by Apple software lead Craig Federighi.

A renewed focus on security and performance troubleshooting makes a lot of sense. One look at our long iOS 11 problems page should give you an idea of the breadth of issues.

This means that Apple is likely to push many of the front-facing iOS 12 features and app redesigns to iOS 13 – more than a year-and-a-half away.

Here's your preview of... iOS 13?

It's too early to talk about this year's iOS 12 update, nevermind iOS 13 plans, but today's report forces us to look at the features we're missing out on.

Your iPhone and iPad could get a redesigned home screen and core apps with a new look, including Mail, Camera and Photos, suggests the report. 

There's good reason to be disappointed with a delayed redesign of these apps. Right now, Mail lacks advanced productivity features and even some simple needs like the ability to hyperlink text (forcing you to spell out URLs in full). 

The current iOS 11 Camera app pales in comparison to the options delivered by the Samsung Note 8 and LG V30, and you still can't change resolutions from the app, without diving into the main Settings menu.

iOS 12 release date and features

You won't be without change when iOS 12 debuts, even though Apple's new take on its mobile home screen and apps appear to have been delayed.

Augmented Reality (AR) features, the Health app and parental controls have all been tipped to give Apple something fun to talk besides stability and security.

So when is that all-important iOS 12 release date? The good news is that you can expect a WWDC 2018 announcement in June followed shortly by an iOS 12 beta.

The actual release date for everyone else who, essentially, isn't helping beta test iOS 12 doesn't seem to have deviated from the September launch window.

• Also iterative: iPhone XI release date and rumors

If recent Galaxy S9 leaks are to be believed, Samsung’s next phone will look practically identical to its last, the Samsung Galaxy S8. And while repeating designs could be seen as a dim-witted move by one of the most renowned smartphone makers in the world, it’s secretly the wisest move Samsung could make. 

Sure, Samsung could easily make another great leap forward in design, pushing aside its now-modern bezel-reduced appearance in favor of something new. But what would that look like? And more importantly, would it woo buyers in the same way as last year’s S8 did? Those two questions pose more unnecessary risk than reward for Samsung, coming off a year that couldn’t have gone much better.

As one of the first players to push the bezel-reduced look in 2017, which went on to catch like a fervent wildfire, holding onto its cherished design isn’t just smart, it’s crucial to the Galaxy S9’s success.

These are the small changes we expect

Samsung got mostly everything right design-wise with the Galaxy S8, though there were a few issues that most would agree were not so hot. For instance, the fingerprint sensor was built snugly next to the camera module, making it tough to reach and oh-so-easy to misfire – smudging the glass covering the center-aligned lens instead.

In the S9, Samsung looks to have learned from the feedback by moving it beneath the camera, putting it within easy reach and making it harder to flub an attempt at logging into your phone with a finger. Bixby, the company’s big AI software that didn’t launch in time with last year’s flagship phone, is poised to be greatly improved.

According to the most recent leak of the S9 and S9 Plus, Samsung is packing its tiny bezels with even more tech – a feat of engineering in and of itself. Namely, we’ll be seeing dual front-facing cameras on the latest smartphone, which will (or at least should) give Samsung the advantage when it comes to high-quality selfies with depth of field.

A chance to stand out

I’ve argued that the trend of removing physical (often useful) hardware features from devices will make them boring, and doing the opposite is how the S9 could stand out in 2018. While it will likely lack the hotly anticipated fingerprint sensor built into its screen, it will make up for in other fan-favorite features.

Similar to the forward-thinking S8, the S9 looks to balance new-age features like the aforementioned dual front-facing cameras that will likely enhance its facial detection with trusted ones like a 3.5mm headphone jack and fingerprint sensor. In this regard, keeping a familiar design will win over smartphone users who feel burned by new phones that ditch functionality over form.

It’s almost like there’s already a cheap Galaxy S9 on the market

Another positive effect of introducing a new phone with iterative design is that it works to make its predecessor age better. A year out from release, the Samsung Galaxy S8 is a tremendous smartphone that we recommend – even more wholeheartedly as it continues to drop in price. 

Given the fact that the S9 looks to introduce small, thoughtful changes inside and out means that the buying decision is easier, not harder, for consumers. It’s almost like Samsung has already introduced a budget-friendly Galaxy S9. Want a more powerful Snapdragon 845 processor and better selfies? Then opt for the S9. But if you stick with the S8, passersby will be none the wiser to your choice to buy the cheaper phone.

it’s a nice show of faith in last year’s design

A phone’s design is so easy to get wrapped up in, both on the manufacturer and consumer end of things. If the S9 shows up in the form that we’ve seen so far, it’s a nice show of faith in last year’s design, as well as in Samsung’s ability to enhance what’s inside of the phone, which could be the big topic of conversation for smartphone makers in 2018.

We’ll see the S9 launch in Barcelona at MWC 2018 on February 25, so stay tuned for our hands-on review and some interesting features surrounding its unveiling.

When Nokia first launched the 2017 edition of the 3310, I wrote a story explaining why it should be a 4G smartphone. At the time, Reliance Jio was preparing to launch the JioPhone in India, something many thought would be a “revolution”. 

However, the Nokia 3310 turned out to be a phone that tried to monetise nostalgia. It was a 2G phone in a 4G world, and reviewers like me were quick to dismiss it.

Admittedly, we don’t have statistics on how much this phone actually sold. Yet, it’s fair to say that the Nokia 3310 (2017) was a failed product, at least from a critics point of view. In this case, mine. But HMD Global is now said to be working on a 4G version of the product, apparently tying up with Reliance Jio for the same. Have they finally come to their senses?

But, do we need it now?

A year hence, the JioPhone is among us, as are a plethora of other 4G feature phones or low-cost 4G smartphones. As with Nokia’s entire smartphone line, the Nokia 3310 is also late to the party. 

Admittedly, the JioPhone has been out of stock for the better part of its life cycle, while there’s no word on how many Micromax Bharat phones have been sold. But we do have many options already in the 4G feature phones and low-cost 

In 2017, a 4G Nokia 3310 would have been the perfect mix of nostalgia and usefulness. It would have been the damage-proof feature phone with modern aesthetics and connectivity. It can still be that, but no one’s really asking that question anymore. Instead, the questions HMD Global will be faced with are,

Does this have WhatsApp?

Can I browse Facebook?

And so on….

And the answers to all those questions will be no. The Nokia 3310 (2017) doesn’t support WhatsApp, and there’s no reason to think this new one will either. But herein lies a twist.

YunOS

Last year’s phone ran Nokia’s Series 30+ OS, a seriously hamstrung software for 2017. But this new one runs on YunOS, a fork of Android made by Chinese giant Alibaba. I’ve had the good fortune to interact with YunOS in my many trips to China, and I have to admit it’s impressive software. YunOS is on televisions, phones, and even home cleaning robots. While Series 30+ lacks app support of any real sign of modernism, YunOS is at the forefront of today’s software, at least from a feature phone point of view.

But then, YunOS has never been seen outside China either. Would this be the phone that finally gets Alibaba’s software across borders? Unlikely, but it could mean HMD Global will run a forked version of Android (much like Micromax’s Bharat 1) here in India. And it would make all the sense, if the company wants to take advantage of 4G connectivity. If not, it’s just a handy Internet dongle that costs you three-odd thousand bucks.

With Android at its core, the Nokia 3310 could actually be a “premium” 4G feature phone, something this market truly lacks. A huge chunk of the Indian market still uses feature phones, and for that market, the Nokia 3310 could suddenly become a sign of affluence. “Feature phones remain the dominant category in the total mobile phone market, with annual shipments of 136.1 million units. The category declined by only 9.4 percent in CY2016 as compared to 16.2 percent in CY2015,” said a report by the International Data Corporation, in February last year.

4G connectivity is not enough

Essentially, if Nokia, or HMD Global, is to sell a 4G Nokia 3310 in India, it has to be running Android. If not, it’s really the feature phone equivalent of the OnePlus 5 and 5T. It’s an upgrade for the sake of an upgrade. At the very least, HMD Global will have to add support for apps like WhatsApp and vastly improve the apps it does have. Given that Series 30+ isn’t capable of much more, it’s unlikely that that will happen. For a company that sells smartphones on the “Pure, secure and always up to date”, it shouldn’t take much to realise the importance of Android here.

• There is a 4G variant of the Nokia 3310

HMD Global has launched the 4G variant of the Nokia 3310 feature phone in China. The news broke soon after there were reports of Jio partnering with HMD Global to launch the new 3310 in India. For those who don’t know, HMD Global is the parent company of the Nokia brand.

The Nokia 3310 4G is an upgrade to the existing feature phone from the company. In China, the phone runs on YunOS, a forked version of Android. There is no update on the price and availability, but the phone has been listed on the company’s website.

The new Nokia 3310 4G has a 2.4-inch (320 x 240p) display with 512MB of storage expandable up to 64GB via microSD card. There’s just one 2MP camera on the back with LED flash. There’s a 1200mAh removable battery at the back, which Nokia claims can last up to 12 days on 4G standby usage.

In China, the phone comes with single SIM support, but we expect it to land with dual SIM functionality in India. It also has WiFi and hotspot features supported this time. And, the Bluetooth and the micro USB connectivity remains.

We can expect the official release of the phone at MWC 2018 next month, where we might also get an idea about its arrival in India.

To recall, the phone was first launched in 2017, but it only had support for 2G network. HMD Global then followed up with a 3G variant of the phone in the second half of 2017. 

• Nokia 6 review