Apple puts an end to battery woes, unveils rechargeable iPhone cases for $129

FEBRUARY

Japanese handset-maker Sony launched its flagship smartphone, Xperia XZ2 with a 5.7-inch HDR display. Powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845, the smartphone boasts of 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage (with microSD slot). The device also supports gigabit data speeds. Sony also launched the 5-inch, XZ2 compact smartphone, that is also powered by a Snapdragon 845 processor. While the XZ2 is priced at Rs 72,990, the XZ2 Compact is priced at Rs 44,990 respectively.

MARCH

March saw the launch of the Galaxy S9 Plus from the Samsung stable. Sleek and beautiful, with a glass-and-metal body, it also has a 6.2-inch Super AMOLED Infinity Display with QHD+ resolution, minimal bezels on all sides, HDR10 and Always On Display. It runs Android 8.0 Oreo and is priced at Rs 52,900. The phone uses Exynos 9810 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage and a microSD card slot.

A 6.10-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1080 pixels by 2240 pixels at a PPI of 408 pixels per inch. The Huawei P20 Pro is powered by 1.8GHz octa-core (4x2.36GHz + 4x1.8GHz) processor and it comes with 6GB of RAM. As far as the cameras are concerned, the Huawei P20 Pro packs a 40-megapixel primary camera on the rear and a 24-megapixel front shooter for selfies. The device is priced at Rs 59,999.

JULY

This is the manufacturer's latest flagship smartphone to foray in India. Marking the revival of the Oppo Find smartphone series, the smartphone boasts of a motorised slider that contains the phone's cameras, helping reduce the size of the display bezels. The design decision makes it one of the first smartphones in the world to achieve this feat. Apart from that, the handset's key highlights include Face Recognition technology, a Snapdragon 845 SoC, 8GB of RAM, and a premium all-glass design. The device is priced at Rs 59,990.

The BlackBerry KEY2 with extra security to keep your data safe houses latest Android 8.1 Oreo Operating System, a 12MP+12MP dual rear camera system with 2x optical zoom, an 8MP front camera and 3500mAh battery with "Quick Charge 3.0" technology. The BlackBerry KEY2 is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 660. It has "Speed Key", a universal shortcut key that makes it possible to instantly access apps, contacts and functions. The keyboard includes in-keyboard fingerprint sensor with updated mechanics for an improved tactile response and convenient user experience. The device is priced at Rs 42,990.

AUGUST

Samsung unveiled their flagship in India only in August. However, the Galaxy Note 9 had already been launched globally earlier in August. The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 features a 6.4-inch Super AMOLED display which features a screen resolution of 1,440 x 2,960 pixels (514ppi). Driving the phone, a combination of 2.7GHz quad-core M3 Mongoose and 1.7GHz quad-core Cortex A55 processors are present and those are seated on the Exynos 9 Octa 9810 chipset. The processor is aided by 6GB of RAM and Mali-G72 MP18 GPU. The phone comes with Corning Gorilla Glass v5 screen protection and boots on Android v8.1 (Oreo) operating system. There is a fingerprint sensor present allowing you to quickly unlock the device. The 512 GB storage variant starts from Rs 75,900.

SEPTEMBER

Apple released the iPhone XS, a faster version of its flagship X, at the Cupertino-based tech giant's annual event held in September. The XS comes with a larger sibling, the iPhone XS Max. The company also announced the iPhone XR, a cheaper alternative that replaces the expensive OLED screen with LCD technology. The iPhone XS price in India has been set at Rs. 99,900 for the 64GB variant, while its 256GB option comes at Rs. 1,14,900 and the 512GB model is available at Rs. 1,34,900. The iPhone XS Max, on the other hand, comes with a price tag of Rs. 1,09,900 for the 64GB storage variant, while its 256GB variant is available at Rs. 1,24,900 and 512GB variant at Rs. 1,44,900.

OCTOBER

Google unveiled the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL, the latest flagship offerings from the company. The Pixel 3 and 3 XL both feature larger screens than last year’s models thanks to slimmed down bezels — and the controversial notch in the case of the bigger phone. The prices in India are Rs. 71,000 for Pixel 3 64GB, Rs. 80,000 for Pixel 3 128GB, for Rs. 83,000 Pixel 3 XL 64GB variant, and Rs. 92,000 for Pixel 3 XL 128GB.

The phone comes with a 6.40-inch touchscreen display with a resolution of 1440 pixels by 3120 pixels. The LG V40 ThinQ is powered by octa-core processor. The LG V40 ThinQ is powered by a 3300mAh. As far as the cameras are concerned, the LG V40 ThinQ packs a 12-megapixel (f/1.5, 1.4-micron) primary camera and a 16-megapixel (f/1.9, 1.0-micron) secondary camera on the rear. On the front, it packs an 8-megapixel (f/1.9, 1.4-micron) primary camera and a 5-megapixel (f/2.2, 1.4-micron) secondary camera.