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February’s Expected Smartphone Announcements
After a hectic end to the year 2020, 2021 has already started with a bang. February usually gets a lot of Flagship launches but some companies like Samsung, Xiaomi had already launched their top smartphones.
Figure 1: February’s New Smartphones
After a hectic end to the year 2020, 2021 has already started with a bang. February usually gets a lot of Flagship launches but some companies like Samsung, Xiaomi had already launched their top smartphones.
Figure 1: February’s New Smartphones
But Huawei, OPPO, Redmi, Vivo, Realme, Nokia launched their devices.
Huawei releases the third-gen Foldable device(after Mate X, Mate X S), the HUAWEI Mate X2 will launch on February 22 in China. Expected specs include an inward folding 8.01 inches main display, likely a 6.45-inch Cover display, Kirin 9000 5G chipset, quad-cameras with 50MP sensor, 16MP dual-front punch-hole cameras, 4,400mAh battery with 66W rapid charging.
Xiaomi unveiled the world’s first Snapdragon 888 chipset phone(Xiaomi Mi 11) in China in December. This device is confirmed to debut Globally on February 8. Alongside the flagship, Xiaomi is also expected to bring a Mi 11 Lite. As for the Mi 11 Lite specs, it is likely to feature a 120Hz LCD panel, Snapdragon 732G chipset, 64MP quad-cameras, 4,250mAh battery with 33W charging, 6/8GB RAM, 64/128/256GB storage MIUI 12.
Figure 2: Xiaomi Mi 11
Huawei releases the third-gen Foldable device(after Mate X, Mate X S), the HUAWEI Mate X2 will launch on February 22 in China. Expected specs include an inward folding 8.01 inches main display, likely a 6.45-inch Cover display, Kirin 9000 5G chipset, quad-cameras with 50MP sensor, 16MP dual-front punch-hole cameras, 4,400mAh battery with 66W rapid charging.
Xiaomi unveiled the world’s first Snapdragon 888 chipset phone(Xiaomi Mi 11) in China in December. This device is confirmed to debut Globally on February 8. Alongside the flagship, Xiaomi is also expected to bring a Mi 11 Lite. As for the Mi 11 Lite specs, it is likely to feature a 120Hz LCD panel, Snapdragon 732G chipset, 64MP quad-cameras, 4,250mAh battery with 33W charging, 6/8GB RAM, 64/128/256GB storage MIUI 12.
Figure 2: Xiaomi Mi 11
Figure 3: Xiaomi MI 11 Lite 4G Rendering
The Mi 11 Lite and Mi 11 are also coming to India but the exact date is unknown. Apart from this, Xiaomi might also launch a ‘Pro’ variant of the Mi 11 in China this month. The expected specs of the Mi 11 Pro include QHD+(2K) OLED 120Hz display, Snapdragon 888 chipset, 5,000mAh battery with 120W Wired & 67W wireless charging, 12/16GB RAM, 256/512GB storage, quad-cameras with 120x digital zoom, and more. There’s also a Mi 10 Ultra-like device rumored but info regarding it is bleak.
Redmi has already started teasing the Redmi K40 series in China and it is coming in February. It is expected to have two devices- Redmi K40, K40 Pro. The non-Pro might carry an upcoming Snapdragon 775 chipset whereas the Pro will probably get the Snapdragon 888.
Figure 4:Xiaomi Redmi k40 (Left) and Redmi K40 Pro (Right) Display Design Leak
Redmi has already started teasing the Redmi K40 series in China and it is coming in February. It is expected to have two devices- Redmi K40, K40 Pro. The non-Pro might carry an upcoming Snapdragon 775 chipset whereas the Pro will probably get the Snapdragon 888.
Figure 4:Xiaomi Redmi k40 (Left) and Redmi K40 Pro (Right) Display Design Leak
Other specs include a 120Hz OLED punch-hole display, up to 12GB RAM and 256GB UFS 3.1 storage, 64MP sensor-equipped quad-cameras also having a 1/1.5-inch sensor. The Redmi Note 10 and Note 10 Pro are expected to launch in India in February, courtesy of Ishan Agarwal. They are rumored to come in 4G(Note 10, 10 Pro) and 5G(Note 10 Pro) versions. Certifications like TUV, Indonesia Telecom, and FCC show that the Redmi Note 10 will run MIUI 12, support 4G LTE, dual-band Wi-Fi. Other expected specs include 4/6GB(Note 10), 6/8GB RAM, and up to 128GB Storage, quad-cameras with 64MP (Note 10)/108MP(Pro) sensors, colors- Bronze, Blue, Gray(Note 10 Pro), and White, Green, Gray(Note 10), and more.
2021 is likely to see an early debut of the Gaming Smartphones. This time, out of nowhere, players like Redmi are also joining the list. Other prominent brands like ASUS, Nubia, have already started teasing the devices. ASUS has already started teasing the next ROG Phone and it could be the ROG Phone 5. A recent TENAA listing shows that it has a dot-Matrix LED rear, 6.78-inch OLED display, a 6,000mAh battery, and runs Android 11. Other expected specs include 144Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 888 chipset, 65W charging, 64MP main camera, and more. The rumored launch date is Feb. 12.
HMD Global has been focusing on mid-range and budget devices lately. The company’s rumored Nokia 9.3 Purview seems like a never attainable fruit. The company will launch Nokia 5.4 in the USA on February 15 and India on Feb. 10. It has also started teasing the Nokia 3.4 for India for the same day.
Figure 5: Nokia 5.4
2021 is likely to see an early debut of the Gaming Smartphones. This time, out of nowhere, players like Redmi are also joining the list. Other prominent brands like ASUS, Nubia, have already started teasing the devices. ASUS has already started teasing the next ROG Phone and it could be the ROG Phone 5. A recent TENAA listing shows that it has a dot-Matrix LED rear, 6.78-inch OLED display, a 6,000mAh battery, and runs Android 11. Other expected specs include 144Hz refresh rate, Snapdragon 888 chipset, 65W charging, 64MP main camera, and more. The rumored launch date is Feb. 12.
HMD Global has been focusing on mid-range and budget devices lately. The company’s rumored Nokia 9.3 Purview seems like a never attainable fruit. The company will launch Nokia 5.4 in the USA on February 15 and India on Feb. 10. It has also started teasing the Nokia 3.4 for India for the same day.
Figure 5: Nokia 5.4
Nokia 5.4 from Europe features a 6.39-inch HD+ LCD screen, Snapdragon 662 processor, quad-cameras with a 48MP sensor, 16MP selfie shooter, 4,000mAh battery with 10W charging, 4/6GB RAM, 64/128GB storage, Android 10(at launch). The Nokia 3.4, which launched in Sep. 2020, features an LCD 6.39-inch HD+ display, Snapdragon 460 chipset, 3GB RAM, 64GB storage+microSD slot, triple-camera with 13MP sensor, 4,000mAh battery.
Figure 6: Infinix Smart 5
Figure 6: Infinix Smart 5
Infinix has confirmed that the Smart 5 will debut in India on February 11. To be clear, this is not the old Infinix Smart 5 from Africa but a rebadged version of the recently launched Infinix Hot 10 Play. Specs include a 6.82-inch HD+ LCD screen, MediaTek Helio G25 chipset, 13MP dual camera, 8MP selfie camera, fingerprint sensor, 6,000mAh battery, and Android 10 Go Edition.
Samsung which began the year by launching the Galaxy S21 series is now moving to midranges. The Galaxy Ax series will likely get the successors, Galaxy A32 4G, A52, and A72. Reports say that a 4G version for some markets is coming and it could launch it in Black, Blue, White, and Lavender colors. Expected specs include a 6.5-inch HD+ Infinity-V display, MediaTek Helio G85 SoC chipset, 48MP quad-camera setup, 5,000mAh battery with 15W charging, NFC, and run One UI 3.0 based on Android 11.
Figure 7: Galaxy A52 Official Rendering
Figure 8: Samsung Galaxy A72 5G
Similar to A32, the Galaxy A52 is also expected to come as 4G and 5G handsets. The device will likely have a 6.46-inch AMOLED FHD+ Infinity-O display, Snapdragon 720G/Snapdragon 750G chipset, 64-megapixel quad-camera system, 15W charging, run Android 11 OS, 6/8GB RAM, 128/256GB storage, and a starting price of ~$450. Apart from 5G, leak says that a 4G version of Galaxy A72 will feature a 6.7-inch AMOLED Infinity-O display, Snapdragon 720G chipset, up to 8GB RAM, 5,000mAh battery with 25W charging, quad-cameras with 64MP+12MP(ultra-wide)+two 5MP(Macro, Depth) setup, and start around $449.
Figure 9: Samsung-Galaxy-F62 Alleged Galaxy M62 Chassis
Figure 9: Samsung-Galaxy-F62 Alleged Galaxy M62 Chassis
Apart from the A-series, Samsung is gearing up to launch an M/F-series very soon and reports say that it could be February. This time the rumored Galaxy F62/M62 will share a lot of specs in common and be a Phablet-like device.
Expected specs include an AMOLED panel, Exynos 9825 flagship chipset, NFC, 7,000mAh battery with 25W charging, quad-cameras, storage up to 256GB, USB-C, and 3.5mm audio jack ports, run Android 11. Samsung’s XCover 5 could be the first rugged smartphone from a top brand in 2021 after the
Figure 10: OPPO Reno5 Pro+
The OPPO Reno5 Pro+, which was once thought to be exclusive to China, will make its way to global markets thanks to its GCC listing. With Xiaomi releasing its Mi 11 Globally this month, OPPO might release the Reno5 Pro+.
Either way, the Specs of the flagship include a 6.55-inch curved AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 865 chipset, quad-cameras with 50MP sensor(IMX766), 32MP selfie shooter, 4,500mAh battery with 65W charging. The company also is expected to launch the OPPO F19/F21 series in India this month. Sporting a sleeker design, Glass back the device will be different from the predecessor. However, specs are not known yet.
The vivo S7t 5G launched in China and it is priced at ¥2,698($417.39).
Figure 11: vivo S7t 5G
Either way, the Specs of the flagship include a 6.55-inch curved AMOLED screen, Snapdragon 865 chipset, quad-cameras with 50MP sensor(IMX766), 32MP selfie shooter, 4,500mAh battery with 65W charging. The company also is expected to launch the OPPO F19/F21 series in India this month. Sporting a sleeker design, Glass back the device will be different from the predecessor. However, specs are not known yet.
The vivo S7t 5G launched in China and it is priced at ¥2,698($417.39).
Figure 11: vivo S7t 5G
Specs include 6.44-inch AMOLED display, Dimensity 820 chipset, dual Selfie camera(44MP+8MP), triple-camera(64MP+8MP+2MP), 4,000mAh battery with 33W fast charger.
Motorola launched the Motorola Edge S in China last month. This starts as low as 1,999 yuan($310) and sports a flagship Snapdragon 870 chipset. This device is tipped to launch in India later this month.
Figure 12: Motorola Edge S
Motorola launched the Motorola Edge S in China last month. This starts as low as 1,999 yuan($310) and sports a flagship Snapdragon 870 chipset. This device is tipped to launch in India later this month.
Figure 12: Motorola Edge S
Specs include a 6.7-inch LCD 90Hz screen, Snapdragon 865/870 chipset, 64MP quad-camera, dual 16+8MP selfie cameras, 5,000mAh battery with 20W charging.
Other Gaming Phones from Nubia, Black Shark, and Redmi are expected to launch sometime in Q1 2021. We don’t have an exact date yet but let’s not skip through them. The Red Magic 6 will get a Tencent Games Edition.
Figure 13: Red Magic 6
Other Gaming Phones from Nubia, Black Shark, and Redmi are expected to launch sometime in Q1 2021. We don’t have an exact date yet but let’s not skip through them. The Red Magic 6 will get a Tencent Games Edition.
Figure 13: Red Magic 6
The Black Shark 4, on the other hand, has appeared on TENAA and it shows a 6.67-inch OLED display, Android 11, and 10.3mm thickness. The company has already confirmed specs like Snapdragon 888 chipset, 4,500mAh battery with 120W charging.
Redmi has also confirmed that it will debut its first Gaming phone and it is said to feature MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset.
Over the past few years, there has been consistent development in the smartphone industry. In the screen segment, the baseline for smartphone displays as of now is 6-inches. The iPhone 12 mini with a 5.4-inch display had very poor sales and there are now reports that the company will discontinue this device. There are also rumors that the iPhone 13 mini (or iPhone 12s mini) will use a large display.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) noted that sales of its Galaxy S21 series, released January 29, have been selling ~30% more than the previous year’s models, in South Korea. As the home country of Samsung, we would expect nationalism to help early sales at home, but no mention of how the S21 series was doing in the other 60 countries where it has been released. According to the company the basic S21 accounted for ~40% of sales, with the S21+ ~24% and the top-end S21 Ultra ~36%., with 30% of the phones being purchased directly from Samsung, double that of last year’s models, although only 40% were purchased in stores, with the remainder being bought online.
Samsung noted that sales of the Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earphone sales were also double last year’s volume and that they expect a demand spike to occur with the S21 series between March and April, when 2 year contracts for previous models expire. That said, while we don’t have data specific to South Korea, we noted yesterday that the share of those consumers holding their smartphones for 2.5 years or more rose last year in many countries according to a Kantar survey, with Japan and China leading the pack with 36% and 34% respectively, with a y/y increase of 5.2% and 5.3%. We expect given that South Korea is home territory for the Galaxy smartphone lines, the retention rate would likely be a bit lower, but we expect it still might be increasing as it gets progressively harder to add extraordinary features to new models and price becomes more of an issue.
To Samsung’s benefit, they did lower prices relative to last year, and the S21 Ultra has received positive reviews for some of its more progressive features, but the South Korean market is a bit biased toward Samsung, so we wait for data from other countries to see if that popularity carries through. We note also that Samsung has been rumored to be expecting to ship 26m units of the Galaxy S21 this year, slightly above last year’s S20 series volume, which was considered a disappointment. The S21 Ultra is expected to represent ~30% of sales, which was ahead of last year’s equivalent model share, and would seem to be a bit lower than actual sales in Korea. If this holds true, it could push Samsung to maintain or increase the feature-set difference between the lower and upper models of the Galaxy S22 next year.
Redmi has also confirmed that it will debut its first Gaming phone and it is said to feature MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset.
Over the past few years, there has been consistent development in the smartphone industry. In the screen segment, the baseline for smartphone displays as of now is 6-inches. The iPhone 12 mini with a 5.4-inch display had very poor sales and there are now reports that the company will discontinue this device. There are also rumors that the iPhone 13 mini (or iPhone 12s mini) will use a large display.
Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) noted that sales of its Galaxy S21 series, released January 29, have been selling ~30% more than the previous year’s models, in South Korea. As the home country of Samsung, we would expect nationalism to help early sales at home, but no mention of how the S21 series was doing in the other 60 countries where it has been released. According to the company the basic S21 accounted for ~40% of sales, with the S21+ ~24% and the top-end S21 Ultra ~36%., with 30% of the phones being purchased directly from Samsung, double that of last year’s models, although only 40% were purchased in stores, with the remainder being bought online.
Samsung noted that sales of the Galaxy Buds Pro wireless earphone sales were also double last year’s volume and that they expect a demand spike to occur with the S21 series between March and April, when 2 year contracts for previous models expire. That said, while we don’t have data specific to South Korea, we noted yesterday that the share of those consumers holding their smartphones for 2.5 years or more rose last year in many countries according to a Kantar survey, with Japan and China leading the pack with 36% and 34% respectively, with a y/y increase of 5.2% and 5.3%. We expect given that South Korea is home territory for the Galaxy smartphone lines, the retention rate would likely be a bit lower, but we expect it still might be increasing as it gets progressively harder to add extraordinary features to new models and price becomes more of an issue.
To Samsung’s benefit, they did lower prices relative to last year, and the S21 Ultra has received positive reviews for some of its more progressive features, but the South Korean market is a bit biased toward Samsung, so we wait for data from other countries to see if that popularity carries through. We note also that Samsung has been rumored to be expecting to ship 26m units of the Galaxy S21 this year, slightly above last year’s S20 series volume, which was considered a disappointment. The S21 Ultra is expected to represent ~30% of sales, which was ahead of last year’s equivalent model share, and would seem to be a bit lower than actual sales in Korea. If this holds true, it could push Samsung to maintain or increase the feature-set difference between the lower and upper models of the Galaxy S22 next year.