What’s HOT on the mobile front?

MASABATA MKWANANZI

masabata.mkwananzi@inl.co.za

The year 2020 set the tone high in the smartphone sector as more and more smartphone makers gear up to launch the successors of their flagship devices in 2021.

When it came to mobile phones, 2020 offered some pretty amazing smartphones from flexible to foldable and rollable. Now users around the world are eyeing smartphone manufacturer giants like Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and Google to keep the momentum going and to continue producing state-of-the art smartphones.

IOL TECH has a closer look at some of the upcoming smartphones to be released in 2021.

Samsung Galaxy S21 series

Samsung kicked off with the stunning range of the Galaxy series. The new range of the devices consists of Galaxy S21, the Galaxy S21+, and the premium Galaxy S21 Ultra.

The Galaxy S21 offers 5G connectivity while Galaxy S21 Ultra will support wi-fi 6E connectivity, which Samsung said is around two times faster than your normal wi-fi 6. The Samsung Galaxy S21 series in the US is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset, while the South African versions of all three devices will be powered by the Samsung Exynos 2100 chipset, which is far more powerefficient than previousgeneration chips.

Xiaomi Mi 11

According to SOMAG News, Xiaomi has yet to comment on when it will launch the global Mi 11. However, news has been circulating that the Mi 11 may reach the market as early as next month. There’s no lead on the Mi 11 series specification.

OnePlus 9

Another phone that will make its way in the first quarter of 2021 is OnePlus 9. According to Business Insider India, The OnePlus 9 series will consist of OnePlus 9, OnePlus 9 Pro and the affordable OnePlus 9 Lite in March.

Apple iPhone 13

With the recent launch of the iPhone 12 late last year, the new iPhone 13 series is expected to launch later this year. The iPhone 13 series will consist of iPhone 13 Mini, the iPhone 13, the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

According to Tom’s Guide, the company is expected to adopt a portless design and will drop the lightning port, offering only wireless charging and data transfer. The iPhone 13 series is expected to be powered by the unannounced A15 Bionic chipset.

The Galaxy S21 offers 5G connectivity while Galaxy S21 Ultra will support Wi-Fi 6E connectivity, which Samsung said is around two times faster than your normal Wi-Fi 6. The Samsung Galaxy S21 series in the US is powered by the Snapdragon 888 chipset while the South African versions of all three devices will be powered by the Samsung Exynos 2100 chipset, which is far more power-efficient than previous-generation chips.