The newest smartphones at IFA Berlin 2016

Dubai - Sony Mobile, HTC, Huawei, Lenovo and Motorola flaunt new hardware at industry mega event

Khaleej Times may not be at IFA Berlin after two years of being there, but we'll make sure to keep you abreast with the latest buzz.
So without further ado, let's start of with arguably everyone's favourites, smartphones.
 
SONY MOBILE


Well, Sony Mobile has a knack of coming out with all guns blazing at the IFA with one of the biggest showcases (and venues) at the event. Headlining its list are its new flagship, the Xperia XZ and X Compact.
The XZ has a 5.2-inch full-HD display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 quad-core CPU, comes in 32GB and 64GB of expandable storage, 3GB of RAM, USB Type-C, fingerprint sensor and is IP68-rated, meaning it's water- and dust-proof. Oh, and it has a monstrous 23MP main camera and a 13MP shooter up front.
If you think less is more, then the X Compact is for you. It has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 650 hexa-core processor, and while this one's down to a 4.6-inch 720p display, it retains its big brother's fingerprint sensor and - tada! - the 23MP camera.
Both will hit shelves in October.
 
HTC

Nothing huge from HTC, but it's definitely big on those on a budget as it unveiled the HTC One A9s.
HTC's mid-ranger comes with a five-inch 720p screen (from the A9's full-HD), either 16GB/2GB or 32GB/3GB of expandable storage/RAM, a MediaTek Helio P10 octa-core CPU (from Qualcomm) and 13MP/5MP snappers. At least it still comes with a fingerprint scanner.
And - sheesh - it still resembles the iPhone - just like its predecessor, the A9 - especially now that the camera lens has been shifted to the left. Expected to be rolled out in October.
 
HUAWEI

Some more mid-range devices from the Chinese company: the Huawei Nova and Nova Plus ("Plus" again?).
Anyway, Huawei's back to mid-range phones after its premium Mate 8 and P9 recently. While the Plus has a 5.5-inch screen compared to its little bro's five-incher, both have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 octa-core CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of expandable storage and a fingerprint sensor. The Plus, though, has a 16MP main camera against the little one's 12MP; both have 8MP front shooters, as well as USB Type-C ports.
Both will hit Europe first in October.
 
LENOVO
Who says Samsung is the only one guilty is flooding the market with smartphone models? Lenovo proved that it can go toe-to-toe with a flood of devices - five to be exact.

The metal-armoured mid-range K6 line comes in three variants. While all have an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 CPU and a fingerprint sensor on the rear, the standard K6 has a five-inch IPS full-HD display, 2GB of RAM, 16GB and 32GB of expandable storage and 13MP and 8MP cameras; the five-inch K6 Power has combos of either 16GB/2GB or 32GB/3GB of expandable storage/RAM and a generous 4000mAh battery, along with the same screen and cameras as with the previous one; and the K6 Note (Note?!) has a bigger (you guessed it) 5.5-inch display, 32GB of expandable storage, either 3GB or 4GB of RAM, and 16MP and 8MP cameras, while also having the same battery of the K6 Power.

On the other hand, the Lenovo A Plus has a 4.5-inch (gotcha; thought it was big with that "Plus" thing?), only a 480 x 854 screen, only one GB of RAM and only 8GB of (thank God) expandable storage. Judging by all those "onlys" we've mentioned, you might have guessed this is a really low-end phone. However, Lenovo also unveiled the P2, which has a 5.5-inch full-HD display, either a 32GB/3GB or (coming soon) 64GB/4GB expandable storage/RAM combo, 13MP and 5MP shooters.
All these have fingerprint sensors and are expected to be out this month.
 
MOTOROLA

Why not make that six from Lenovo, one coming from their Motorola brand?
The Moto Z Play (Moto Z Droid in the US) has a full-HD Super Amoled display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 CPU, 3GB of RAM, 32GB of storage, 16MP and 8MP cameras, fingerprint sensor and a water-repellent nano-coating. A key selling point? A handsome 3510mAh battery that claims to last up to 50 hours(!) with mixed use(!!), as well with getting up to nine hours of juice with just 15 minutes of charging(!!!).
Expected to be selling this month.
 
Nothing on this end from Samsung, LG and Apple. Samsung's had an "explosive" start to its Galaxy Note 7, LG will be holding a special event on September 6 for the V20 and we all know what Apple will be up to on the 7th, which is, incidentally, the last day of the IFA.
- alvin@khaleejtimes.com
 

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