TOP SMARTPHONE LAUNCHES EXPECTED IN APRIL: ONEPLUS NORD CE 4, MOTOROLA EDGE 50 PRO, MORE
It might start with All Fool's Day, but April will be all about smartphones if rumours are to be believed. The month is set to see some very high-profile launches across different price segments, including devices from the likes of OnePlus, Samsung, Motorola and well, that fruity-named company from Cupertino might get into the April act too. So if you are looking to be more phone-y than foolish this April, here are five phones to look out for in the month:
OnePlus Nord CE 4 5G: A New Nord CE Rises
Price (expected): Rs 23,999 - Rs 26,999
Getting the month underway will be a device that has the potential to emerge as one of the bestselling phones of the year. The OnePlus Nord CE 3 was a runaway success in 2023 and OnePlus will be releasing its successor, the OnePlus Nord CE 4 5G on 1 April.
The phone is known to have an FHD+ AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and an innovatively designed back that takes inspiration from the Marble Edition of the OnePlus 11R.
It also comes with 100W fast charging, an improved camera that supports RAW format shooting, and of course, will run on OnePlus' famously clean OxygenOS. But the star of the show is expected to be the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3, which is expected to bring a new level of performance to the price segment. Will it rattle the likes of the Redmi Note 13 Pro and the Nothing Phone 2(a)? Only time will tell.
Samsung Galaxy M55 5G: Getting Back Into Premium Mid-Segment
Price (expected): Rs 30,999 - Rs 34,999
After having stuck to the budget mid-segment and the premium segment for a while, Samsung is expected to hit the middle ground between these two, or what is termed as the premium mid-segment, in April with the Galaxy M55.
Although no official information is available on the device at the time of writing, it is rumoured that in the best Samsung tradition, it will come with a brilliant 6.7-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display.
It is also believed to have a triple camera on the back, headed by a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS, with several special shooting modes from the Galaxy S series. Interestingly, the phone is also rumoured to come with a 50-megapixel selfie camera, a first for Samsung.
The Galaxy M55 is said to be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chip (a bit of a golden oldie) and is believed to pack in a 5000 mAh battery with support for 45W charging, although no charger is expected in the box. Let's see if it can unsettle the likes of the Redmi Note 13 Pro+ and the OnePlus Nord.
Motorola Edge 50 Pro: Moto Gets Into Budget Flagship Mode
Price (expected): Rs 50,000 - Rs 55,000
Motorola will be making its first major launch of 2024 in India with the Motorola Edge 50 Pro, which is expected to be launched on April 3. While there is also talk of a plain Edge 50 and a Edge 50 Fusion edition, it is the Edge 50 Pro that is making the most news.
And that's hardly surprising, given what we know of its specs. The Motorola Edge 50 Pro will come with a 6.7 inch 1.5K pOLED display with a staggering 144 Hz refresh rate. It will boast what Motorola claims is an "AI-powered pro-grade camera" with a 50-megapixel main sensor with OIS.
This 13-megapixel ultrawide sensor can also act as a macro shooter and a telephoto sensor with 30x hybrid zoom. Also on board is a 50-megapixel selfie camera with autofocus, which would make it a first of sorts in the budget flagship segment.
The phone will run on the new Qualcomm Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 chip, which might be a bit of a letdown for some who would have expected a Snapdragon 8 series chip. The phone will also come with 125W wired and 50W wireless charging and will be IP68 dust and waterproof, although its battery is rumoured to be on the smaller side at 4,500mAh.
Last but not least, the Moto Edge 50 Pro will come with a much-hyped, beautiful, handcrafted design which is a blend of vegan leather and metal, and will of course, run a clean version of Android with some unique Moto magic touches. Will all this enable it to get to grips with the likes of OnePlus and iQoo? A lot will depend on the price, which some insist will be in the vicinity of Rs 50,000 - Rs 55,000.
Realme 12x 5G: A Budget Step For The 12 Series
Price (expected): Rs 10,999 - Rs 11,999
Realme seems to be releasing members of its 12 series bit by bit. We have already seen the Realme 12, the Realme 12+ and the Realme 12 Pro, and come 2 April, we will see a x-rated addition to this series - the Realme 12x.
Realme has positioned the phone as the first 5G phone under Rs 12,000 with 45W charging. It packs in some very respectable specs for a phone in that price segment - FHD display with 120 Hz refresh rate, a 50-megapixel main camera, stereo speakers, and Android 14, all powered by the mid-segment MediaTek Dimensity 6100 chip, and running on a large 5,000mAh battery.
The phone will also boast the typical Realme 12 design with a large circular camera unit on the back and a vertical seam. This could be just the challenger the Redmi 12 5G needs.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra: Leica Unleashed
Price (expected): Rs 99,999
Xiaomi surprised a lot of people when it announced that it would be bringing its premium flagship, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra to the Indian market in April, albeit in limited numbers.
The brand has already released the more affordable Xiaomi 14 in India, and well, the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is pretty much its Big Brother in every sense of the word.
It runs on the same flagship Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chipset that is on the Xiaomi 14 but everything apart from that spec is Ultra different - it comes with a large 6.73 inch QHD+ AMOLED display with 120 Hz refresh rates and has four 50-megapixel Leica lenses on the back: a one-inch main sensor, a 75 mm floating telephoto with 3.2x optical zoom for portraits, a 120 mm periscope telephoto with 5x optical zoom and a 12 mm ultrawide with autofocus.
It comes with a truckload of Leica features, filters and modes, making it hands-down the most powerful camera setup on any phone released in India so far this year. The phone runs on HyperOS and has a large 5,000mAh battery with support for 90W wired and 80W wireless charging.
The Xiaomi 14 was a compact beauty, the Ultra is a Leica Unleashed beast, with a vegan leather back featuring a large circular camera unit, and IP68 dust and water resistance. A must-have for original Leica fans looking to get phone-y.