This year is pretty much over. We have seen a lot of hardware products getting launched in 2016, and most of them are now available in the market — R.I.P Samsung Galaxy Note 7. In the coming year, we are expecting some cool new gadget releases and mind-boggling tech to be made available to help satisfy our cravings. While the rumor mill is buzzing with info about a lot of hardware devices but below is our pick for the top 5 gadgets to look forward to in the year 2017.
Apple iPhone 8
Apple is expected to launch the new iPhone 8 in 2017 and the buzz around the same suggests that it is going to be a major refresh in terms of design. It is said that there will be no Home button and the edge-to-edge glass display itself will act as a fingerprint sensor — will most likely pack an under-glass sensor.
Some rumors also suggest that this time, the LCD panels will be replaced by flexible OLED display to make this gadget lighter and offer more vivid colors. We are keeping our fingers crossed for long-range wireless charging as well.
Samsung Galaxy S8
Post the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, Samsung is under a lot of pressure to make things right with its upcoming smartphone release. The Korean giant’s next flagship smartphone – Galaxy S8 is said to come packed with the very first virtual assistant of its own.
The smartphone is expected to be powered by the company’s in-house SoC, produced using their own 10nm process. It is also said to have up to 256 GB of UFS 2.1 flash storage. Considering Samsung’s track record, we are expecting two large-screen variants of the phone based on the processor – one with company’s own Exynos processor and another with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 835 processor.
The gadget will come with Android 7.0 Nougat based OS with Samsung Experience user interface on top. It will get launched in New York in April 2017.
Nokia Smartphones
The most iconic smartphone maker – Nokia, has already announced its return to the smartphone business and is going to launch its gadget in 2017. As per the rumors, the Finnish company is working on three Android smartphones. One of them is Nokia D1C, which will probably come with a Snapdragon 600-series processor, 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage.
Some leaks suggest two variants with screen sizes of 5-inch and 5.5-inch. While one variant will have a 13-megapixel primary camera, the other variant will feature 16 MP primary camera. The phone will also have a fingerprint sensor, and come with a price tag of $150.
Apart from D1C, the company is said to be working on two other smartphones. While one is a budget device, the another one is a flagship device codenamed Nokia C1. The Nokia C1 will reportedly feature SD 830 SoC, 4GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.
Google Smartwatches
This year, Google launched Pixel smartphones and in 2017, the company is expected to launch its own-brand smartwatches. The company is working on two Android wear smartwatches – codenamed Anglefish and Swordfish.
The Anglefish is said to be the high-end variant of the two, featuring a crown button on the left with a small shoulder button on top. It will also include cellular connectivity with support for 4G LTE and GPS. On the other hand, the Swordfish variant will be smaller and thinner than Anglefish. It will be compatible with Android Wear Mode watch band, but will not come with cellular connectivity.
Microsoft’s Cortana Powered Harman Kardon Speaker
Microsoft recently showed off a video teaser of the upcoming premium Harman Kardon speaker which is powered by Cortana – Microsoft’s version of voice assistant. It will compete against devices like Google Home and Amazon Echo.
The teaser shows Cortana being asked to play music and create a reminder. However, it will have pretty much the same functionality as the virtual assistant that resides on Windows 10 PC and Mobile.
While the release date of the speaker is not yet announced, we won’t be surprised if we see this Harman Kardon speaker launch at CES 2017 next week. Microsoft has pretty high expectations from Cortana and has been hinting that it wants to integrate its assistant on Internet of Things (IoT) devices.
