With the pace of smartphone evolution moving so fast, there's always something waiting in the wings. No sooner have you spied the latest handset, then there's anticipation of the next big thing.
Here we look at those phones that haven't yet launched, the upcoming phones for 2018.
We'll be updating this list on a regular basis, with those device rumours we think are credible and exciting, and devices just announced but yet to hit the shelves.
As for already-launched handsets, we've rounded up the best smartphones for 2018 elsewhere - those we consider to be the best across all platforms.
If your budget is a little smaller, there is also our budget smartphones for under £200 feature - and there's a mid-range roundup up to £400 as well.
The upcoming generation of phones
Before we dive into the detail, here are some of the anticipated upcoming handsets for 2018:
- Sony Xperia XZ Pro
- LG G7
- HTC U12
- Huawei P20
- Samsung Galaxy Note 9
- Apple iPhone 9
- New BlackBerry
Sony Xperia XZ Pro
Sony likes updating phones, with the Xperia XZ2 replacing the XZ1 which is only 6 months old. There's one device that hasn't been updated, however, and that's the XZ Premium, Sony's 4K phone and now the oldest in the line-up. Rumours about this phone had surfaced before Sony Mobile's latest launch fest at MWC 2018.
Rumours suggest that there's a replacement 4K display device in the works, but we suspect it will pick-up the new Xperia design found on the XZ2 using the new Ambient Flow design language. It's likely to get the 4K HDR video capture options, as well as potentially being the debut of Sony's new dual camera system which is bonkers good in low light.
When might this phone launch? Nothing is confirmed by August 2018 at IFA might be a good guess.
LG G7
LG changed direction on the LG V30 slightly, shifting the messaging from "great for videographers" to "great for everyone" - and it is, it's a great flagship smartphone. Updated with the V30S ThinQ, it's not a new phone - there's something else to come for 2018.
Rumours about the G7 have swung back and forth, suggesting that LG is going to use a different brand for the G series and elsewhere suggesting that it's going to launch slightly later in the year than you might expect - when LG is ready to launch it.
But this phone appears to have popped-up at MWC 2018, most likely in an off-stand preview room, with the codename Neo. It has a 6-inch OLED display with a notch, is powered by Snapdragon 845 and has a dual 16-megapixel on the rear. Perhaps we'll be getting something new from LG sooner than we thought.
Samsung Galaxy Note 9
The Note 8 has barely gone on sale, but Samsung is already talking about the Note 9. In an interview, the development team confirmed that they'd moved straight into planning for the next Note model, including working on enhancing notable features, like the S Pen.
So there's no firm details at the moment, but we'd expect Samsung to be unveiling the Galaxy Note 9 in late August 2018, with more enhanced S Pen features. It is predicted that we'll be seeing Bixby 2.0 launching in the Note 9.
HTC U12
HTC has added the HTC U11+ to its 2018 line-up, shifting to an 18:9 display and boosting a number of areas of this phone. It comes at a strange time, and feels like the foundation for the 2018 flagship. We wouldn't be surprised to see a similar device on new hardware with a couple of additional features launching in April 2018.
Rumours are light on the ground at the moment (including the name), but HTC has come forward and said that it will be making a return to dual cameras in 2018. HTC was the first to put two cameras on the back of its phone in the HTC One M8, and we can't help feeling this is a bid to compete on the spec sheet with rivals like LG and Huawei.
Huawei P20
Huawei has been moving things up a step and seems to be making gains globally in its smartphone offering. Shifting from P10 to P20, we're going to be getting lots of camera skills from this new phone, with Huawei suggesting that it will have three cameras - and one will certainly be a zoom lens.
There's talk of an iPhone rivalling face scanning feature and a design has surfaced showing off and iPhone-like notch on the display. There's also plenty of talk of this being a family of phones with a P20 Lite and a P20 Plus.
Huawei has confirmed that the P20 will be launched on 27 March 2018 at a huge launch event in Paris.
Apple iPhone 9 and/or iPhone XI, iPhone X2
The iPhone X is a celebration of 10-years of iPhone. It's also super-premium and expensive. But Apple has confirmed that this phone lays the foundations for the next 10 years of the iPhone and we suspect that the 2018 iPhone update will take a lot from the iPhone X.
There's currently no knowing what Apple will call the new iPhone, but we suspect it will move from stainless steel back to aluminium to bring the price down, while retaining that 19:9 display and using Face ID rather than Touch ID in a home button. We'd expect Apple to offer a couple of sizes in this design, making some differentiation between the two as it does with the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus currently. At the moment, however, there's no evidence to say exactly what might happen.
We can expect the iPhone 9 to launch in October 2018 but there may also be an iPhone SE2, too.
Future BlackBerry phones
BlackBerry maker TCL has announced a new bronze version of the KeyOne, but in doing so, also confirmed that BlackBerry has plans for new phones in 2018. Not just one phone, two, in fact.
Beyond that, there's very little information to go on. We don't know what level they will be at and there's been little talk of anything BlackBerry related recently, so this one is a mystery.
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