5 next-gen flagship phones to look out for from Apple, Google, Samsung, Nothing, and Poco
2025 has been a great year for smartphone manufacturers so far, especially for premium devices. And while the majority of phone makers have already launched their flagship offerings, companies like Apple, Samsung, Google, Nothing and Poco are yet to announce their most premium phones. If you are thinking of upgrading, here are five smartphones worth waiting for.
Earlier this month, Nothing confirmed that it will be launching the Phone 3 on July 1. Unlike the Nothing Phone (2), which was a mid-range device, the upcoming phone will be its first-ever flagship phone.
While nothing is official at the moment, numerous leaks and rumours have hinted that the Nothing Phone 3 will pack Qualcomm's newest and most powerful chipset – the Snapdragon 8 Elite. Also, the company has confirmed that it is killing the iconic Glyph interface, meaning it won't look anything like the company's existing products.
The Nothing Phone 3 is said to pack a 6.77-inch AMOLED screen with a 120Hz refresh rate and peak brightness of 3,000 nits. Speculations also suggest that the device will have up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of internal storage. Also, we might see a 5,000mAh battery, but Nothing might surprise us and go with a larger Silicon-Carbon battery. Also, since this is a flagship device, we might see Nothing bringing back wireless charging.
In terms of optics, the Nothing Phone 3 is said to feature a triple camera setup with a 50MP primary sensor accompanied by an ultrawide lens and a telephoto lens. As for the software, the Nothing Phone 3 will most likely be running on Nothing OS 3, based on Android 15 out of the box. Also, CEO Carl Pei has confirmed that the upcoming device will be made of 'premium materials' and cost somewhere around 800 pounds, which roughly translates to Rs 90,000.
Samsung is also stepping up its foldable game this year. The South Korean phone maker's upcoming book-style foldable – Galaxy Z Fold 7 is rumoured to get a much larger 8.2-inch AMOLED inner screen and a 6.5-inch cover display. Like the Galaxy S25 series, it will be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Elite for Galaxy, which is considerably faster than last year's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
The company recently teased an 'Ultra' variant, but tipster have hinted that instead of a new model, Samsung might bring the Ultra experience to the Galaxy Z Fold 7. What it means is that, like the Galaxy Z Fold Special Edition, the upcoming device will likely have a 200MP primary camera.
Samsung has also said that its upcoming foldable will have 'a smaller and more portable form factor', which means that the company will be introducing a much smaller and lighter device. And while there are no details about the price, the company will certainly introduce its next foldable smartphone sometime in July or August at the summer Galaxy Unpacked event.
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra, the Chinese phone maker's 2025 flagship, is already available in the market, but the company's sub-brand, Poco, will be launching the Poco F7 sometime later this month. Known for making value-for-money phones that offer flagship-like performance at less than half the price of premium devices, the Poco F7 will most likely be a rebranded version of the Redmi Turbo 4 Pro.
If true, this means that the Poco F7 will sport the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset and come with a huge 120Hz 6.83-inch flat LTPO AMOLED screen. Rumour has that the upcoming phone will be running on HyperOS 2 based on Android 15, and have an in-display optical fingerprint scanner.
Since this is a mid-range device that focuses on performance rather than camera, we might see a dual camera setup that consists of a 50MP Sony LYT-600 primary sensor and an 8MP ultrawide lens. The phone will most likely come with up to 16GB of RAM and 512GB of UFS 4.0 storage. All of this is said to be backed by a 7,550mAh battery that supports 90W fast wired charging. Coming to the price, the Poco F7 will be priced somewhere between Rs 30,000 to Rs 35,000.
The iPhone 16 was an iterative upgrade, but with the iPhone 17 series, it looks like Apple will be spicing things up. Even though the phone is still months away from launch, rumours have it that the tech giant will be ditching its tried and tested design language.
According to a recently shared render by the known Apple tipster Jon Prosser, who is fairly accurate with his predictions, the iPhone 17 series will sport a huge camera island that spans across the width of the phone and houses three sensors on the left side.
The renders also hint that the camera island will look darker, giving it a dual-tone finish. As for the iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro, the upcoming phones are said to be powered by the A19 Pro chipset and pack a 48MP telephoto shooter. But since nothing is certain at the moment, it won't be surprising if the iPhone 17 is another iterative upgrade.
Like always, the Pixel 10 series has already been spotted in the wild several times. This year, Google will be ditching Samsung for TSMC, which might mean that we might finally see the Pixel 10 offering flagship performance with the Tensor G5 chipset.
In terms of design, 'a full-on commercial shoot for the Google Pixel 10' suggests that the tech giant will be sticking with the same design as the Pixel 9. However, Google might launch the Pixel 10 in a bunch of new colourways.
And while most models in the Pixel 10 series will have the same camera sensors as last year, some reports and the recently leaked commercial hint that the base Pixel 10 may finally get a telephoto lens. Like last year, the Pixel 10 series will comprise four models – the Pixel 10, Pixel 10 Pro, Pixel 10 Pro XL and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold.
Also, the vanilla Pixel 10 and Pixel 10 Pro will be launched at the same price as their predecessor, the Pixel 10 XL might be getting a price bump of around $100 while the Pixel 10 Pro Fold is said to be a bit cheaper with a starting price of $,1600.
Anurag Chawake is a Senior Sub-Editor at indianexpress.com. His fascination with technology and computers goes back to the days of Windows 98. Since then, he has been tinkering with various operating systems, mobile phones, and other things. Anurag usually writes on a wide range of topics including Android, gaming, and PC hardware among other things related to consumer tech. His Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn user name is antechx. ... Read More
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