Nokia 9 to OnePlus 7: Here are top smartphones to watch out for in 2019

While Samsung will unveil its foldable phone this year, Nokia is working on a premium phone with five rear cameras.

Nokia 9 will feature five rear cameras (HT Photo)

2019 is set to be a big year for smartphones. From 5G compatibility to flexible displays, you can expect phones to get smarter, faster, and more innovative this year.

With Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2018 just around the corner, majority of top smartphones will debut in the first half of the year. Samsung is expected to unveil its latest flagship phone, Galaxy S10. The company is also going to officially launch its foldable phone, first unveiled late last year.

Samsung, however, will not be the only brand to launch unique phones this year. Let's take a look at the most awaited smartphones of 2019.

Nokia 9
Rumours about Nokia 9 have been doing the rounds for quite some time. The elusive smartphone has already created a lot of buzz before its launch. Nokia 9 is set to be the world's first smartphone to feature as many as five camera lenses on the back, beating Samsung Galaxy A9 2018 which has quad-rear cameras.

Dubbed as Nokia 9 PureView, the smartphone is said to feature seven circular slots with two of them being flash and fingerprint sensor. The PureView suffix is promises improved mobile photography and lowlight performance, and even higher resolution. According to reports, Nokia 9 will do away with the notch on the top, and offer ultra slim bezels at the bottom and sides. The top bezel will have enough space to accommodate mic and hole for the front-camera.

Other expected features of Nokia 9 Pureview include a 5.99-inch QHD PureDisplay screen with HDR10 support, 6GB RAM, 128GB storage, Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor.

OnePlus 7
After successful run with OnePlus 6 and 6T in 2018, OnePlus is now gearing up for its next-generation flagship killer, dubbed as OnePlus 7. Expected to launch in the first half of this year, OnePlus 7 is said to come with 5G support. The 5G model, however, will be a separate lineup from OnePlus.

OnePlus 7 will also be one of the world's smartphones to sport Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 855 processor. According to leaks so far, OnePlus 7 will sport edge-to-edge display with waterdrop notch, three rear cameras, and up to 512GB built-in storage.

Samsung Galaxy S10, foldable phone
Samsung Galaxy S10 is said to come with 5G support and a revamped OneUI interface on top of Android Pie. Along with top-end specifications, expect Samsung Galaxy S10 to feature a punch hole camera or one of the newer notches (Infinity-V, Infinity-O) the company showcased last year.

While Galaxy S10 will build on the current generation Note 9 and Galaxy S9 phones, eyes are set on Samsung's foldable phone. The phone opens like a book to reveal a large 7.3-inch display which consists of three sub-displays. Samsung is already betting big on foldable phones and is said to ship 1 million units. Samsung foldable phone is set to launch in March this year.

FlexPai, the world's first foldable phone, will go on sale in the US and other markets this year. (AP)

FlexPai, the world's first foldable phone, will go on sale in the US and other markets this year. (AP)

Vivo Nex Dual
As said earlier, Samsung is not the only one trying to experiment with displays. Vivo last year launched an upgraded model of its Nex smartphone.

Called Nex Dual Display Edition, the latest Vivo smartphone is set to hit the global markets in coming weeks. The phone has 10GB RAM, futuristic dual display and a triple camera system at the rear.

Vivo Nex Dual Display Edition has a 6.39-inch Ultra FullView display with close to 91.63 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The secondary display (5.49-inch Super AMOLED) is snapped on the back. It comes with 12-megapixel dual-pixel main camera (with Sony IMX363 sensor and 4-axis OIS), a specialised night video camera and a time of flight (TOF) 3D camera.

Nex Dual Display Edition is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 octa-core processor coupled with 10GB of RAM with 128GB storage.  

Huawei P30 Pro
With capable phones like Mate 20 Pro, Honor last year cemented its spot as a serious flagship phone player in the market. Next up from Huawei is P30 and P30 Pro. Considered as the successors to P20 Pro and Mate 20 Pro, Huawei's next-gen flagship phones will come with an improved version of its Kirin 980 AI processor. The latest chipset will bring 5G compatibility on the phone.

Huawei P30 is said to come with as many as four rear cameras on the back. The phone will feature gradient glass-back, waterdrop-like notch, up to 6GB of RAM, EMUI 9 out of the box, and Kirin 985 processor.