New smartphones come out almost every month but the ones that people anticipate the most are flagship smartphones. So if you’re wondering when you can expect these devices, check out the Flagship Smartphone Announcement Calendar below.
The months posted below are based on previous announcements. Some brands are more predictable since they already have a solid history of unveiling devices on a specific month or period. On the other hand, a couple of brands do not, so we’re basing it on their last device announcement.
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Samsung
Samsung unveils two flagship devices in a year and is consistent when it comes to the time of the announcement. The Galaxy S series is mostly announced in February close to MWC. The Galaxy Note series, meanwhile, is announced in August just before IFA.
Apple
Apple is more consistent and always announces its new iPhones in September.
Huawei
Like Samsung, Huawei releases two flagship devices in a year. The photography-centric P series gets announced between February or March while the productivity-focused Mate series is unveiled around October or November.
Sony
Sony has fast release cycles. The first one is during MWC in February, while the other is in August. The two devices though have almost the same specs with the latter looking more like a minor iteration. Some examples are the Xperia XZ2 and the XZ3 that were released in 2018.
LG
LG has two lineups for their flagship devices. The first one is the G series which are mostly announced at MWC in February. The second is the V series, which are announced mainly by the end of Q3. Except for this year when they announced the V50 ThinQ 5G alongside the LG G8 ThinQ.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi is a bit difficult to estimate as their previous Mi devices (Mi 9, Mi 8, Mi 6) were released in different months (February, April, May). Their Mix line up though is released around September or October, except for the Mix 3 5G that was announced in February. The S variants (e.g., Mix 2S) are announced 6 or 7 months later.
Google frequently announces its new Pixel smartphones in October just like the last three devices, so you can expect Pixel 4 to launch around the same month.
OnePlus
OnePlus usually releases two devices in a year. The first one would be the standard model like 3, 5, and 6. These models were observed to be announced in May or June. OnePlus will then release an improved T model like the 3T, 5T, and 6T in November.
OPPO, Vivo, ASUS
These three smartphone brands released their new devices just last year in June. OPPO Find X, Vivo NEX, and the ASUS ROG Phone. We can’t guarantee, but we can anticipate their successors in the same month as well.
Nokia
HMD Global announced the new Nokia 9 PureView in February also during MWC. It’s also their first Snapdragon 845 phone and most powerful to date. So we can expect the successor to be announced in the same month.
Based on the most recent announcements and from last year, most smartphones are announced in February during MWC. It’s mostly quiet in the following months but could pick up mid-year from brands like OPPO, Vivo, ASUS, and OnePlus. Things will surely get busier as we approach the -ber months as big brands like Samsung, Apple, Huawei, and Google release their heavy-hitters to end the year. So if you’re planning on upgrading your phones, take note of these announcement cycles so you can prepare your wallet.
