The best new phones coming to the UK this year

Asus is releasing two ZenFones later this month, but they’re surprisingly different.

The standard ZenFone 8 ditches the series’ trademark flipping camera module, but instead packs top specs into a compact body with a dinky 5.9in display, making it an affordable, pint-sized flagship, starting from just £599/€599. It’s available to pre-order now for delivery from 14 June.

By contrast, the ZenFone 8 Flip keeps around that fancy flip-flopping camera, and has the same Snapdragon 888 chipset as its sibling, but makes sacrifices in other areas: only a 90Hz display, no OIS, no IP rating, and a few other small downgrades. All that, and it costs more, making it really only an option for the flipping faithful – but you can pre-order the 8 Flip now too, with a later 28 June release for the UK.

Check out the full ZenFone 8 details or read our ZenFone 8 Flip review

We’ve all but given up hope that the Honor V40 series will make it to the UK, but we’re more optimistic about a global launch for the Honor 50, which will be revealed in full on 16 June.

The Honor 50 is already confirmed to use the new Snapdragon 778G chipset, but we’re expecting more powerful cores to appear in the rumoured 50 Pro and Pro+.

Other spec leaks have been limited, but it’s a safe bet that the cameras will be impressive, as will charging – with a 100W wired charger tipped for the Pro+ at least.

We’re not sure yet if the 50 series will launch in Europe, and it’s still unknown if Honor will be able to include Google Mobile Services on the international version of the phone. It seems likely though, since the company is now free of the trade restrictions against former parent company Huawei.

Get the latest Honor 50 news.

Once codenamed ‘Race’, the next Realme flagship launched in China on 4 March 2021, and it’s now confirmed to launch in the UK and Europe in June – though it will be an AliExpress exclusive.

The GT packs a Snapdragon 888, 65W fast charging, and a 120Hz AMOLED display – and despite all that costs the equivalent of just £310 in China, though we’d expect a UK release to set you back a little more. 

It’s since been joined by the even more affordable GT Neo, which boasts a flashier design, but drops to 50W charging and a MediaTek Dimensity 1200 chipset. We’re not sure if, or when, the Neo might join the GT in the UK.

Get more Realme GT news.

Following on from the Nord N10 and N100 models, OnePlus has revealed the Nord CE 5G, a stripped back version of the original Nord at a lower price. Pre-orders are open now, with a full UK release on 21 June.

The phone boasts a mid-range Snapdragon 750G chipset and a 90Hz AMOLED display, along with a 64Mp main camera.

Throw in Android 11, a headphone jack, and the fact that it’s thinner and lighter than the original Nord and it looks like you have a winner –  though bear in mind that you will have to put up with a plastic finish, not glass.

Complicating things are plans for a cheaper Nord N200 that’s destined for North America only, and separate rumours that point to an upcoming phone called the Nord 2, believed to be a full follow-up to the first Nord, but this is expected to launch later – perhaps in July.

Read more about the Nord CE 5G.

The M3 Pro is the next budget phone from Poco, set to launch officially in late June, though early bird deals are kicking off ahead of that.

Starting from just €179 (approx £155/US$218), the M3 Pro is one of the cheapest 5G phones around, and also boasts a big 5000mAh battery and 90Hz refresh rate display.

The camera setup is limited – a single 48Mp main lens with only macro and depth sensors alongside it – but NFC, a headphone jack, and 18W fast charging should help make this appealing, especially at such an affordable price.

Read more about the Poco M3 Pro.

We’ve had the Mate 40 phones, so next up from Huawei are the P50 series. Huawei teased the new phones at the HarmonyOS launch, but aside from playing a short clip revealing the rear design, the company only said that “a launch date has not yet been set.”

Expect to see three phones – a P50, P50 Pro, and P50 Pro Plus – all using the new HarmonyOS operating system.

They should be powered by the Kirin 9000 processor found in the Mate 40 phones, and will likely borrow some of those phones’ camera features too. They could also be the first Huawei phones to use 120Hz panels, though most rumours so far still only point to 90Hz.

Here are the latest Huawei P50 rumours

Sony unveiled the 2021 Xperia range in April, with three phones available: the flagship Xperia 1 III, the smaller 5 III, and the more affordable mid-range 10 III. The 10 III is already on the way, but the other two are due later in the summer.

The 1 III boasts the industry’s first 4K 120Hz display at 6.5in and a dual focal length periscopic zoom camera, along with top internal specs including the Snapdragon 888.

The 5 III nets you the same specs and core camera setup, but drops down to a smaller 6.1in display that’s only Full HD+ – though still 120Hz.

Get the latest on the Xperia 1 III and Xperia 5 III

You read that correctly, BlackBerry is back from the dead again. In August, that US company Onward Mobility licensed the BlackBerry name and has announced that it will work to release a new BlackBerry device in the first half of 2021.

According to Onward Mobility, the new BlackBerry will have 5G network capabilities and a physical keyboard. These really are the only two indications of specs that we have aside from the phone running Android, as currently the announcement is only of the partnership’s existence and nothing more.

Read more about the upcoming BlackBerry phone.

Google has confirmed that the Pixel 5a 5G is on the way, and that it will be announced around the same time as last year’s 4a models – which makes August 2021 likely.

There is a big caveat to that though: the big G also confirmed that the phone is only planned to launch in the US and Japan, and while it hasn’t ruled out a wider release later on, we’re not getting our hopes up.

An early leak has revealed a phone that looks very similar to last year’s Pixel 4a 5G, so you should expect a big phone and minimal upgrades beyond some spec bumps – though Google may yet surprise us.

Get the latest Pixel 5a rumours.

We’re overdue the announcement of the Mi Note 11, though despite that there have been very few leaks about the device so far – though just enough that we’re confident it is on the way.

Going by the Mi Note 10, we should expect top camera and battery specs paired with a mid-range processor, and we’d expect to see it announced some time in the next few months.

Read more about the Mi Note 11.

It’s all but a given that a second Galaxy Flip 2 is on the way – a proper sequel after the half-step upgrade of the Z Flip 5G – and we’re expecting to see it some time in the second half of 2021.

While we had hoped it would launch alongside the S21 series in January, tipsters have suggested it’s currently more likely delayed to late summer, so there’s a bit longer to wait.

When it does arrive, expectations are for a larger outer display and a bigger battery, and almost certainly a jump to the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon processor.

Read the latest Galaxy Z Flip 2 news & rumours

Apple’s new iPhone SE went on sale back in April, but rumours since have pointed towards the launch of either a follow-up or a Plus model. If you’re thinking that might be imminent, though, don’t hold your breath; we could be waiting until the second half of 2021.

The long-rumoured SE Plus is not simply a larger version of the iPhone SE, mind you. Prolific Apple leakster Ming-Chi Kuo suggests that the iPhone SE Plus will feature either a 5.5 or 6.1in display and, crucially, it’ll sport a “full-screen design” like that of the iPhone 11 range. It may also have Touch ID built into the power button.

Read more about the upcoming iPhone SE Plus and iPhone SE 2.

Samsung is widely expected to launch the next generation of its flagship foldable series in autumn 2021.

The Galaxy Z Fold 3 will pick up where the Fold 2 left off, but is rumoured to add in S Pen stylus support, and potentially an invisible under-display selfie camera inside the phone.

Other rumours point to a more affordable foldable launching alongside the Z Fold 3, along with speculation around new form factors that may be called the Z Fold S or Z Fold Scroll.

Find out more about the Galaxy Z Fold 3.

Much like the S20 was followed by the S20 FE, it’s widely expected that the S21 will eventually be joined by the S21 FE – most likely around October if last year’s release pattern is anything to go by.

Spec details are thin on the ground so far, and there’s already disagreement – on whether it will have a 60Hz or 120Hz display, for example. Still, most agree the phone will have an AMOLED panel and the latest Exynos and Snapdragon chipsets.

Read more Galaxy S21 FE rumours

As soon as one iPhone is out, it’s time to look to the next, which means we’re thinking about the iPhone 13 series already.

New iPhones usually launch in September, but the iPhone 12 was a bit later in October – either way we should see the iPhone 13 series in autumn 2021.

It’s likely we’ll see a range of four phones again, from a Mini up to a Pro Max, all powered by a new A15 Bionic processor.

Word is that the notch will still be there, but smaller, and we’re hoping we’ll finally see the display itself jump up to 120Hz. Storage is rumoured to go up to 1TB too, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for the return of Touch ID too, maybe even in an under-display sensor.

The more out-there rumour is that Apple might go entirely port-less now that it can lean on MagSafe charging, but we think that change is more likely to roll out for the iPhone 14 or beyond…

Read the latest iPhone 13 news

Google normally releases a new Pixel flagship every autumn, so it stands to reason that the expected Pixel 6 will turn up some time in autumn 2021.

We don’t know a lot about what to expect from the phone yet, but a jump to a 120Hz refresh rate sounds plausible, and it’s also probably time for Google to upgrade its main camera sensor – unchanged for a few years now – to make sure it clings onto its photography crown. It’s also rumoured to ditch Qualcomm in favour of an in-house chipset, à la Apple and Samsung.

Leaks also point to a pretty radical redesign, with a bold new camera module, but it’s too early to say for sure if those rumours are legit or not.

Other leaks point to a device known as the Pixel XE, but it’s not yet clear if this is a fake, a new phone, or simply a codename for the Pixel 6.

Read more about the upcoming Pixel 6.

This is a bit of a wild card – but leaked internal documents and bits of code suggest that Google may be working on a Pixel-branded foldable device to launch in late 2021.

Beyond the device’s existence there haven’t been many leaks with details of what sort of foldable device it will be, or what specs it will have, but we know a lot of people will be curious about a Google-branded folding phone with that Pixel camera.

Read more about the Pixel foldable

The clue’s in the name really, with the Oppo X 2021 expected to launch…well, some time in 2021.

This rollable phone from Oppo was first unveiled last year and seemed to be only a concept phone, but subsequent announcements from Oppo suggest that the phone might launch as a consumer product after all – though expect it to be ruinously expensive, with both a scrolling display and new wireless air charging tech built-in.

Read the latest Oppo X 2021 news.

Samsung is yet to confirm anything official, but we have pretty good reason to expect that a more affordable ‘Fan Edition’ of the Galaxy Z Fold is set to launch some time in 2021 – only we have no idea when.

One early leak pins the phone as costing $1,099, with a Snapdragon 865 chipset – last year’s flagship – though curiously claims it will lack the 5G support that has so far been mandatory with that chip.

Others claim that the Fold FE will simply be the first-gen Fold, re-packaged at a lower price tag to reflect the older tech – that would mean the even older Snapdragon 855, but would explain how Samsung could hit a mainstream price point.

Read more Galaxy Z Fold FE rumours and news

A folding iPhone has been rumoured ever since the first foldable display tech existed pretty much, but thanks to leaks and rumours we have pretty good reason to believe Apple is at least working on a foldable iPhone – even if it’s probably years away.

Apple is rarely the first to market with new tech, though given that Samsung has already released several iterations of its folding tech there’s a risk Apple will look backwards if it doesn’t follow suit until 2023 – though if it can perfect the tech in that time it may well be worth the wait.

Check out all the foldable iPhone rumours so far.