Huawei and LG will both be at the Mobile World Congress 2017. In fact, the two will be early with the launch of the Huawei P10 and LG G6, just before the main event begins on Monday next week. However, Samsung Galaxy S8 will not be here until over a month later.
With the launch of the two phones just days away, as usual, a huge chunk of information has been leaked out. First, we’ve seen quite a lot about the hardware specs, but it is not until yesterday that real images of the Huawei P10 and LG G6 emerged in form of press renders thanks to Evan Blass, a famous tipster. As for Samsung Galaxy S8, a list of all the specs appeared, but other than the many leaks and rumors that are flying around, the clearest images are yet to show up.
Last year, Samsung, Huawei, and LG had contrasting performances in the smartphone market. The Galaxy S7 and P9 were definitely received well as compared to the modular G5, but this time, LG seems to have made some huge steps ahead with the LG G6, at least if the leaked images are anything to go by. It’s totally going to be something different when compared to last year, with thinner bezels, rounded display edges and a non-removable battery as well. As for the rear-mounted dual-lens camera and fingerprint scanner, they still remain. It is also possible that the latter will double as the power button.
As for specs, the G6 will ship with a 5.7-inch QHD+ display screen with an aspect ratio of 18:9. The Always-on display should be retained as well as Gorilla Glass protection, but under the hood, you still find last year’s Snapdragon 821 SoC alongside 4GB RAM and 64GB of expandable storage. Although not the latest chipset, it is better than the initial Snapdragon 820.
There’s talk of a 3200mAh battery, but this time the back plate won’t be removable. This will be supported by Qualcomm’s Quick Charge technology via a USB-C port, but the 3.5mm headphone jack should remain. As for the cameras, the back will come with dual 13MP snappers that LG says will be able to capture 360-degree panorama photos.
The same MWC 2017 event will also give life to the Huawei P10, another highly anticipated phone from Asia, but this time it’s China. Like the LG G6, the leaked P10 comes in form of press renders and thus very clear. Furthermore, the Huawei P10 also comes with a dual-camera setup that is expected to house two 12MP lenses, just like last year. But this time, the fingerprint scanner moves from the back to the front and in its place is the company’s logo. Overall, the P10 also goes for that rounded iPhone-like shape that many flagships are coming in with.
In terms of specs, the Huawei P10 will also do an LG G6 by going for a 2016 flagship chipset – HiSilicon Kirin 960 SoC. However, this doesn’t mean that the processor is slow at all, especially now that it will be paired with at least 4GB RAM. Reports indicate that the 32GB base storage will still be retained, but there should be a 64GB option or even 128GB as well – with room for microSD card storage. The battery capacity is rumored to be 3100mAh with support for fast charging through a USB-C port.
Unlike the LG G6, the Huawei P10 will come in two variants, with the base model shipping with a 5.2-inch display screen whereas the high-end variant – Huawei P10 Plus – will come with a curved 5.5-inch AMOLED screen, similar to the Galaxy S7 Edge. The P10 has a flat screen with Full HD resolution while the P10 Plus has a QHD resolution and an edge-to-edge display. Even though the rest of the specs remain the same (although a 6GB RAM variant is expected), the fingerprint scanner of the Huawei P10 Plus is mounted on the back of the phone and as such, there is no physical button on the front panel.
If none of these two impresses you, the 2017 Samsung Galaxy S8 should be otherwise. The phone has a lot of promise and from what we have, it looks quite impressive. While there’s still no sight of the phone’s press renders for obvious reasons, we have a list of all the specs expected, again, thanks to Evan Blass.
Unlike the LG G6 and Huawei P10, Samsung Galaxy S8 will debut a brand new chipset in the form of Snapdragon 835. This is seen as the best processor of the year unless Qualcomm has plans to follow it up with a refreshed version like it happened last year with Snapdragon 820 and 821. This processor gets the same RAM as last year’s S7 as well and the two MWC 2017 offspring – 4GB. There is 64GB of internal storage that will be supported by a microSD card slot.
Like the Huawei P10 Plus, the Galaxy S8 will also come with a curved display screen and no physical button on the front. While the leaked specs sheet is specific to the larger Galaxy S8+ that will house a 6.2-inch QHD+ display screen, the S8 will come with the same specs but a slightly smaller screen of 5.8 inches. This is an inch bigger than the LG G6, three inches more than the P10 Plus and a whole 0.6 inches bigger than the standard Huawei P10.
LG has confirmed that the G6 will come with a dust and water resistant body, but whether this will be IP67 or IP68 certification is still unknown, but the latter is more likely. The story is the same for Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+, with IP68 confirmed, but the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus won’t support this feature. On the back of the Galaxy S8 will be a 12MP Dual Pixel sensor while the front will be upped from 5MP to 8MP, same as the P10 and P10 Plus.
Although not confirmed for the LG G6 and Huawei P10, it is possible that Samsung Galaxy S8 will be the only flagship launched in Q1 2017 that will support both wireless and wired fast charging technology. As for the former, a charging pad will be required, but you will also have to buy it separately. The battery capacity is not yet confirmed, but it shouldn’t be less than 3000mAh. The listing also says that Samsung will ship this year’s flagship with earphones tuned by AKG, but it cannot be confirmed whether the 3.5mm audio jack will still be on board.
Like the P10 Plus, the fingerprint scanner of the Galaxy S8 is on the back, but the latter goes an extra mile with its biometric sensors by adding an iris scanner for enhanced security. Software-wise, the trio will be powered by customized versions of Android Nougat out of the box. However, Samsung will also get extra features such as Bixby AI assistant, Samsung Pay, and Samsung Knox.
Samsung Galaxy S8+ spec sheet. Impress your friends, confound your enemies…with knowledge. pic.twitter.com/lHrHge8BUa
— Evan Blass (@evleaks) February 22, 2017
There have been rumors that LG G6 will come with the Google Assistant on board or maybe receive it as a software update at some point in the near future. The story has also been the same with Huawei Mate 9 as far as Amazon Alexa is concerned, but recently, it emerged that Huawei has its own plans for building an AI assistant, which basically means that there is possibly no Alexa for the P10 and P10 Plus.
As noted earlier, the LG G6 and Huawei P10 will be launched in a few days’ time, with the former set to start selling on March 10, but details of the latter’s availability are still unknown. In fact, the P series has never made it to the U.S. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ will be launched on March 29 and start selling about three weeks later.
So, will you opt for any of the flagships – LG G6 and Huawei P10 and P10 Plus – coming at the MWC 2017 or wait for over a month until Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ are available for purchase? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.