Smartphones coming in Sept 2023: iPhone 15 series, Galaxy S23 FE and more

The Moto G84 5G has been confirmed to launch in India on September 1, 2023, through Flipkart. While the smartphone renders were leaked a few days back, Motorola unveiled the device a day later via a microsite. It also confirmed that the device will come in three shades, including Motorola’s signature Viva Magenta colour.

The leaked specifications for the smartphone include a 6.55″ FHD+ pOLED 10bit display with 120Hz Refresh Rate and 1300 nits peak brightness, Snapdragon 695 chipset, 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant, Android 13 out of the box and a 5000mAh battery with 30W wired charging. It will also have dual stereo speakers with Dolby Atmos and Moto spatial audio, a 3.5mm audio jack, a 50MP primary plus 8MP ultra-wide rear camera setup, and an IP54 rated build. It will further have 14 5G bands.

After seeing the success of the Galaxy S23 series, Samsung is planning on bringing an FE model of the Galaxy S23, whose leaks already started coming in a while ago. The leaks included the renders of the Galaxy S23 FE as well as its specifications.

As for the latter, the leak came from Yogesh Brar on X, as per which the handset will likely include a 6.4-inch FHD+ Dynamic 120Hz AMOLED panel. The S23 FE may also feature a 50MP main sensor on the back, similar to the Galaxy S23 series, an 8MP ultra-wide sensor, and a 12MP telephoto sensor. The device is expected to draw power from an Exynos 2200 Chipset in most regions, while the US could get a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 version.

Apart from this, it will run on One UI 5.1.1, sport a 10MP selfie camera, a 4500mAh battery with 25W wired charging, and wireless charging support. It will also have an IP rating and could receive up to 4 years of major software upgrades. While there’s no concrete launch date, this is one of the smartphones that is said to debut sometime in September 2023.

Apple is rumoured to host an event on September 12, 2023 where the brand is expected to debut its iPhone 15 series smartphones. The 2023 lineup of iPhones could include iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Ultra. The Ultra model could be replacing the Pro Max moniker for the top-end model in the series.

Some recent render leaks from 9to5Mac suggest that Apple could be replacing the gold variant of the iPhone 15 Pro and Ultra with a new Gray colour that may be dubbed as ‘Titan Gray’. The Deep purple shade that was introduced with iPhone 14 Pro models will now be replaced in favour of a new Dark Blue finish, once again only for the Pro and Ultra devices.

As for the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus, Apple is expected to offer five shades, including black, green, blue, yellow, and pink. One of the other major changes Apple will make in design is that it will retire the stainless steel frame it has used for the past few years for the Pro models. Instead of Stainless steel, the frame will be made of titanium, which should make the iPhones lighter in terms of weight and would also have a matte finish for the sides instead of the glossy frame we have seen on iPhone 13 Pro and 14 Pro series.

Another replacement said to take place is that of the mute switch, which may be replaced by a new Action Button. The action button was first seen on the Apple Watch Ultra and now on the iPhone 15 Ultra, it could serve multiple purposes. In other words, Apple could allow the user to remap the function of the Action Button to use it for various other features in the phone.

Apart from this, the iPhone 15 series is said to adopt the USB-C standard for charging and give up on its lightning port, thanks to the EU mandate. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will have USB 2.0 capable ports, meaning they will be limited to 480Mbps data transfer speeds, same as the current Lightning port. Moreover, they could have charging speeds capped to 20 watts. Some recent leaks have also suggested that all the models may get braided USB-C cables that could be colour-matched with the shade of the model the user purchases.

As for the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, these are expected to get a high-speed USB-C ports, which could either be USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 (20Gbps) or Thunderbolt 3 (40Gbps). It would also sport faster charging up to 35 watts. Another change expected to be a part of the lineup include bigger batteries for all the models. The iPhone 15 is said to have a 3,877 mAh battery, the iPhone 15 Plus could get 4,912 mAh, the iPhone 15 Pro may have 3,650 mAh, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max (or Ultra) could have 4,852 mAh.

Next, the base storage for the Pro models could go up to 256GB (from 128GB in iPhone 14 Pro models) while the non-Pro models may get 128GB as base storage (up from 64GB in their predecessors). Then, the non-Pro models should get the Dynamic Island that was introduced on the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max. However, their refresh rates could still be capped to 60Hz which is a bummer. Talking further about the display, the iPhone 15 series could have a front design with the slimmest bezels ever seen in a smartphone.

Another major change that would be introduced in the top-end iPhone 15 Ultra would be the addition of the periscope lens. It should help users to capture portraits with even better background blur and sharper foreground. It also helps the user zoom in further away without compromising much on quality compared to a telephoto lens. The Pro model could keep the telephoto lens, not the new periscope sensor.

The Pro and Ultra models could be powered by Apple’s new and upcoming A17 Bionic chip, while the non-Pro models may get the A16 chip from last year’s Pro models, considering the trend Apple followed last year. Lastly, they will run on iOS 17 out of the box, whose beta has been running for a couple of months now for the older models.

Honor is also set to re-enter the smartphone market in India in September 2023. The company is led by Madhav Sheth, the former Vice President of Realme India and Europe. The device is said to debut sometime during the first week of September, while it should be priced around Rs 35,000 as we reported earlier.

The device has already launched globally, and if the specs of the global variant are anything to go by, the Honor 90 will be a tough competitor in its segment. It sports a 6.7-inch 1.5K Resolution (1,200 x 2,664 pixels) quad-curved OLED display with a refresh rate of 120Hz, up to 1,600 nits peak brightness, and 3,840Hz pulse-width modulation (PWM) dimming. The phone is powered by a Snapdragon 7 Gen 1 chipset, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

Honor 90 has a triple rear camera setup, including a 200-megapixel primary camera, plus a 12-megapixel ultra-wide and macro camera and a 2-megapixel depth camera. There is a 50-megapixel front-facing camera for selfies and video calls.

The device is backed by a 5000mAh battery with 66W Fast charging support. It runs on MagicUI 7.1, based on Android 13. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth v5.2, NFC, GPS, 5G, and a USB-C port. The device also has an in-display fingerprint sensor for biometrics.

One of the smartphones from OnePlus could arrive in September 2023, and it could be the brand’s first foldable, OnePlus Open. The device was earlier rumoured to launch on August 29, but a post on X ( formerly twitter) from Max Jambor claimed that the launch has been pushed back. While there’s no information on how bad the delay is, the launch is expected to occur sometime next month.

The OnePlus Open renders have already leaked in the past, showing a passport-like form factor. A leak suggested that it may launch at a price point under Rs 1.2 lakhs in India. As for the specs, the device is supposed to be powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 and will backed by a 4,800mAh battery with support for 67W fast charging per leaks.

The device will run on OxygenOS 13.1 based on Android 13. As for the optics, the V Fold will comprise a 48MP main camera, a 48MP ultra-wide-angle lens, and a 64MP telephoto unit. The cover display will incorporate a 32MP camera for selfies, whereas the interior screen will feature a 20MP shooter.

Launched in Taiwan back in July, the new budget offering from Realme is set to launch in India on September 4. Considering the Indian model will sport the same specs as the Taiwanese version, it should feature a 6.7-inch HD (720 x1,600) display with a 90Hz refresh rate, 180Hz touch sampling rate and 560nits of peak brightness.

Under the hood, the smartphone should be equipped with an octa-core Unisoc T612 SoC paired with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of inbuilt storage. The Realme C51 comes preloaded with Android 13 out-of-the-box. For optics, it will get a dual rear camera setup including a 50-megapixel f/1.8 primary shooter and an unspecified secondary sensor. The phone also houses an 8-megapixel selfie camera with an F/2.0 Aperture on the front.

It is backed by a 5,000mAh battery with support for 33W SuperVOOC fast charging. Other highlights of the phone include a 3.5mm Headphone jack, a side-mounted fingerprint scanner 4G LTE, GPS, Bluetooth and a USB-C port.