If you’re into phones and crazy tech, July will be just right for you. Not only will July mark the launch of some much awaited devices like the Xiaomi Mi A2, it will also set the stage for the future in two of the most futuristic devices the world of tech has ever seen, the Oppo Find X and the Vivo Nex S. Not to forget, if you’re someone banking on nostalgia, BlackBerry will have something to say as well, in the QWERTY-backed KEY2. Asus is meanwhile all set to launch its own take on the OnePlus 6, in the ZenFone 5Z.

There will be many more launches of course, but, here are the top 5 that we’ve handpicked for you that should keep you excited. Also, here’s a word of advice: if you’ve been saving on buying a new phone, you might as well wait some more, just in case you’re not missing out on these cool phones.

ASUS ZENFONE 5Z: JULY 4

The Asus ZenFone 5Z is virtually identical to the iPhone X. Only it runs Android. The phone is carved out of glass and metal, and boasts of an impressive screen-to-body ratio of 90 per cent that’s 6-7 per cent higher than Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ phones. The phone is almost border-less, barring a notch up-top and a chin portion at the bottom. Asus says its notch is smaller than Apple’s.

It has a 6.2-inch 1080p+ screen inside a 5.5-inch form-factor. And an unusual 19:9 aspect ratio that can be toned down — to 18:9 and 16:9 — via settings for specific apps to make best use of apps that don’t support it for now. The panel is LCD.

The ZenFone 5Z is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor with up to 8GB of RAM and up to 256GB of internal storage. It is backed by a 3,300mAh battery with support for fast charging — but sadly no wireless charging — and charges over Type-C. There are stereo speakers on-board, and the phone supports High-Resolution audio via compatible wired and wireless headphones.

The ZenFone 5Z comes with a dual camera system consisting of a primary 12-megapixel sensor — a Sony IMX363 — with large 1.4um pixels, and large f/1.8 aperture, with dual-pixel phase detection autofocus, four-axis optical image stabilisation, and electronic image stabilisation for videos. The secondary camera, meanwhile, consists of an 8-megapixel wide-angle sensor that assists in portrait photography or photos with shallow depth of field. On the front, the phone comes with an 8-megapixel camera with f/2.0 aperture.

OPPO FIND X: JULY 12

The Find X is a phone straight out of the future. It is an all screen and no bezel phone. Or at least, the closest that it can get to realising this dream in the current scenario. The Find X achieves this by taking forward things that Vivo started with its recently launched X21, and adding all sorts of crazy to it, down to the T. The Find X, to begin with, has a whopping 93.8 per cent screen-to-body ratio.

And how does it go about achieving such a ridiculous amount of screen real estate? Well, for one, it does not have a notch nor a prominent chin. The Find X, as crazy as it is, features an all-glass front and back. A completely clean front and back. There are no physical buttons. Or cameras. That’s right, the Find X does not ship with conventional cameras. Instead it features a motorised system that pops out every time you need the cameras, or face unlock. The system is similar to the pop-out system found on the Vivo Nex only in the case of the Find X, it involves both the front and rear cameras that sit nestled inside the glass sandwich and pop out only when you want them to.

It is missing out on a trick or two though. The Find X does not have a fingerprint scanner and instead supports only 3D facial recognition. It does not have a 3.5mm headphone jack as well.

Rest of its spec-sheet is pretty high-end. The Find X comes with a 6.4-inch 1080p+ display and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 processor under the hood. It comes with up to 8GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. The dual-SIM phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based Colour OS and is backed by a 3,730 mAh battery with support for VOOC fast charging. The phone sports a dual camera system on the rear consisting of one 16MP camera and another 20MP shooter. On the front, the Find X comes with a 25MP camera.

VIVO NEX S: JULY 19

The Nex S is a phone with no bezels, no notch and a pop-up selfie camera. The USP of the Nex phone is its futuristic design. The Nex has an all-glass front (and back), and an over 90 per cent of screen-to-body ratio. This is because the Nex does not ship with a notch. There’s a small chin at the bottom but overall, the Nex is the most bezel-less phone in the market right now, bested by only the Oppo Find X. It is, in fact, the commercial variant of the concept Apex phone that Vivo had showcased at MWC 2018.
The Nex does now have a forehead, and as such, the earpiece and sensors are placed underneath the display. It comes with a rather unconventional pop-out selfie camera that’s built out of mechanical parts.

Elsewhere the Nex — the Nex S — sports a third-generation in-display fingerprint scanner that’s said to be faster and more accurate than the one we saw on the recently launched Vivo X21. The regular Nex A ships with a conventional rear-mounted fingerprint scanner.

Hardware specs include: 6.59-inch 1080p+ AMOLED display, dual rear camera system consisting of one 12-megapixel sensor and another 5-megapixel sensor for depth sensing. The Nex further comes with an 8-megapixel front camera. The phone runs Android 8.1 Oreo-based Fun Touch OS and is backed by a 4,000mAh battery.

BLACKBERRY KEY2: ETA: END OF JULY-EARLY AUGUST

Now, if the original KEYone wowed you with its one-of-a-kind nostalgic physical QWERTY and BlackBerry’s push for a safe and secure software ecosystem, the KEY2 will literally blow your minds with everything that’s in store.

The BlackBerry KEY2 looks exactly like the KEYone, although a few changes that have been brought in, this year, should help improve ergonomics and hand-hold feel. This includes a more compact chassis and a re-positioned convenience key, that’s now located on the right along with the power and volume rocker.

The USP of the KEY2, still remains to be, its full-scale physical QWERTY that lies in continuation with the touch screen. The QWERTY still supports touch-gestures like scrolling and Flick Typing for predictive texting, as also 52 app shortcuts via short and long press. The space bar still doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Only this time, the keys are up to 20 per cent larger so they should feel less cramped than the ones on-board the KEYone. BlackBerry is also introducing a new Speed Key that lets you use custom shortcuts from anywhere on the screen. On the KEYone, you could use them only from the home screen.

Elsewhere, the BlackBerry KEY2 comes with a 4.5-inch 1080p IPS LCD screen with an unusual aspect ratio of 3:2. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 660 processor with 6GB RAM. The phone comes with up t 128GB of internal storage which is further expandable by up to 256GB via a micro-SD card slot. The phone is backed by a 3,500mAh battery with support for Quick Charge 3.0 over USB Type-C.

The KEY2 runs Android 8.1 Oreo out-of-the-box with BlackBerry’s usual suite of security and productivity applications: meaning that it’s also being pitched as the most secure Android smartphone in the world. The phone has “device security built in from the start,” according to the company, with tools like hardware root of trust and a secure bootloader, quite literally encrypting the phone to the T.

Moving on, the KEY2 comes with a dual rear camera system consisting of one 12-megapixel camera (f/1.8 aperture) and a secondary 12-megapixel camera (f/2.6 aperture) for depth sensing and up to 2X optical zoom. There’s a dual tone LED flash and support for 4K video recording. On the front, the KEY2 comes with an 8-megapixel camera.

XIAOMI MI A2: END OF JULY-EARLY AUGUST

Xiaomi is gearing for a global product launch, and while it doesn’t say what’s in store, speculations are rife that the Mi A2 may soon be a reality. The company has now announced a new Mi Explorer program that will let select Mi fans travel to the global launch event for no cost, as well as gain exclusive access to the product, possibly the Mi A2. These Mi fans will possibly be the first to experience the device, that’s set to launch anywhere between July 23 and Jul 26.

Since the Mi India social media handle has been at work here as well, it is obvious that it will have implications for the Indian market, and that it’s hinting at a global launch, there’s a very high possibility that the Mi A2 may just be in the offing. The Mi A1, to recall, was globally launched in India last year in September. Only this time, Xiaomi is switching places. This global unveiling will happen in Spain, which isn’t surprising since Europe seems to be Xiaomi’s next frontier after having successfully captured the Indian market.

It must be noted though that the Mi A1 isn’t the only Xiaomi product that has been globally announced outside of China. There have been more, including the hard to get Redmi Note 5 Pro. But since the company just launched the Redmi Note 5 Pro, a Redmi Note 6 Pro, so early in the life-cycle is a little hard to fathom. Although, it can’t be negated altogether as well. Or, Xiaomi may launch something else entirely, you may never know. But it takes no genius to ascertain that most people would be vouching for the Mi A2, especially after the super popular phone that was the Mi A1.

And Xiaomi already has the Mi 6X live and kicking in China and since the Mi 5X became the Mi A1 for the Indian market, it is anticipated that Xiaomi already has the necessary hardware ready. All it needs to now is to outfit it with Android One software, and we’ll be good to go.