Don't buy a new flagship smartphone right now - here's why

The month of August has traditionally been one of the slowest of the year in terms of new smartphone releases (and, really, for tech news in general). Part of the reason is that many of us are trying to enjoy our nearly ending summers and get in some vacation time before the kids have to go back to school and/or college.

So with nothing new immediately coming out, you might be tempted to purchase a new flagship phone right about now. Here’s some friendly advice: Don’t do it.

Big price cuts are on their way

So far in 2017, we have seen a ton of impressive flagship phones hit the market, including the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus, the LG G6, the HTC U11, the Motorola Moto Z2 Force, the OnePlus 5 and many more — but the year isn’t over.

As you might already know, IFA is almost here, and around this time we see plenty of new handsets  prepare to hit the scene. Okay, but what if you don’t want one of those shiny new late-2017 flagships? You should still wait until they are announced (or, better yet, released).

While we have seen some temporary, and even permanent, price cuts on many of 2016 and 2017’s flagships already, this trend will heat up even further as the new fall flagships arrive. That means if you are in love with a late-2016 or early-2017 model, waiting just a bit longer could allow you to pick it up at a significant discount. This includes used phones, which tend to see pretty big drops in pricing after the next generation of devices are announced.

So if you like a current flagship, do yourself a favor and wait just a few more months. Your wallet will appreciate it.

The new phones are on their way very soon, like tomorrow even

Another reason why you shouldn’t buy a phone now is that more options are coming soon.  If you want to get your hands on the latest and greatest flagship phones, we would definitely advise you to wait. Over the next couple of months, we will see a ton of new phones launch from nearly every major phone maker, and even a couple of newcomers.

In fact, the announcements may start as early as this week. HMD Global is expected to hold a press event in London on August 16 where it will reportedly reveal its latest Nokia branded smartphone, the Nokia 8. Rumors and leaks about the Nokia 8 claim it will have specs like the current processor speed leader, the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, inside, along with ZEISS-branded dual-camera on the back.

Next week, Samsung is expected to officially announce the Galaxy Note 8, its latest large screen phone, at a press event in New York City on August 23. It’s expected to have an 6.4-inch Infinity Display and an embedded S Pen stylus, which has become the trademark of the Note series. The Note 8 is expected to go on sale sometime late in August or in September.

We may also get some details about the launch date of the new Essential Phone this week or next week. The nearly bezel-free phone comes from a new company, Essential, that was founded by Android co-creator Andy Rubin. While a number of the company’s major executives have already departed before the phone’s launch, the handset does seem to have some solid hardware specs. We will have to see if it will compete with the established flagships that are already on the market, or will be launched later.

At the end of August, our eyes will turn over to Berlin for the start of the 2017 IFA trade show. LG has already confirmed it will officially announced a new phone, the V30, at a press event on August 30. The V30 is rumored to share the same 18:9 aspect ratio for its display that was included in the current G6 phone, with a 6-inch main screen combined with a new software “floating bar” that will take the place of the V20’s secondary display. The V30 is expected to go on sale in mid-to-late September.

Let’s not forget Google in this mix. The company behind Android is planning to launch successors to its Pixel family of smartphones later this fall. Rumors claim that the smaller Pixel 2 will be made by HTC(who made both the first Pixel and Pixel XL phones in 2016) while LG will create the larger Pixel 2 XL.The two phones may likely be the first two to have Android 8.0, also known for now as Android O, out of the box. We can expect to see both phones go on sale sometime in October.

While they are not Android phones, we can’t ignore the fact that Apple is almost certainly going to launch new models of its popular iPhone later this fall. In addition to iPhone 7s and iPhone 7S Plus, Apple is highly expected to launch the iPhone 8, which is rumored to have an all new nearly bezel-free display along with other high-end features.

Believe it or not, that’s just a sample of the new flagship phones that might be on our way in the next couple of months. We could also see new high-end and mid-ranges phones coming from Motorola, Sony, HUAWEI, and others, and there may be one or two surprises that we don’t know anything about yet.

Conclusion

Hopefully, this will help convince you that buying a new high-end phone right now is not the best idea. We will see a a ton of new devices coming on the market soon, and the current phones will see big price drops. Android Authority will be here to cover all of these new launches and provide you with the best information so you can pick the phone that’s right for your needs, and your budget.

In the meantime, which upcoming smartphone are you most looking forward to checking out? Let us know what you think in the comments!