As if last year wasn’t good enough, 2016 is already lining up to be a great year for the smartphone. In the coming twelve months, we can expect to see some massive improvements from all the major players. These improvements will come not only in the form of the technical attributes, but regarding design as well. So let’s have a look back at some of the best phones of last year. And while we’re at it, let’s look forward to the year ahead. So what’s in store this time for smartphone lovers?
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Samsung Galaxy S6
Samsung is the second most popular smartphone brand out there (after Apple, of course). It’s certainly easy to see why. The Samsung Galaxy S6 is without a doubt the best Android phone of 2015. With more or less the fastest processing speed around, you get your money’s worth. What’s more, the design of the S6 is one of the sleekest ever to grace our pockets. The screen is beautiful, and just the right size for any user – a rare thing indeed. However, at a whopping £599 recommended price, it is easily one of the priciest phones of the last year – and of all time.
Marshall London
Lesser known but still a viable contender is this little beauty. It is considerably cheaper than its Samsung counterpart, and that proves to be a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it is a fast and perfectly capable little phone that would function more than well enough for anyone. On the other, the specs aren’t the top-of-the-range that you pay for with other brands. None of this matters too much, however, because with the Marshall what you pay for is sheer style. Simply put, this is one of the coolest smartphones around. Its main selling point, however, is its functionality when it comes to audio. The sound quality on this phone is, hands down, the best around. If you’re lucky enough to own it, and you’re wondering what headphones could do it justice, take a look at this Bose soundtrue ultra review. The perfect partnership.
Windows Phone 8.1/10
No review of smartphones would be complete without at least mentioning the latest Windows phone. The Windows Phone 8.1 is most definitely a nifty little bit of kit. It has lots of nice attractive features which a lot of people seem to love. Cortana, for example – the Windows equivalent to Siri – has gone from strength to strength. Nowadays, it is a well designed virtual assistant, the likes of which science fiction has dreamed of for years. Windows are the third most popular choice for the smartphone, so they must be doing something right. However, the 8.1 does seem to be a little lacking. Here we have a perfectly passable phone, but nothing incredible. The upcoming Windows 10 phone, however, does look set to impress smartphone lovers everywhere. The Windows 10 will come with the long-awaited Continuum feature. This will make it a simple task to use the phone on a large display. Rumour has it that the user will even be able to control it like a personal computer, using a mouse and keyboard. It looks like the Windows 10 is going to be more than just a phone.
Apple iPhone 7
The iPhone 7 is going to be Apple’s big release of 2016 – and, as ever, there is a lot of excitement surrounding it. The iPhone 7 will, of course, be extremely popular regardless of how it turns out. It is already set to be the best-selling phone of all time. But what do we have to look forward to when it comes to Apple’s latest smartphone venture? Rumour has it that the new iPhone will boast waterproof protection and an unprecedented design upgrade. However, many features are expected to remain the same for this incarnation. The phone’s camera, for example, is unlikely to be improved this time around. This means no noticeable difference in picture quality. However, the screen itself is expected to improve in quality, so that’s something. It is very likely, of course, that the screen will grow slightly larger. And the chances look favourable that the whole piece will be slightly thinner than the last model – as is Apple tradition. What about the price? For the last two models, Apple has kept the prices fairly level. If they continue to do this, then the iPhone 7 could go on the market at anywhere between £500-£700. This is unlikely to be the finest smartphone of all time, but it will probably put up a decent fight against its rivals.
