We are less than a month away from the new year, and many of the smartphones that debuted this fall easily made CNET’s list …
We are less than a month away from the new year, and many of the smartphones that debuted this fall easily made CNET’s list of best smartphones.2021 brought the Google Pixel 6 and Apple iPhone 13 (here’s how the four new iPhone models compare), but we are excited to see what 2022 has in store in terms of smartphone launches. There’s already plenty to look forward to in 2022 — including new budget-friendly phones from Samsung and Apple that may launch in the first half of the year. A giant new version of the standard iPhone and a Samsung phone that could feel like a real successor to the Galaxy Note are also reportedly in the pipeline for later in the year. Here’s a look at the smartphones we’re looking forward to most in 2022 based on rumors and reports that have surfaced so far. Apple refreshed its $400 budget iPhone for the first time in four years in 2020, but it looks like we won’t have to wait that long for the third-generation model. The iPhone SE 3 could launch in the first half of 2022, according to a note from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo that MacRumors reported. It’s expected to get 5G support and a boost in performance, thanks to the addition of Apple’s A15 Bionic chip, the same processor that powers the iPhone 13, according to Nikkei Asian Review. The current iPhone SE, by comparison, runs on Apple’s older A13 Bionic processor from the iPhone 11. The next-generation iPhone SE might also be the first to get Face ID, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter. The 2020 iPhone SE and 2016 version both have Touch ID since they still have the physical home button. But reports are conflicted over whether the next iPhone SE will get a makeover or retain its retro look. Kuo says it will likely have a similar design that’s the same size as the current model, according to MacRumors, while the Chinese tech site MyDrivers suggests it will look more like the iPhone XR. The second-generation iPhone SE stands out for its balance of great performance, affordability and portability. Based on the reports that have circulated so far, it sounds like Apple plans to expand on that by giving the iPhone SE some more modern features while hopefully retaining the qualities that have made it so appealing in the first place. The iPhone 13 is just a few months old, but that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to start talking about the iPhone 14. The biggest upgrades we’re expecting to see from next year’s flagship iPhone come down to the camera, design and screen size options. But it’s the reported iPhone 14 Max that I’m most excited about, which is said to be a super-size version of Apple’s standard next-gen iPhone. Apple will ditch the iPhone Mini and instead add another 6.7-inch iPhone to the mix next year, according to Nikkei Asian Review. That means the iPhone 14 lineup may consist of two 6.1-inch models (the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Pro), and two 6.
