Quite a few smartphones have already been launched this year. The current selection includes the Galaxy S6,S6 edge, edge+, Note5, LG G4, and Sony Z3+. But the second half has just begun with a tonne of announcements happening at the IFA Berlin and some more at other privately held events post that.

So while there are plenty of flagships to choose from currently, there is better and updated stuff heading your way. This selection will be massive in size, so much so, that we even have Microsoft and BlackBerry, both being strong contenders with their flagships (especially the Android-powered BlackBerry Priv).

And with such a strong selection headed your way, you might as well hold on to that flagship smartphone purchase right now and invest in something better and up to date that will arrive in the coming weeks.

So in no particular order, below are the hot flagship smartphones to look out for while going shopping this festive season:

1. iPhone 6s & iPhone 6s Plus
Expected: October 16 2015
Price: Rs 62,000 - Rs 92,000

Where do we begin? Well, the iPhone 6s has a lot going for it and we are pretty sure it is going to be a hot seller this festive season. There’s already news about people trying to smuggle the new iPhones into the country (unsuccessfully) but in a few weeks you won’t have to pay that exorbitant price tag to own this beauty. 3D Touch, improved Touch ID, better camera’s and 4K recording bring these iPhones shoulder to shoulder with their Android counterparts.

[In Depth: What’s New In Apple’s iPhone 6S And The Mighty iPad Pro]

2. Moto X Style
Expected: October 2015
Price: Rs 29,999 (16 GB), Rs 31,999 (32 GB)

Launched a few months ago in July, the Moto X Style will be Motorola’s stylish new flagship and will replace the ageing Moto Turbo in India. While the smartphone’s design has been done to death (with the Moto X, Moto X (2nd gen) and the Nexus 6) the Moto X Style has a rather interesting 21 MP camera unit slapped on to the back. Hopefully, the Moto Style will be a sign of hope for Motorola’s bad reputation when it comes to cameras.

[Further Reading: The Moto X Style Vs The OnePlus 2; Which One’s Better?]

3. Xperia Z5 Premium
Expected: November 2015
Price: Rs 59,990 (32 GB)

Whether or not 4K displays become the standard for flagships in the future, the Sony Xperia at the IFA Berlin 2015 will always be remembered for its overkill 4K display. But Sony has plenty of other tricks up its sleeve. You have better audio, rich 4K recording, a class-leading camera (that gets better results even without OIS) and a fingerprint sensor on the home button. Oh yes, and did we forget to mention that it comes in a gold finish?

[Related: Do You Need A Smartphone With A 4K Display?]

4. Huawei Nexus 6P
Expected: October 2015
Price: Rs 40,000 - Rs 43,000

The successor to the phablet-sized Nexus 6 made by Motorola, comes the Huawei-made Nexus 6P. There is plenty to be excited about as well. This happens to be the first all metal smartphone designed by Google (in collaboration with Huawei). But more importantly, is currently a better choice than the overpriced Nexus 5X (the Nexus 5 replacement). Yes you do get the now standard USB type C port and the fingerprint reader on the back, but you also get Huawei’s 12 MP sensor (with larger pixels) and Android 6.0 Marshmallow in all its vanilla goodness.

5. LG Nexus 5X
Expected: October 2015
Price: Rs 32,000 - Rs 36,000

The Nexus 5X is your pricier and updated option to the Nexus 5, which was also made by LG. It lacks, both NFC and OIS, (which will be a deal breaker for many) but it adds a fingerprint scanner and the now standard USB Type C along with a hexa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 SoC. Frankly speaking, there’s nothing much happening here.

[In Depth: Sibling Rivalry: Nexus 5 Vs Nexus 6 Vs Nexus 5X Vs Nexus 6P]

6. Huawei Mate S
Expected: Q4 2015
Price: Rs 48,000 - Rs 58,000

It’s the smartphone that introduced 3D Touch a few days before Apple did, with its iPhone 6s. Huawei however, uses 3D Touch for other practical reasons (can also be used as a weighing scale) as compared to Apple that uses 3D Touch to make user interaction quicker with new gestures. And this indeed may be crux of the Huawei Mate S, because it 3D Touch features are limited to just this one smartphone and its native apps for extra hidden functions.

7. Microsoft Lumia 950
Expected: October- November 2015
Price: Rs 35,000 (estimated)

Codenamed the ‘Talkman’, the Lumia 950 will clearly be the equivalent of the Nexus 5X for the Windows 10 faithful. Packing in a Snapdragon 808, you can expect the Lumia 950 to take up the lower end of Microsoft’s flagship, imaging segment. The phone comes with the same goodies as the Lumia 950 XL minus the larger display, front-facing flash and the Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 chipsets inside, but will be a great alternative for those looking for a do it all Windows 10 smartphone.

8. Microsoft Lumia 950 XL
Expected: October- November 2015
Price: Rs 42,000 (estimated)

The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL will be your next best choice and the best that Microsoft will have to offer in terms of showcasing Windows 10 on a mobile device. It packs in the industry’s best chipset, the hex-core Snapdragon 810 and a 20 MP PureView unit on the back along with a removable 3300 mAh battery. Looking for the best Windows 10 smartphone? Look no further.

9. BlackBerry Priv
Expected: October- November 2015
Price: Rs 45,000 (estimated)

BlackBerry’s Android-powered Priv is clearly the most exciting device that the Canadian smartphone maker has ever made. It packs in flagship hardware and for once will have all the Android apps in place (including the Play Store). All of this also comes with BlackBerry’s promise on privacy and security. And it all arrives at a time where other Android devices (including Google’s own) are failing thanks to vulnerabilities. Clearly, this will make for a great proposition for Android customers looking for something else. Oh and did we forget to mention the slide-out, capacitive QWERTY keypad?

[Related: BlackBerry CEO John Chen Shows Off Android-Powered Priv Flagship]

10. LG V10
Expected: October 2015
Price: NA

The LG V10 is indeed the first smartphone to deliver a manual video recording mode. The device packs in hardware that is similar to the LG G4, but adds a secondary display on the front for additional functions and multi-tasking. Clearly, the ability to change shutter, ISO and other settings while recording video in HD, Full HD and UHD is the highlight of this heavy device (192 gms). But LG has also worked on the design to make it durable and long lasting as well.

Tags : Top 10 Flagship Smartphones, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry OS 10, iOS