Smartphones launching next week: OnePlus 9 series, Realme 8 series, POCO X3 Pro, and more

Published On: March 20, 2021

Highlights

Next week will start off with the POCO X3 Pro launch on March 22nd
The OnePlus 9 series global launch is on March 23rd
The Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro will launch in India on March 24th

March has been an exciting month for smartphone launches globally and in India, with the highly-anticipated Redmi Note 10 series being unveiled as well as several other mid-range heavyweights such as the Samsung Galaxy A52, Galaxy A72, and Vivo S9. Then there were the flagship-tier ASUS ROG Phone 5 and Realme GT. We’re halfway through the month and the best is yet to come. The next week is going to be jam-packed with high-profile launches, such as the POCO X3 Pro, OnePlus 9 series, and Realme 8 series of smartphones. The Moto G100 and Vivo X60 series will be unveiled too. Let’s take a look at what each phone has in store for us.

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Table of Contents

POCO X3 Pro launch date: March 22nd

POCO X3 Pro will make its global debut on March 22nd before coming to India on March 30th. The smartphone is expected to come with high-end specifications but with an affordable price tag. In fact, the POCO X3 Pro price in India is expected to be around Rs 21,000, much like the POCO F1. The smartphone is rumoured to feature the unannounced Snapdragon 860 chipset, a 120Hz display, up to 8GB RAM, and a 5,200mAh battery. It will be more powerful than the POCO X3 that launched in India under Rs 20,000 last year.

OnePlus 9 series launch date: March 23rd

The OnePlus 9 series will consist of three devices; the OnePlus 9 Pro, OnePlus 9, and OnePlus 9R. As its name suggests, the OnePlus 9 Pro will be the top-specced variant, which is set to feature a 6.7-inch QHD+ LTPO display with a 120Hz refresh rate, 1300 nits brightness, and HDR10+ support. It will be powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 chipset, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The regular OnePlus 9 is tipped to come with a 6.55-inch FHD+ screen with a 120Hz refresh rate.

Both OnePlus 9 phones will come with Hasselblad-branded cameras. The company has confirmed a 50MP primary sensor and a 50MP wide-angle lens for the OnePlus 9 Pro. We can expect the OnePlus 9 to feature a scaled-down version of that camera configuration. Both phones are also expected to come with a 65W fast charging solution. The Pro variant will also support 50W wireless charging. Very little is known about the OnePlus 9R at this point. The phone will come with 5G connectivity at an affordable price point.

Realme 8 series launch date: March 24th

Much like its predecessor, the Realme 8 series will come in two versions; the Realme 8 and Realme 8 Pro. The Realme 8 Pro will allegedly come in 4G and 5G variants. The former is expected to run a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G SoC, while the latter could substitute that with a Snapdragon 750G. The Realme 8 Pro is expected to run a 6.4-inch FHD+ AMOLED panel clocked at 90Hz. Memory and storage configurations are likely to max out at 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The smartphone is also tipped to feature a 4,500mAh battery that will support 50W fast charging. The Realme 8 Pro is confirmed to feature a 108MP primary camera, while the standard Realme 8 is expected to downgrade that to a 64MP sensor. The remaining camera sensors will likely include an ultra-wide-angle lens, depth sensor and macro lens.

Vivo X60 series launch date: March 25th

Vivo plans to launch the Vivo X60, Vivo X60 Pro, and Vivo X60 Pro+ phones in India next week. Starting with the Vivo X60 Pro+, we get a 6.56-inch FHD+ HDR10+ ready AMOLED screen with a refresh rate of 120Hz refresh rate. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 888 SoC coupled with up to 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. Its quad-camera array will consist of a 50MP main sensor, a 48MP wide-angle lens, a 32MP portrait lens, and an 8MP periscope lens that supports 60x Super Zoom. Selfies and video calls will be handled by a 32MP module. Lastly, it draws power from a 4,200mAh battery with 55W flash charging support.

The Vivo X60 Pro uses a slightly downgraded camera layout which includes a 48MP Sony IMX598 primary sensor, an 8MP periscope telephoto lens with 5x optical zoom and a 60x digital zoom, 13MP ultra-wide lens, and a 13MP portrait lens. The Vivo X60 has an identical setup, minus the periscope telephoto lens. Both phones use the same 32MP selfie module used by the Pro+ variant. Unlike their Chinese siblings, the Vivo X60 Pro and Vivo X60 will run a Qualcomm Snapdragon 870 chipset, coupled with up to 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage. The battery capacity is identical across all device, but the charging speed is cut down to 33W.

Moto G100 launch date: March 25th

The Moto G100 is all set to arrive as a global Motorola Edge S refresh. It is powered by a Snapdragon 870 chipset coupled with up to 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. The Moto G100 will run a 6.7-inch FHD+ IPS LCD panel with a refresh rate of 90Hz. HDR10 support is likely too. The screen is interrupted by a pill-shaped cutout for the phone’s dual-selfie cameras. Its 5,000mAh battery supports fast charging at 20W.

At the back of the Moto G100, we get four rear cameras modules, with a 64-megapixel primary sensor, a 16MP ultra-wide camera, a 2MP depth unit, and a 2MP depth sensor. Its dual selfie camera configuration will consist of one 16MP lens and an 8MP wide-angle lens. There are a side-mounted fingerprint scanner and a dedicated Google Assistant button, too.