{"id":1036952,"date":"2026-09-01T13:46:20","date_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1036952\/"},"modified":"2026-09-01T13:46:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T13:46:20","slug":"get-ready-for-a-really-busy-month-of-smartphones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1036952\/","title":{"rendered":"Get ready for a really busy month of smartphones"},"content":{"rendered":"

We\u2019re not even half a day into September, and two new smartphones have already launched: the Poco F9 Pro and F9 Ultra<\/a>. We\u2019re expecting more this week, as the IFA trade show<\/a> kicks off in Berlin, before we get new iPhones a week after that. And that\u2019s only the beginning of what promises to be an exceptionally busy month for smartphone launches.<\/p>\n

For the decade I\u2019ve worked in the industry, tech journalists have always spoken in hushed tones about the dreaded \u201cTechtember,\u201d when just about every tech company on the planet seems to be in unspoken agreement that it\u2019s time to launch new products in time for the holiday buying season. (It\u2019s followed, in particularly packed years, by Techtober too). In the last few years the pressure has lessened a little, the release calendar stretching out into neighboring months. But in 2026 Techtember is back with a vengeance, especially when it comes to phones.<\/p>\n

It always starts with IFA. Europe\u2019s biggest tech trade show attracts over 200,000 visitors and global manufacturers from across tech. IFA doesn\u2019t have as many phone launches as it did a decade ago, when the likes of Sony, Samsung, and LG would routinely launch flagships at the show, but there\u2019s still plenty on the way this week.<\/p>\n

Tecno has teased a bezelless concept phone<\/a>, which it says it\u2019ll be bringing to the show. TCL usually brings an array of E Ink-esque Nxtpaper phones to show, so I\u2019d hope to see some at its press conference. There\u2019s even an outside chance of a whole new foldable: Xiaomi is attending IFA for the first time ever, just a week after it teased the upcoming Xiaomi 18 Fold and promised the phone a launch in early September<\/a>. Its September 3rd press conference would certainly make sense for that.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s Apple. The company won\u2019t be at IFA, but it has already announced a September 9th event<\/a>, where we expect it to launch new iPhones. Rumor has it that it\u2019s splitting its launch up in an act of solidarity with overworked phone reviewers (I wish), delaying the regular iPhone 18<\/a> to next spring and sticking to the Pros this month. Still, the long-awaited arrival of the first foldable iPhone<\/a> should be enough to keep us busy.<\/p>\n

But that\u2019s far from all that\u2019s coming. Android Headlines<\/a> reckons at least 20 phones will launch this month, and that might be a conservative estimate.<\/p>\n

Huawei will launch its latest trifold<\/a>, the Mate XT 2, in China on September 7th, and perhaps the Mate 90 lineup too. Xiaomi will follow up the 18 Fold with the 18 Pro lineup later in the month. Vivo has confirmed<\/a> its flagship X500 series will also arrive in September, and Honor has done the same<\/a> for its Magic 9 flagships. Oppo\u2019s Find X10 line has been heavily tipped to arrive in September too, though thankfully some suggest<\/a> it might slip to the following month. Even OnePlus is expected to get in on the action: its OnePlus 16 rumored<\/a> to release in September too \u2014 though not in the US or Europe<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Why the sudden glut? I blame Qualcomm. It used to launch its flagship Snapdragon chips in December, but that launch date has steadily moved forward, in part to give manufacturers time to ship new products ahead of lucrative holiday sales seasons, both in China and abroad. So this year it\u2019s holding its annual Snapdragon Summit<\/a> from September 22nd to 24th, when it\u2019s likely to reveal the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6. Promptly after that, we can expect a rush of Android manufacturers announcing phones powered by the new silicon.<\/p>\n

With RAMageddon<\/a> in full swing, the jury\u2019s still out on how appealing these launches will be. Outside of Samsung\u2019s fun Galaxy Z Fold 8<\/a>, a lot of this year\u2019s biggest phones have been rehashes of 2025 models with a price hike and a chipset bump \u2014 and occasionally not even that<\/a>. At least we\u2019ll have more foldables to be excited about, and hopefully a couple of manufacturers have another surprise or two in store.<\/p>\n

A month chock-full of phones, that I can do. But if we\u2019re about to get a Techtember full of iterative updates that cost more, without delivering anything special? Wake me up when it\u2019s Techtober.<\/p>\n

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