Sony Xperia XZ1 vs LG V30 vs Samsung Galaxy Note 8 vs Galaxy S8 Plus: Android flagship season is upon us

The beginning of this year was fairly quiet as far as flagship phone launches go, but the tail end of the year is more than making up for it. Stunning new Android flagships are set to hit the market soon, and with Apple’s new iPhones **right around the corner** , the market for your monies is heating up. [caption id=“attachment_3996695” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The latest flagships from LG and Sony slug it out with the best that Samsung has to offer[/caption] IFA 2017 has seen the launch of at least two new flagship smartphones so far, the **LG V30** and the **Sony Xperia XZ1** . The V30 features a 6-inch screen with a near bezel-less design and a dual-camera setup on the rear. Its USP is the f/1.6 aperture wide-angle lens on the rear, which is claimed to be the widest aperture yet seen on a smartphone camera. That aperture means that the camera lets in about 10-15 percent more light than the competition, leading to images that will be that much cleaner and brighter. The phone also includes 15 preset cinematic modes for “cinematic” video capture. The phone will launch in South Korea on 21 September, a global launch will soon follow. Sony announced the XZ1 at the event as well. The full specifications of the phone you can find below, but the real star is the new 19 MP Exmor RS stacked sensor that can capture video footage at a staggering 960 fps. A compact version of the device bearing the same specifications, including the tiny 2,700 mAh battery, with a 4.6-inch display was also announced. Just before IFA, Samsung unveiled its own mid-year flagship, the **Galaxy Note 8** . How do these new phones stack against the **reigning Android king** , the Samsung Galaxy S8+? Let’s find out:

As can be seen from the list, the two Samsung’s are certainly the most feature rich of the options out there. The **Note 8** in particular is notable for the features it offers, including an HDR-compliant OLED display and S-Pen support. In this exalted company, the **Sony Xperia XZ1** does, on paper at least, seem to be the odd one out. It offers a standard Snapdragon 835 / 4 GB RAM configuration with a single camera setup on the rear. That said, at least the camera setup appears to be a special one, but only thorough testing can tell us if the device is worthy of being a flagship. The ridiculous 2,700 mAh battery is also a negative. The battery capacity is just 81 percent of that offered by rivals. Overall, the lineup is certainly exciting. Most of the devices are expected in late September and of course, Apple’s **10th anniversary iPhone** is still to make its entrance.