The new phones and tablets of the week

We are living in times of uncertainty with most of the world in lockdown. One thing that remains a constant is the non-stop arrival of new phones. We had plenty of new arrivals in the past week, including an online launch by HMD where we saw no less than four phones, and two new iPads with dual cameras.

Nokia 8.3 • Nokia 5.3 • Nokia 1.3 • Nokia 5310

Samsung is already selling its Galaxy S20 lineup around the world, so now it's focusing on refreshing its mid-range portfolio. The Galaxy M21 will be up for pre-order in India later this month, and we expect the phone to appear in Europe as well. On the other side of the globe, in Japan, consumers can purchase an Olympic Edition of the Galaxy S20+ 5G - something that Samsung has never launched for markets before. The company also unveiled the Samsung Galaxy A41, although it will only hit stores in June.

HMD launched four Nokia phones - three smartphones and one feature phone Nokia 5310 - a reboot of the classic Nokia 5310 XpressMusic. Nokia 8.3 is the most powerful of all - it comes with Snapdragon 765G chipset and 5G connectivity, and HMD said it is future-proofed with support for all 5G bands in the world. The Nokia 5.3 is a classic midranger with a Snapdragon 665 chipset, four cameras and a screen with a waterdrop notch, while the Nokia 1.3 comes with Android 10 Go.

The new iPad Pro 11 and iPad Pro 12.9 now come with two cameras, but the more intriguing part is a LiDAR scanner for AR purposes. Alongside them, Apple introduced a new Magic Keyboard with a trackpad which is $299/$349 on top of the (at least) $799/$999 you’ll pay for the tablet.

Apple iPad Pro 12.9 • Realme 6i • Oppo Reno3 • Moto E6s

In a separate announcement, HMD revealed the Nokia C2 for developing markets. Realme also has a new addition to the portfolio - the Realme 6i, arriving first in Myanmar, but we expect it to appear in other Asia-Pacific countries. We also have an entirely new Moto E6s for Latin America, Europe, and Asia, but that is different than the Moto E6s in India, which is essentially a rebranded Moto E6s Plus.

Oppo is also playing the name game. The Reno3 was announced in China since December, but the company followed up with a global version that differs on several key specs. It has a Helio P90 chipset, a 44MP single selfie camera, but no price tag - the Oppo Reno3 is listed for viewing at Oppo Sri Lanka’s website.