2016 is set to be yet another big year for smartphones. Mobile World Congress might have been and gone, but there's still plenty to get excited about this year, including lots of new flagships as well as some new versions of returning favourites.

I'll summarise what's coming when and whether it's worth getting excited about. We've gone with the flagship handsets here, as those generally attract the most attention before release, and we've also stuck to the big guns, too, rather than include niche or unusual designs that will probably never see the light of day

Surface Phone - March 2017?

Microsoft might have gutted its phone division at the end of May, but rumours about its long-anticipated Surface Phone seem stronger than ever. The latest news now seems to suggest that it will, in fact, see the light of day at some point, with a tentative launch window of March 2017 now doing the rounds online - just in time for the Surface Pro 5 launch.
According to TCC, who cite so-called reports without any accreditation, the Surface Phone is in development and is currently code-named Juggernaut Alpha - a better name for the phone than Surface, if you ask us. It's expected to run Windows 10 and be powered by one of Intel's latest Kaby Lake chipsets.
Three models are supposedly in development, with the cheapest offering 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage, while the second allegedly has 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The third, most expensive model, meanwhile, is expected to be a kind of enterprise variant, with 8GB of RAM and a frankly ludicrous 512GB of storage.
With rumoured specs like these, the Surface Phone almost sounds more like a miniature tablet than a traditional smartphone, but maybe that's what Microsoft's aiming for after all - a proper, high-end Windows phone that brings all the power of the  surface pro4 and surface book down into something you can truly fit in your pocket. If these rumours prove true, the Surface Phone could easily be the most exciting handset of 2017. There's little more to say at present except I'm, very excited about the idea of this handset

 

Samsung Galaxy Note 6 - August/September

The  note5 was not released in the UK officially, although it's possible to get an imported version. Instead, Samsung decided to stick with the S6 Edge Plus in the UK. So, what will the company do this year? Well, there's very little information at there at the moment, as all attention is focussed on the S7 launch. However, the Galaxy S7 information gives us some insight into what Samsung might be up to.

The Note 6 will have its own launch away from any other phones, which is just what it needs. What's a little harder to work out is when. Samsung traditionally launched the Note at the IFA show in Berlin, but in 2015 it went early and announced the Note 5 in August. So, assuming that Samsung sticks to the same rough plan, it's a safe bet to suggest that the Note 6 will come out either in August 2016, at its own event, or in September 2016 at the IFA show. As more details leak, I'll bring you more information. Of course, it's not even definite for now, if the Note 6 will even get a UK launch

Moto Z and Moto Z Force - September

Say goodbye to the Moto X and say hello to the Moto Z and Moto Z Force, Motorola's brand-new flagships for 2016. Launching worldwide this autumn, the Moto Z has the honour of being the world's thinnest smartphone, measuring an astounding 5.2mm thick, while the Moto Z Force is the long-awaited follow-up to Motorola's shatterproof wonderphone, the Moto X Force.
Both come with all the latest specs, including a Snapdragon 820 chip, 4GB of RAM, a 5.5in, 2,560x1,440 AMOLED display and either 32GB or 64GB of storage. The Moto Z Force, however, will have a larger battery (mAh capacities have yet to be confirmed) and a higher resolution camera, opting for a 21-megapixel sensor instead of the Moto Z's 13-megapixel snappersz.

Sony didn't release the Xperia Z6, as expected, changing the name to the Xperia X instead. It has Sony's build quality and the phone's certainly fast, but it's also relatively expensive and we weren't fans of the camera. It's a shame, as the Xperia X can't compete with this best flagship phones from other manufacturers

The excitement may have been around the high-end handsets at MWC but I fell for the sleek, yet decidely mid-range Sony Xperia XA. The reason why is simple, it has 'that screen', a display that stretches practically from edge-to-edge with only the tiniest of bezels on either side. For a phone that's likely to cost a fraction of the models listed above, that's a serious plus point. At just 137g and 7.9mm thin, it's light and sleek too