Thanks to an accidental leak from Google, the names for a ton of new Android phones coming in 2021 have been revealed. It's not uncommon for smartphones to leak leading up to their release, but these typically happen through other manners — such as insider sources, leakers digging up confidential info, etc. In this case, however, Google's responsible for spilling the beans.
Before diving into the leak itself, here's some quick background on where it came from. On the Google Developers website, Google actively maintains a list of devices that currently support its ARCore augmented reality features on Android. As new gadgets are released, Google updates the list to make sure it's up-to-date with the latest available hardware. With the most recent update, however, Google accidentally added a bunch of phones that have yet to be announced.
Google added and quickly removed a total of 23 Android phones to the list, but thanks to earlier reporting from 9to5Google, the names of those Android phones live on. While not all of the 23 were unreleased devices, a good chunk of them were — the most noteworthy being the LG Stylo 7, Motorola Moto G100, Samsung Galaxy A52 5G, Galaxy A72 5G, Galaxy A82 5G, TCL 20 Pro 5G, and Asus Zenfone 8 Flip.
The Galaxy A82 5G, LG Stylo 8, and Moto G100 Are Among The Leaked Phones
The new Galaxy phones don't come as much of a surprise, seeing as how Samsung is hosting a launch event on March 17 where it's expected to unveil its latest entries in the A-series. The Galaxy A52 and A72 are expected to be the stars of the show, making it unclear if the A82 will show up as a surprise announcement or if it won't be unveiled until later in the year. The Asus Zenfone 8 Flip could also be an interesting release, with it likely featuring a flipping camera system similar to the Asus Zenfone 7 Pro from 2020.
It is interesting that Motorola has another Moto G in the works, considering the company just launched the Moto G Stylus (2021), Moto G Power (2021), and Moto G Play (2021) back in February. Thanks to new reporting from TechnikNews, it looks like the Moto G100 will be a rebranded version of the Motorola Edge S that launched in global markets earlier this year. There's not much known about the LG Stylo 7 and TCL 20 Pro 5G, but they're expected to be proper successors to the LG Stylo 6 and TCL 10 Pro 5G, respectively.
While there's not much else to go on outside of the names themselves, this leak does paint an interesting picture of what the Android smartphone market will look like in the coming weeks and months. Samsung's Galaxy A handsets could end up being some of the best Android values available in 2021, another Moto G is exciting to look forward to, and phones like the Stylo 7 and TCL 20 Pro 5G will be worth keeping an eye on.
Source: Google, 9to5Google, TechnikNews