Why you shouldn’t buy a new smartphone before November 2018 in South Africa
Birthday gift, early Christmas present, graduation bounty, biennial contract upgrade, or great poker win at that underground casino behind your gym – whatever the reason, the end of the year sees many people receiving a new smartphone.
If you are in line to get a new smartphone, however, you will want to hang on for a few more weeks.
The reasons for this are numerous, and by following this advice you will save yourself potential disappointment come the end of the year.
New devices coming soon
First up, there are three massive smartphone launch events taking place in the coming weeks.
Google is set to launch its new Pixel 3 and 3XL smartphones on 9 October 2018, which are expected to feature powerful processors and high amounts of RAM.
A notched screen is also forecast to be on the menu for the new Pixels – along with Android 9.0 out of the box.
Whether the Pixel will officially launch in South Africa is uncertain, however, with previous models having to be imported from the US.
Apple is another big player holding a smartphone event soon, with new iPhones set to be unveiled on 12 September.
For iPhone fans and prospective buyers, your only option is to wait until the new devices are shown off – and then for them to arrive in South Africa.
We are not typically in the first release wave for Apple, and local users may have to wait several weeks before the new iPhones arrive in the country.
For those who want a new Android phone but don’t want to import a Pixel, Huawei is set to launch its Mate 20 smartphone on 16 October.
Reports have stated that the new device will be powered by the Kirin 980 chip, which Huawei has stated is incredibly powerful.
The upcoming device launches also follow the recent launch of the Samsung Galaxy Note 9, which promises power users a device they can rely on.
End-of-year specials
The end of the year also means sales and specials from retailers, particularly at the end of November when Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals will be on offer.
If you can handle the wait, Black Friday is on 23 November this year – and is set to deliver a range of savings on smartphones.
This includes deals from local and international shops.
The end-of-year specials and new device launches also mean that more affordable smartphones – not flagship models – and older-generation devices will receive discounts.
This is already evident, with stores like Dion Wired discounting its stock of the Samsung Galaxy S8 (still a very capable phone) following the launch of the Galaxy S9 and Note 9.
With all these new devices coming and special deals on the horizon, a bit of patience will open many options to users.
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