2016 has been a great year for impressive gadgets, and as we are closing in on July it has become quite clear that what we’ve seen so far could be just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. Thanks to many more device launches expected and being talked about for the 3rd and 4th quarters of the year. Forgetting about rumors and leaks for the moment, I personally feel that without the army of amateur designers out there who regularly provide us with device concept designs the rumor mill would be devoid of chatter and anticipation.
Device Concepts
Continuing on the device concept theme, we’ve had an awful lot already this year so the list is long. Personally, I have written about and included concept renders on many devices including the iPhone 7, iPhone 8, PlayStation Neo, Xbox Project Scorpio, Galaxy S8, Galaxy Note 7 and many more!
And once again I would like to thank the online community for showing us all what, the future of these particular gadgets could look like. How they come up with new design idea’s based on leaks and rumors often inspires me and others to hold them in high regard. In fact, I believe that sometimes the likes of Apple take note of the renders produced by designers and actually provides devices that are remarkably similar.
Aspirational and Inspirational Concepts
What I believe all of these designers have in common is the ability to read through all of the rumor and produce what often look like the real thing, 3D renders of such high quality that it can sometimes be difficult to believe that they did not come straight from the manufacturer themselves.
The remaining of this article is dedicated to what are believe are the best renders of the most spoken about gadgets yet to make it to the stores this year. Check them out and share your opinions below.
PlayStation Neo Concept
This PlayStation Neo concept discovered on MyTechBits, is in my opinion similar in design to the current Xbox One console, with its black enclosure and sharp edges. If you don’t know already the PlayStation Neo has not been officially confirmed by Sony and was to the dislike of many a Sony fan absent from last week’s E3 event. According to Sony’s head of PlayStation, the console is the real deal and will only be announced once the manufacturer has amassed enough titles to launch with it.
iPhone 7
Of all of the devices I have written about this year, the iPhone 7 is by far the most rumored about. The concept image above was designed by renowned designer Martin Hajek, who has a remarkable and uncanny ability to produce renders, which often look strikingly similar to what Apple ends up launching. As for the handset itself, it is being rumored to come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch varieties with a new starting storage capacity of 32GB. It is also being reported that Apple is going to do away with Space Gray and instead, launch a Deep Blue Model.
Xbox Project Scorpio
Is this an actual concept image or something that was produced by Microsoft? Whatever it is, it fits with what is already known about the Project Scorpio console. When will it be available? I believe that’s sometime in 2017, probably during the Christmas holidays. As for the console itself, it will be a PC in an Xbox box, that’s according to the rumors.
Apparently, Microsoft wants to produce a device that will outstrip anything else on the market, something that entice loyal PC gamers over to the console world. Rumors suggest that in order to do this, the Scorpio will feature some serious CPU power. As for what this will be Microsoft is remaining tight-lipped, but that has not stopped rumors of an 8-Core CPU with an incredible 6-terraflops of power being talked about.
Galaxy Note 7
This render of the Galaxy Note 7, was described as robotic by Pocket Lint writer Luke Edwards, and after taking a closer look I have to say that I agree with him. Also, it looks as though the display is a little curved, what do you think? As for news about the handset, it has as recently as today been confirmed that the handset will be launched at Samsung’s Unpacked event in August.
As for specifications, rumors are suggesting that it will have a 5.8-inch display, which will have curved edges, unlike the concept above. It is also being rumored that this year Samsung will do away with the flat screened Note and only produce something that will be very much like the Galaxy S7 Edge.
iPhone 8
Yes, that is an iPhone and yes it does have a complete edge-to-edge display, well, in fact, it has a complete glass wraparound display. This is what is being rumored for the iPhone 8, and Apple’s 10th anniversary of the iPhone. As you can see from this concept render, it looks absolutely gorgeous, and it is expected /rumored to feature some quite amazing specifications. Read more about them here.
MacBook Pro 2016
In the month prior to WWDC 2016, it was still being rumored that Apple would launch an updated version of the MacBook Pro with its own OLED Touch panel. If you take a look at the concept image above it is clear to see that this panel would take the place of the Fn row of keys. However, with no hardware materializing at the WWDC we are left to speculate about exactly what it is Apple will do with the Mac.
Personally, I was disappointed that we didn’t see any hardware announcements at the event. As I was hoping to see whether this rumor was accurate.
Final Thoughts
This article could have gone on with even more concept and rumor chatter, but unfortunately, I do have other topics to cover, so I will stick with what I’ve given you. However, and you’ll have to admit the majority of the big hitters are here!