iPhone 6s And 7 Other Smartphones To Watch In 2015

Before you go shopping for a smartphone upgrade, make sure your newest purchase won't be old news within the next few months.

We're over halfway through 2015, and it has been a busy year for the mobile market. Smartphone giants like Samsung and HTC have already released new devices over the last few months, and we're looking forward to new gadgets from Apple (the iPhone 6s) and Microsoft (several Lumia devices) before the end of this year.

This year's devices are built to be slimmer, run faster, and last longer. We're seeing better cameras and new technologies like fingerprint scanners and Force Touch capabilities.

[iPhone 6S Casing Photos Show Few Changes]

Innovative features aren't the only changes making headlines in the mobile tech space. Device-makers continue to gain and lose market share as customers decide which smartphones are worth purchasing.

Market leaders Samsung and Apple have long competed to win over users with their Android and iOS platforms. Just recently, Samsung took away Apple's throne at the top of the US smartphone market. Apple had been leader in the space thanks to the massive success of its iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.

In the three-month period that ended in May, Samsung managed to boost its market share to 64.9%. Apple was just under 35%, with both companies leaving makers like Microsoft and Blackberry in the dust.

Samsung's progress in the US was in thanks to the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, both of which were released earlier this year. Other Android makers like HTC and Motorola struggled as shares fell, leaving room for competitors like Sony and Huawei to move ahead.

It's still early to tell which businesses will be on top by year's end. There is still plenty to come from mobile makers in 2015, and new devices could prove to shake up the industry. The coming months will bring new software (hello, Windows 10) and hardware (Google's Project Ara), and it'll be interesting to see how customers react.

Read on to learn more about what we can expect to see in new mobile devices throughout the rest of 2015. Which smartphones are you most excited to see and try? Feel free to share your thoughts.

The newest addition to Samsung's "A" lineup could also be its thinnest smartphone yet, at a thickness of 5.94mm. The Galaxy A8 will reportedly have a 5.5-inch, 1080x1920 pixel and super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, as written on GSMArena. It will allegedly pack a Qualcomm Snapdragon 615 chipset, 2GB RAM, 16GB internal memory, a 16MP primary camera, and a 5MP secondary camera. The more affordable mid-range phablet is expected to be released in the third quarter of 2015.

The second-generation Moto G was released in September 2014, and now it's time for the next generation. We'll likely see the next Motorola G in September, during or around Berlin's IFA 2015. Rumor has it the device will contain a 5-inch display, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, 8GB of internal storage, 1GB of RAM, an 8MP rear camera, and a 5MP front camera.

We're expecting Google will launch a new Nexus 5, built by LG, before the end of this year. Given that Google has traditionally released its Nexus phones in the fourth quarter, we'd expect the same timing for this year's launch, which is anticipated to occur alongside the release of Android M.

The Nexus 5 will reportedly include a 2K display and run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 808 or 810 processor, claims Tech Times. Its 5-inch display (some reports say 5.3 inches) will have a 1080x1920 resolution, and the smartphone will pack 3GB RAM and either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage. We'll also expect a camera upgrade from 8MP (as included in the original Nexus 5) to 13MP or better.

Rumor also has it that Huawei will build another Nexus device before year's end. Reports of a 5.7-inch screen suggest it could be the new Nexus 6.

The release cycle for Galaxy is usually toward the end of the year, so we're looking at a possible September date for the Note 5 launch.

Rumor claims the Note 5 will have the same metal-and-glass frame as the Galaxy S6. Its 1440x2560 pixel, Super AMOLED screen will measure 5.9 inches, according to a report on SlashGear. The Note 5 will reportedly run on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 processor and contain 3GB of RAM, 128GB of internal memory, an 8MP front camera, a 13MP rear camera, and S Pen capabilities.

Samsung will likely continue with its curved display for the Note 5. Other rumors claim the smartphone will contain a 4100 mAh battery.

Project Ara was originally developed at Motorola and was transferred to Google after Motorola was acquired by Lenovo. The modular smartphone was announced last year as a device that lets users pick, choose, and swap different pieces as needed instead of having to buy an entirely new device.

We saw the first live demo of Project Ara during a keynote at this year's Google I/O conference. It's a pretty basic concept: Buy a bare-bones Ara smartphone and customize it with different components like sensors, scanners, display panels, keyboards, or memory, depending on what you need or want for your device. A market pilot will reportedly kick off in 2015, according to KnowYourMobile. It seems like things will get started in Puerto Rico, where 77% of people use a mobile device as their primary means of communication.

Windows 10 Mobile is on its way, and so is a new Lumia device. While Microsoft's long-awaited Windows 10 OS will land on PCs in July, it may take a little longer for it to appear on mobile. When it does, there's a chance it will arrive on the Lumia 940 or 940 XL smartphone.

The Lumia 940 is rumored to have a 5.2-inch screen and support 1440x2560 resolution. A 32GB model will run on a hexa-core Snapdragon 808 processor. The 64 GB and 128 GB models will contain a Snapdragon 815 chipset and 3GB of RAM, reports International Business Times.

Microsoft's Lumia 940 XL, the big brother to the Lumia 940, will have a 5.7-inch Quad HD display and 2560x1440 resolution. It'll run on an octa-core Snapdragon 810 processor and contain 3GB RAM, 32GB of storage, a 20MP back camera, and a 5MP front camera. The two phones are expected to roll out sometime in September or October of this year.

The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus are due for upgrades later this year, and they will likely become the 6s and 6s Plus. We can expect to see the same size and resolution in both devices, which won't be getting any major upgrades this year.

Apple will most likely show off the new iPhone in September. iOS 9, which we saw at this year's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), will launch on the upgraded device with improvements to Apple Pay, Siri, and Maps. We could see a big change in the iPhone camera, which may reportedly improve to 12 megapixels. Force Touch, which has already appeared in the Apple Watch and MacBook upgrade, will also be included in the smartphone that some are calling the iPhone 7.

Usually when a Galaxy flagship launches, different versions of that smartphone follow. The Galaxy S6 mini is predicted to be a smaller iteration of the S6, which launched earlier this year. Right now there aren't too many rumors specifically about the S6 Mini, but GFXBench points to rumors of a Samsung device with specs that closely align with industry predictions for Samsung's latest mini-smartphone.

The S6's little brother is predicted to have a 4.6-inch, 1280x768 display and run on a hexa-core Snapdagon 808 chipset. Rumors also point to a 15MP camera and 11GB of storage.

Usually when a Galaxy flagship launches, different versions of that smartphone follow. The Galaxy S6 mini is predicted to be a smaller iteration of the S6, which launched earlier this year. Right now there aren't too many rumors specifically about the S6 Mini, but GFXBench points to rumors of a Samsung device with specs that closely align with industry predictions for Samsung's latest mini-smartphone.

The S6's little brother is predicted to have a 4.6-inch, 1280x768 display and run on a hexa-core Snapdagon 808 chipset. Rumors also point to a 15MP camera and 11GB of storage.