It’s hard to believe that we are already halfway through the year 2013. We’ve seen Samsung drop its follow up to the very successful Galaxy S3 with the Galaxy S4, and HTC redefine high-end design for Android smartphones with the HTC One. The sleeping giant Sony has finally awoken, LG has been making headways since the success of the Nexus 4, and the Chinese OEMs have shaken off their second-tier status.

That’s just a snapshot of what has occurred over the past 6 months, but the world of Android does not stand still. By all accords the next 6 months will be an even better ride than the first, so what is in store for us Android loving folks?

LG G2 – No standard of design is safe

The LG G2 is the successor to the LG Optimus G, which some of you may know is the phone that the Nexus 4 was built on. Rest assured that if the Nexus 5 is built on this device, it’s going to be a beast of a smartphone.

Qualcomm and LG already dropped the bomb on what processor will be in the G2. It’s the record breaking Snapdragon 800 of course, and coupling that with 2GB of RAM and a 13-megapixel camera you can tell this smartphone could be record breaker.

The rumored back of the LG G2 unveils some interesting button placements.

What’s most interesting about this smartphone is the button placement and we don’t say that too often (or ever).The volume rockers have been reported to be found on the back of the device, right under the camera. The LG G2 is expected to be released August 7th.

Samsung Galaxy Note 3

One of the biggest smartphones to come out in the next 6 months in more ways than one, the Galaxy Note line is royalty in the large-smartphone market. While there have been conflicting rumors about the screen size, with some saying the Note 3 will come with a 5.7-inch display and others saying it’ll come with a 5.99-inch screen, there’s no questioning that the Note 3 will need a Full HD display if it’s going to be playing with the big boys.

Galaxy Note 3 concept

Rumors say that along with a Full HD Super AMOLED display, the Note 3 will also feature a Snapdragon 800 processor, backed by the Adreno 330 and 2GB of RAM. The Galaxy Note 3 is expected to be announced this September at IFA 2013 in Berlin.

The next-gen Nexus 7

The next-gen Nexus 7 is rumored to have Full HD display, a Snapdragon 600, 2 GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel back facing camera, all backed by Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

The next-gen Nexus 7 is expected to again be made by ASUS, and should feature a Full HD display. According to an alleged chat between a customer and an Asus representative, the next-gen Nexus 7 will also include a Snapdragon 600, 2GB of RAM, a 5-megapixel back facing camera, a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera and Android 4.3 Jelly Bean.

The next-gen Nexus 7 is expected to be launched in tandem with Android 4.3 Jelly Bean sometime before the end of July, and should retain a low price, similar to that of the current Nexus 7.

Sony Honami – successor to the Xperia Z

By all accounts the Sony Honami will be an incredible smartphone. After an apparent system dump, the Sony Honami is said to have a 20-megapixel camera that is capable of shooting 4K video. It’ll also have a Snapdragon 800 processor, 2 GB of RAM, a Full HD display and is set to retain the water resistance of the Xperia Z.

A purported image of the Sony Honami

While we are uncertain as to when the Sony Honami will drop, by the looks of the system dump it shouldn’t be too long a wait, and it’ll definitely be worth the wait. Of course the Honami won’t be the only incredible device to drop from Sony, the recently announced Xperia Z Ultra should hit the market sometime soon, and will be a competitor to the Galaxy Note 3.

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie

Technically Android 4.3 Jelly Bean hasn’t been released yet, however, since it has already leaked and should be a relatively minor release, we know you’d much prefer to hear about Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie.

Android 5.0 Key Lime Pie is expected to be released in the fall, with a new Nexus smartphone set to accompany it. This will be the biggest Android update in 2 years, since Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich was unveiled in 2011.

A new user interface and design are expected, but other than that there isn’t a lot that we know about Android 5.0. Some rumors have claimed that Key Lime Pie will be compatible with low-end devices, meaning it could help combat Android fragmentation. We’ll just have to wait and see now won’t we?

Nexus 5

We know very little about the Nexus 5. In fact, we don’t even know who’s manufacturing it. While some believe it will be LG, others think that HTC or Sony will be given a chance to tackle the Nexus device program.

The Nexus 5 will need to have at least a Full HD display and a Snapdragon 800 chipset if it wants to be worth its weight in gold. The Nexus 5 might not be the biggest seller in 2013, but it will no doubt be one of the most important devices, and we should expect the Nexus 5 to be released in the fall with Android 5.0 on board.

Other devices

It would be a shame if we didn’t acknowledge Google Glass which should be release either at the end of this year or the beginning of the next. HTC has also been rumored to be bringing its own competitor to the Note 3 with the HTC T6, and is rumored to be launching a smaller version of the HTC One.

Let’s not forget about the Moto X (as someone ironically did), which should be the first smartphone to roll out since Google bought Motorola last year. The rumors have so far painted the Moto X as a mid-range device, but the rumors aren’t always right.

The rumored HTC One Mini next to the original HTC One. Image credit: Engadget

Oppo made headlines with its Oppo Find 5, and will be bringing out a successor to the Find 5 called the Find 7. Android based notebooks will also be seen in the second half of 2013, and that’s without mentioning the release of the dual-OS Samsung Ativ Q and Asus Transformer Book Trio. An updated Nexus 10 should also be released, and Samsung could refresh the Galaxy Note 10.1.

By the looks of things Android definitely won’t be stopping to take a breath in the second half of 2013, and we’ll be seeing some incredible devices launch, some which we may not even know about yet. Now all this author has to do is figure out how he’s going to pay for all of them.

Which device are you most looking forward to in the second half of 2013?