Smartphone lovers are in for a treat next year as some of the leading handset makers including Apple, Samsung, and Xiaomi are slated to release their latest devices during CES 2017 this January. While Xiaomi is gearing up to take the wraps off its Redmi Note 4X, Samsung is rumored to debut the much-lauded successor to the Galaxy S7 smartphone dubbed as the Galaxy S8.

If recently surfaced details about the Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X and Samsung Galaxy S8 are anything to go by, both devices are likely to go toe-to-toe with each other as well as other handsets that will be up for grabs in the market next year. While Samsung is leaving no stone unturned in their bid to amend the brand's rundown reputation, thanks to the Note 7 debacle, GSM Arena's preliminary spec sheet hint at an equally huge upgrade from S7 as well.

A Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 processor chipset, coupled with an Exynos 8895 Octa-core processor will fire up the Samsung Galaxy S8. This will be backed by 8GB of RAM. Samsung may opt to roll out different sizes of the device later. Xiaomi, on the other hand, seems to be gearing up for a phablet showdown with its Redmi Note 4X, following CES 2017 event.

Sporting a 5.5-inch full-HD display, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X will be powered by a 2GHz deca-core CPU, most probably, the MediaTek Helio X20 SoC. The device will run Android 6.0 Marshmallow. The Redmi Note 4X will use a 13MP primary camera and pack a robust 4000mAh battery. It will also feature a rear-mounted fingerprint sensor, according to Gadgets360.

Both, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Xiaomi Redmi Note 3 arrived in Q1 2016 and while Samsung's previous flagship had an edge in the form of numbers, the budget friendly Redmi Note 3's competitive performance propelled it to popularity in community sites and quite a few reviews.

Bearing in mind that most of Galaxy S8's specs are still under wraps, Samsung is likely to dominate the smartphone segment in 2017. One of the most speculated features of the device is its CPU and if a new report from AndroidCentral proves to be true, the Galaxy S8 might come with the Mali-G71 GPU paving the way for 4K and VR gaming and a potential 864 PPI screen dots. Nevertheless, Samsung selling point will be its camera with S8's dual lens setup and 4K video recording capability.

For those looking for out-and-out processing power without the need of a 4K experience or some incredible picture and camera quality, Xiaomi Redmi Note 4X might be an apt choice. Any other way, Samsung Galaxy S8 is going to be simply jaw-dropping if all rumored specs come to fruition.