The year is drawing to a close, and we've already got our eyes on the (future) prize. 2017 has a couple of exciting smartphones in the pipeline. We round up the three most anticipated.

APPLE IPHONE 8. Although the Apple iPhone 7 was officially released September 16, 2016 - making it literally just a few months old - talk of the new iPhone 8 continues to dominate the market. There are just a handful of days left in the year, but Apple is showing no signs of slowing down.

Nothing definite about the specs yet, but the release date is set for iPhone's tenth anniversary. The possibilities of the iPhone 8 sporting a completely new design are also pretty high, ZDNet points out, as Apple is known to alter the look of their iPhones every couple years. It's been about two or three years since the last makeover, so we're definitely overdue for some redesign. Since there wasn't much difference between the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 6S as far as design and specs were concerned, a lot of hopeful Apple fans are looking forward to an overhaul.

LG G6. 2016 saw the birth of the LG G5, and it was pretty good. Stuff touts it as a five-star flagship phone that redefined the future of smartphones via modular handsets and multi-compatibility for different hardware.

In fact, that multi-compatibility feature was one of its selling points. It could jive with just about any physical add-on; cameras, B&O audio tech - you name it, you could connect it. Which is why we're hoping LG plans to keep that particular feature in their reported LG G6 model, instead of throwing it in favor of waterproofing the phone.

SAMSUNG GALAXY S8, S8 EDGE. Ending our list last - but certainly not least - is Samsung. The Samsung Galaxy S7 and the S7 Edge were both excellent smart devices. No surprise there, as Samsung has proven itself a pretty solid competitor time and again for this particular market.

Battery life problems notwithstanding - most notably with the Samsung Note 7 - Samsung will have to really step up their game if they want the Galaxy S8 and the S8 Edge to standout. Their track record suggests they can pull it off, but only time will tell.