“The annual phone fest that is the MWC is almost here, and this is what you can expect”
With the MWC gearing up in full flow, the internet is abuzz with news, press invites, and numerous rumours and speculations about what is to come. The annual conference takes place in Barcelona every year and brings forth some of the most intriguing smartphone launches at one place. This time too, major brands like Samsung, LG and Sony look fully prepared to showcase the world what they have been working on in the past one year.
The event is scheduled to kickstart on February 22nd and go on till February 25th. We’ll bring you all the details about the launches as they happen, but for now, here’s a brief overview on what the annual phone fest might have in store this time around.
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Samsung
Samsung is also expected to bet big on the growing popularity of virtual reality and introduce a 360-degree camera to shoot VR content.
LG
To add spice to Samsung’s Unpacked event, LG has also picked February 21st as the date for the launch of its next-gen flagship, the G5. So far, it is widely expected that much like the company’s V10 smartphone, the LG G5 would feature a dual screen setup, including a smaller always-on screen on top of the main display. Quite a lot like its Samsung counterpart, the LG G5 is also speculated to come powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. The company is also expected to update its current generation of budget offerings and showcase some accessories.
Xiaomi
Thanks to the tweets by Xiaomi’s global vice president, Hugo Barra, there is a lot of information about the company’s next flagship, the Mi 5. The company has booked its very first press conference at MWC for February 24th, where it is expected to unveil the device. Barra has also confirmed that the smartphone would come equipped with the Snapdragon 820 processor.
Lenovo
The Chinese brand has recently teased a metal-clad smartphone, set to be unveiled in MWC. While not much details are known about the phone, rumours indicate it would be the Lemon 3 Plus, the global variant of the Lemon 3, which was launched in China.
Google’s Project Ara
After much excitement, the news on Project Ara seemed to have lightened a little. But if rumours are to be believed, Google is planning to give more details about its Project Ara at this year’s MWC. While it is highly unlikely that we may see a public launch, what we might get is more development information and the project’s achievements so far.
HTC
Every year, HTC uses the MWC as an opportunity to showcase its next One M series flagship. This year though, the folks at HTC have confirmed that the much-awaited One M10 smartphone would not be launching at MWC, and would instead have a separate announcement in March or April. However, this would not stop the company to feature in the event with its Desire series of affordable smartphones.
Owing to its partnership with US sports brand Under Armour, the company might introduce some heart-rate sensors and scales at the HTC Vive booth. There’s a slight chance that HTC might present its own smartwatch at the event.
Sony
While not much is known about the products that Sony has planned to announce at the event, there is a lot of speculation about the Xperia Z6 and its variants. Keeping in line with today’s flagship specs, the device is expected to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.
Rumours also indicate that the Japanese brand might unveil its latest slate, the Xperia Z5 Tablet. Sony’s invites reveal that their press conference is scheduled to take place on February 22nd. There is a slight possibility that Sony might shed some light on the next generation of its smartwatch as well.
Huawei
The company plans on introducing some interesting concepts at the MWC 2016. If rumours are to be believed, we might see the Huawei P9 at the event. The highlight of the device would be its whopping 6GB of RAM. However, the company might shift the launch to sometime later and launch a dual-boot notebook at the event instead.
ZOPO
Another interesting device that might see the light at MWC is the new Speed 8 smartphone from the Chinese manufacturer ZOPO. According to teasers, the unveiling should take place on February 24th, and would be hosted by renowned MotoGP world champion, Jorge Lorenzo.
Speculated highlights of the handset include a fingerprint scanner, a 2K display, and massive 4GB of RAM. And if this wasn’t enough, the device is touted to be the first smartphone powered by the new Helio X20 deca-core processor from MediaTek. Yes, you read that right… ten powerful cores in the palm of your hand… something most of our present desktop PCs can be envious of.
Furthermore, the successor to the Huawei Watch might also see light of day at the event. Apart from these plethora of devices, we are hoping to see some technology advancements from Qualcomm. Microsoft too, is touted to hop onto the train and offer some exciting new products. We don’t have to wait long until some of these become official, until then, stay tuned to our blog for latest news and updates.
