MWC 2018: Here’s what to expect
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What is MWC? Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest and most exciting events in the mobile industry. It’s where the majority of big players like Samsung, LG, Sony, and Huawei show off their latest and greatest products every year.
When is MWC? MWC kicks off on Monday, February 26 and ends on Thursday, March 1. Many companies typically announce new devices at press events held a day or two before the show officially starts.
Where is MWC? As is the case every year, MWC will take place in Barcelona, Spain at two venues— Fira Gran Via and Fira Montjuïc.
What can we expect from MWC? MWC has always been about smartphones. We’ll see a number of them announced in sunny Spain including what will likely be the star of the show, the Galaxy S9 series. Plenty of other devices like smartwatches, tablets, and more are also expected to be revealed.
Want to learn more? We’ve rounded up all the details about MWC 2018 we know so far, so read on!
Samsung
Samsung has announced that the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus will make their debut at an Unpacked event on February 25, a day before MWC kicks off. It didn’t share any details regarding the devices, but we know a lot about them thanks to the many leaks and rumors we’ve come across.
The flagships won’t be major upgrades over their predecessors. They are expected to feature the same 5.8- and 6.2-inch Super AMOLED displays with QHD+ resolution and an 18.5:9 aspect ratio. The Plus model could sport a dual-camera setup on the back and 6 GB of RAM, while its smaller brother may feature a single primary shooter and 4 GB of RAM. Both should be powered by the Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 chipset, depending on the region.
Samsung’s upcoming handsets are also said to be IP68 rated for protection against water and dust, come with the new Intelligent Scan feature on board, and sport variable aperture. To learn more, check out our Galaxy S9 rumor roundup post.
Samsung could also unveil the DeX Pad accessory along with the Galaxy S9 series. Like last year’s DeX, it should let you hook up your smartphone to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse to use it like a desktop computer. However, the DeX Pad will have a different design than its predecessor, which will allow the smartphone to lie flat on the dock instead of upright. The device might also ditch the ethernet port, meaning you’ll likely have to rely on Wi-Fi.
Additionally, the tech giant could announce a new high-end tablet in Barcelona. It took the wraps off the Galaxy Tab S3 at MWC 2017, so it’s possible we’ll see its successors at this year’s event.
LG
Many initially thought LG would take the wraps off the successor to the G6 at MWC in Barcelona, but it now looks like that may not happen.
A recent report claims the company’s CEO has ordered a complete rethink of the upcoming flagship, which could push its reveal date back for a few months. According to Evan Blass, the smartphone might be announced in June, putting it four months behind the LG G6 in terms of the yearly release cycle — although a different report suggests a March launch date.
LG will reveal a new version of the V30 at MWC.
The G7 might not make its debut at MWC, but we’ll still see a high-end LG smartphone in Barcelona. The company has confirmed it will reveal an upgraded version of the V30 at the show. The device will have Vision AI on board that’s comprised of image and voice recognition features.
It will be able to automatically determine the best shooting mode for a specific use case using its image recognition algorithms. Point the smartphone’s camera at your lunch, for example, and it will change to “food mode”— a setting which sharpens the image and makes it warmer. Vision AI will also include a new “low-light shooting mode” that will brighten dark images, support voice commands to allow users to change camera settings without searching for them manually, and more.
Additionally, LG will also announce the 2018 editions of the K8 and K10 smartphones at MWC. There will actually be three different versions of the K10: the K10+, K10, and K10α. The K10+ and K10 will come equipped with a 13-megapixel rear camera that uses the same technology found in the LG G6, while the K10α will have an 8 MP camera on board. All three will sport a 5.3-inch HD display, a 3,000 mAh battery, and an unspecified 1.5 GHz octa-core processor.
The K8 will offer more camera features than its predecessor including an improved performance in low-light conditions. The smartphone will come with a 5-inch HD display, 2 GB of RAM, and a 2,500 mAh battery. You can check out all of its specs by clicking here.
Huawei
Details on which devices Huawei might unveil at MWC are scarce. What we do know is that we won’t see the successors to the P10 and P10 smartphones, as those will make their debut on March 27 in Paris.
At MWC 2017, Huawei revealed the Watch 2 and Watch 2 Classic. It’s possible the company could announce their successors in Barcelona, but we haven’t come across any leaks or rumors that would support this assumption.
Rumors also suggest the manufacturer could reveal a couple of new MateBooks. Huawei is teasing its February 25 press event at MWC on Twitter with a GIF image that shows what look to be two notebook silhouettes flying across the screen — see the tweet below.
Additionally, Huawei could take the wraps off the MediaPad M5. The high-end tablet is expected to come with an 8.4-inch QHD display, the Kirin 960 chipset, and 4 GB of RAM. It would be the successor to the MediaPad M3, which made its debut at IFA 2016.
Nothing has been confirmed yet, so take these rumors with a grain of salt.
Alcatel
Alcatel gave us a sneak peek at three of its upcoming smartphones at CES, which will make their official debut at MWC on February 24: the Alcatel 5, 3v, and 1x.
All of them will feature an 18:9 display and the affordable price tag the Alcatel brand has become known for. You can learn more about the handsets in our hands-on video below.
Although Alcatel didn’t share the specs of the devices with the public, we have a good idea of what one of them might bring to the table. According to Roland Quandt, the 3V is expected to come with a 6-inch Full HD+ display, the MediaTek MT6737 chipset, and 2 GB RAM. It could be equipped with a dual-camera setup on the back (16 MP + 2 MP), pack a 3,000 mAh battery, and offer 16 GB of expandable storage. There’s no word on what specs the other two smartphones will offer.
Alcatel 3V: 6in IPS 2160×1080, MT6737 1,45 GHz quadcore, 2/16GB, 16+2 MP rear cam, 8 MP front cam, Dual SIM+SD, 802.11n Wi-Fi, Cat.4 LTE, BT4.2, 3000mAh battery, MicroUSB, FP reader, 8,05mm thickness, 169g, ~179 Euro pic.twitter.com/d2liNED0g0
— Roland Quandt (@rquandt) January 16, 2018
It’s possible Alcatel will announce a few more handsets in Barcelona. Based on the leak showing the company’s 2018 lineup of smartphones, models 3 and 3x could also be revealed.
Nokia
Juho Sarvikas, the CEO of HMD Global, has announced on Twitter to expect something “awesome” from the company at MWC 2018. Unfortunately, he didn’t share what that might be.
A recent leak suggests the company may announce the Nokia 1, 4, 7 Plus, and 9 sometime this year. It’s possible a few of these models — or all of them — will be revealed at MWC, although nothing has been confirmed yet.
Nokia 7 Plus
The Nokia 9 stopped by the FCC in December, giving us a closer look at its specs. It might come with a 5.5-inch QHD OLED display, a dual-camera setup with 13 and 12 MP sensors, and the Snapdragon 835 chipset. Other features include a 3,250 mAh battery, 128 GB of expandable storage, and a 5 MP selfie snapper.
The 7 Plus will be an upgraded version the Nokia 7 with a larger 6-inch 18:9 display and a dual-camera setup on the back. The Nokia 4 is expected to offer mid-range specs, while the Nokia 1 should be an entry-level smartphone that could run Android Go and come with 1 GB of RAM.
Additionally, we might see the Nokia 8 Sirocco make its debut in Barcelona. The handset is rumored to be an upgraded version of the Nokia 8 that will come with an OLED display, dual-selfie cameras, and more storage. The rest of the specs will remain the same as those of the original device. That means it should come with a 5.3-inch QHD display, the Snapdragon 835 chipset, and two 13 MP sensors on the back.
Sony
According to a report from MyDrivers, Sony will reveal a flagship smartphone at MWC. Called the Xperia XZ Pro, it is expected to sport a 5.7-inch OLED display with 4K resolution, the Snapdragon 845 chipset, and 6 GB of RAM.
It could be Sony’s first handsets with a dual-camera setup. The report claims it will feature an 18 MP sensor with 1.33μm pixel size and a 12 MP sensor at 1.38μm pixels at the back. Other specs and features include a 3420 mAh battery, 128 GB of storage, and an IP68 rating for protection against water and dust.
We’ve also heard rumors about the Xperia XZ2 and XZ2 Compact, both of which are expected to sport a Snapdragon 845 chipset. The former has accidentally been confirmed by the carrier Three Ireland in a now-deleted tweet, while the latter has apparently stopped by the FCC recently.
The XZ2 Compact is expected to come with a 5-inch Full HD+ 18:9 display, 4 GB of RAM, and a dual-camera setup. The XZ2, on the other hand, is rumored to sport a larger 5.7-inch Full HD+ display with the same aspect ratio. It’s also expected to offer 4 GB of RAM like its smaller brother. Rear-mounted fingerprint scanners are tipped for the devices, but no headphone jack.
The two smartphones could be revealed at MWC alongside the Xperia XZ Pro, although this hasn’t been confirmed yet.
Lenovo/Motorola
Lenovo announced the Moto G5 and G5 Plus at MWC 2017. At this year’s event, the company could unveil the G6 series of smartphones.
Images of the Moto G6, G6 Plus, and G6 Play have leaked, giving us a closer look at their designs. All three models look more or less the same, sporting glass backs and big camera bumps — check them out below.
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Moto G6
Moto G6 Plus
Moto G6 Play
When it comes to specs, the G6 is said to come with a 5.7-inch Full HD+ display, the Snapdragon 450 chipset, and a 3,000 mAh battery. The Plus model will reportedly feature a 5.93-inch display, the Snapdragon 630 processor, and a 3,200 mAh battery. It’s said to launch in five colors shown in the image below.
Android Headlines
Both devices might come with either 3 or 4 GB of RAM and 32 or 64 GB of storage, although the Plus model might also be offered with 6 GB of RAM. The smartphones are also expected to be equipped with a dual-camera setup sporting 12 and 5 MP sensors.
The G6 Play could have a 5.7-inch display and pack a massive 4,000 mAh battery. Other specs such as the chipset and RAM are unknown for now.
Additionally, images of the Moto Z3, Z3 Play, and X5 have also leaked. However, these three phones likely won’t be revealed at MWC, although everything is possible.
Asus
Asus has sent out press invites for its MWC event taking place on February 27, which hint the Zenfone 5 series will make its debut. It’s expected we might see the Zenfone 5, 5 Max, and 5 Lite, all of which could have 18:9 displays.
The Zenfone 5 could look a lot like the iPhone X, which can either be a good or a bad thing depending on who you ask. WinFuture has shared an alleged image of the handset that shows it could have an iPhone X-like notch on the front and vertically positioned dual-cameras on the back.
Winfuture.de
An alleged hands-on image of the device has also popped up online, which tells us the same story — check it out below.
The Zenfone 5 Max is expected to feature a massive battery, although its capacity is unknown at this point. Rumors suggest the handset will also offer a 5.7-inch display, a dual-camera setup, and Android Oreo.
Moving on to the Zenfone 5 Lite, the device is expected to come with the Snapdragon 660 chipset under the hood along with 4 GB of RAM, according to Roland Quandt. It could also sport four cameras — two on the front and two on the back.
None of the rumors have been confirmed yet, so we’ll have to wait until February 27 to see whether they are true or not.
ZTE
The ZTE Blade V9, initially rumored to make its debut at CES, will likely be announced at MWC. The company accidentally listed the smartphone on its website back in December, revealing its specs and design.
The mid-range smartphone is expected to come with a 5.7-inch Full HD+ display, which means it should have an 18:9 aspect ratio. It could feature the Snapdragon 450 chipset under the hood along with 2, 3, or 4 GB of RAM.
Other specs and features include a dual-camera setup with 16 and 5 MP sensors, a 13 MP selfie snapper, and a 3,200 mAh battery. The device may run Android 8.0 Oreo and sport a glass body — see image below.
ZTE
No word on other devices ZTE might launch in Barcelona.
Many other well-known brands like HTC and Acer may also be present at the show, but there’s no word on which devices they might announce. We’ll update this page as soon as we hear more to keep you up to speed with all the latest.
Meanwhile, let us know which products are you most looking forward to in the comments below!
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