Day 2 of the MWC 2019 in Barcelona wasn’t as exciting as day one, but there were still a few tech companies showing off their upcoming products. Perhaps the biggest headline maker of the second day has been the foldable smartwatch technology that has been unveiled by Nubia. Now the watch isn't available for commercial purposes yet, but Nubia will launch it very soon.
Here’s a round-up of the top announcements made at Day 2 of the MWC 2019.
Nubia’s Foldable Smartphone-Like Watch
The Nubia Alpha comes with an OLED-type display, which can be strapped around your wrist and can be used like a typical Android-based device. Since the display is bending we can assume that it is not glass (as glass doesn't bend).
The alpha comes with a 5-megapixel camera on board and reportedly comes with a fingerprint scanner on the front. It performs all the basic fitness tracking and also supports payments via QR code scanning. The Nubia Alpha runs on the Snapdragon Wear 2100 with 1GB of and 8GB of onboard storage. This setup is powered by a 500mAh battery, which Nubia claims should last up to two days.
It comes with e-SIM technology so you can use it like a wearable phone. It also supports gesture controls and will be priced starting at 449 euros. With this device Nubia is trying to fit the smartphone experience into a very small form factor and that basically is the future of smartphones.
LG ‘Gestures’ Its Future Ready Phone
LG has been missing in action for a while from the smartphone space, but it's back now at MWC 2019. The company launched two new phones the LG V50 ThinQ and the G8 ThinQ.
The flagship, the V50 ThinQ will be powered by a Snapdragon 855 processor coupled with 6GB of RAM and support 128GB of in-built storage, which will have an option to expand. It comes with a 6.4-inch OLED display and a 4,000mAh battery. In terms of optics, the phone comes with a 16+12-megapixel rear camera and a dual front camera setup of 8+5-megapixel.
The company has also released a dual-screen variant of the same.
The second device to be added to LG's portfolio is the LG G8 ThinQ. The phone uses gesture technology and something the company is calling Hand ID to recognise shape, thickness and other individual characters of the veins in the palm to help unlock the phone. LG says it's more secure than the fingerprint-recognition technology.
The G8 ThinQ comes with a 6.2-inch FHD+ OLED display and is powered by the Snapdragon 855 processor. It comes with a 3,500mAh battery and with support 6GB of RAM and 128GB of on-board storage.
Lenovo Has More to ‘Think’ About
Lenovo was all about laptops and hybrids at the MWC 2019 with the company adding more hardware to its ThinkPad and IdeaPad series. With the launch of its new series , Lenovo is trying to tap into the premium segment of the market with more attractive price tags.
Lenovo’s new ThinkPad C340 is a 2-in-1 laptop which will be available in both Intel and AMD options. The C340 has been priced starting at EUR 599 (roughly Rs 48,200) for both variants. Lenovo also introduced two more S-series laptops, the S540 and a S340. These laptops will arrive in the market around April with prices starting at EUR 549 roughly Rs. 44,300) for the IdeaPad S340 and EUR 799 (roughly Rs. 64,400) for the IdeaPad S540.
Another couple of big announcements from Lenovo were its ThinkPad T and X series which sport a new design philosophy come with certain commonalities like a "PrivacyGuard" which is a physical shutter for the webcam, HDR display with Dolby Vision and the latest Intel 8th gen chipset.
The ThinkPad X390 gets a larger 13.3-inch full-HD display and is powered by an Intel Core i7 vPro processor, up to 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of SSD storage. Lenovo claims the X390 has a battery life of up to 18 hours.
ZTE Is Still Making Phones!
ZTE might not have a huge presence in the Indian market, but it surely isn't out of the fray in the smartphone making space. The Chinese smartphone maker which also has Nubia under its umbrella launched two new smartphones at the MWC 2019, the ZTE Axon 10 Pro 5G and Blade V10.
The company didn't speak much about the devices, but said that it will be powered by the latest Snapdragon 855 processor and will support 5G. The Axon 10 is said to sport a triple rear camera setup and will come with an in-display fingerprint sensor.
The Blade V10 on the other hand will come with a 16+5-megapixel camera setup at the back and a 32-megapixel camera at the front. The Blade V10 will be released in two variants – 3GB RAM + 32GB inbuilt storage, and 4GB RAM + 64GB inbuilt storage.
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