It’s that time of the year again when major smartphone companies from all over the world take stage at one of the biggest tech events of the world, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
But, before the gala event officially kicks off, we’re going to dive into some of the rumours and expectations at MWC 2018, and which smartphones will be unveiled by biggies like Samsung, Sony, Huawei and LG.
Samsung’s New Galaxies
Perhaps the most awaited and anticipated launch at Fira will be Samsung’s flagships, the Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus. Thanks to multiple leaks online, we do have a fair idea of what the upcoming Samsung smartphones will look like.
The South Korean tech giant has already sent out the invite for the official launch which is scheduled for 25 February, a day before the start of MWC 2018.
Mobile reporter and ‘smartphone leaks’ expert Evan Blass had already shared rendered images of the upcoming Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus.
Although these aren’t the official images and are possible lookalikes of the actual models, Blass has been very accurate with his leaks in the past.
The leaked images suggest that the new Samsung S9 Plus will be the first in the Galaxy series to sport a dual-rear camera and come with an all-new colour scheme like Lilac Purple, Titanium Grey and Coral Blue.
Huawei Gearing up for the Big Launch
The world’s second largest smartphone brand, Huawei, is all set for a big launch at MWC 2018. In all probability it could be the Huawei P20 that gets launched at the event.
Though the company’s online invite doesn’t hint at anything specific, Huawei’s VP of smartphones, Bruce Lee (not related to the martial arts master in any way) said that Huawei will “probably” launch the next flagship at the main event.
Some of the 3D renders that have surfaced online gives us an idea of what the upcoming Huawei phone will look like. Apart from a full metal design, the phone is expected to sport a vertical three camera setup on the rear!
You can see some of the renders at www.tigermobiles.com.
What’s LG up to at MWC?
There was news flying around that LG won’t be participating in the upcoming MWC 2018 but all the speculations on the same were put to rest when the company announced that it will be launching the upgrade to the LG V30 at the Mobile World Congress.
The LG V30 which was launched at IFA in 2017 will receive an upgrade this year and come with AI(artificial intelligence) technology with a greater focus on camera and voice recognition.
The next LG flagship rumoured to be dubbed at LG V30s could also come with the Snapdragon 845 processor.
Nokia is Back...Again!
Ever since HMD Global launched the Nokia smartphones with Android, there was an air of excitement all around! Many were looking forward to a Nokia with Android, but all that excitement doused even before one could say ‘connecting people’.
Now, HMD Global is prepping itself for another grand launch at the MWC 2018 with Android-incorporated Nokia devices in the pipeline.
Speculations are rife that the Finnish company will launch another Android phone, the new Nokia 7+, which was unveiled in China in October 2017. HMD Global could be generous enough to offer a bonus like the Nokia 1 at the event.
According to the leaked images, the new Nokia 7+ will feature a full HD bezel-less display and a dual-camera on the rear.
XZ, XA, XZ1, XA1, XZ2... Enough Already!
Sony, a piece of advice! You need to come up with a less-complicated way to name your smartphones! One can’t just can’t make out which is which.
Moving on, this year’s MWC will play host to Sony as it is set to launch more X series smartphones for 2018.
As it has already launched three phones at CES this year – the Xperia XA2 Ultra, Xperia XA2 and Xperia L2 – we can expect two new devices from the XZ series at MWC.
The teaser suggests that the phone might sport a curved design and also be lightweight (that’s what I could decipher from the video). There are chances that the company will launch their first bezel-less phone with a 18:9 screen ratio.
All of this and much more from the Mobile World Congress will steal the show on 26 February.
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