Mobile World Congress 2016: What To Expect From Mobile Manufacturers

The Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the biggest annual tech conference in the world that focuses on all things mobile. Like last year, this year’s event will take place in the beautiful city of Barcelona in Spain, and will host more than 250 tech companies and almost 800 wireless carriers. So what can we expect to find in this year’s MWC? Here is the rundown.

The Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge

This is considered common knowledge by now, and Samsung has since formally confirmed that it will be unveiling new flagship devices this year at the MWC 2016, specifically the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge. Rumor has it that the new devices will feature pressure sensitive display screens (like Apple’s 3D Touch), improved cameras, more powerful processors, and faster charging capabilities (courtesy of a new USB Type C port). Based on the teaser invite that the South Korean phone maker has released, there appears to be some focus on virtual reality features, which the new Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge devices might possess integrated into their functionalities.

The LG G5

LG might find itself chasing after Samsung, especially in terms of sales and market share, but based on past MWC events, this fellow South Korean tech giant can certainly hold its own when it comes to introducing new flagship devices. This year, LG will be formally unveiling the LG G5 smartphone. So far, the company has already announced a touch enabled case for the LG G5, even before the smartphone has been officially introduced. What is call about the case is that it allows mobile users to take voice calls, check the time and date, and read notifications without having to open the case. It helps that the LG G5 has an “always on” feature integrated into its display screen, which works perfectly with the touch enabled case. Other rumors pertaining to the LG G5 smartphone include a radical new design, a fingerprint reader, and twin cameras on the rear side.

The Huawei P9

Huawei is said to be planning to unveil a new flagship device, possibly called the Huawei P9, during this year’s MWC proceedings. The Huawei P9 would serve as the follow up to the P8 smartphone released last year. Like other Chinese phone makers, Huawei is fond of debuting more than one device at the MWC, so we can expect more of the same this year, although there may be some new smartwatches also to be announced, too.

The Xiaomi Mi 5

Not to be outdone by Huawei, fellow Chinese mobile manufacturer Xiaomi also has plans to introduce a new flagship device in the coming days. This device is the Mi 5, and confirmed reports state the device will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor. A Xiaomi executive has even tweeted a preview of the device’s home screen. 

Other phone makers like HTC, Sony, Microsoft, Nokia, and even BlackBerry may also be cooking up something for this year’s MWC event. After all, as past year editions have proven, surprises are aplenty in every MWC, and there is always that tech player who saves its best surprise at the last minute.