Mobile World Congress 2018 will begin next Monday, February 26 and end on Thursday, March 1. Taking place in Barcelona, Spain, the event will be held at two venues— Fira Gran Via and Fira Montjuïc.
MWC is largest phone show in the world. We’ll see a number of smartphones showcased, 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. Although, many companies typically make their announcements at press events held a day or two before the show officially starts.
We’re still a week out from the event, but the rumors have already started flying. We have made a list of the most prominent stories leading up to the year’s biggest show.
Are you looking for the top technology and communications events in 2018? Check out our Guide to 2018 Telecommunications Events
Biggest Reveals – Mobile World Congress 2018
LG
A report from The Korea Herald disclosed that the company will launch an updated version of the V30, called V30+’α’. This version features enhanced AI capabilities with deeper integration with Google Assistant and 256 GB of storage.
LG V30+ α is expected to have technical specifications similar to the V30+. This means that the upcoming model will probably have the same Snapdragon 835 chipset rather than running the latest, fastest and more energy-efficient Snapdragon 845.
Nokia
Juho Sarvikas, CEO of HMD Global, announced on Twitter to expect something “awesome” from the company at MWC 2018. A recent leak suggests the company may announce the Nokia 6, 7 and 8, along with the arrival of the Nokia 9 – a new flagship from the company.
The Nokia 9 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 characteristics include a 3250 mAh battery, 128 GB of expandable storage, and a 5 MP selfie snapper.
Samsung
At CES, Samsung announced it would unveil its next flagship at Mobile World Congress.
The company has since sent out invites decorated with a giant number “9,” implying the arrival the Galaxy S9/S9+.
It is said to include fingerprint reader, a battery increase, headphone jack, a dual-camera setup on the back, and 6 GB of RAM.
It might be powered by the Snapdragon 845 or Exynos 9810 chipset, depending on the region.
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 as a desktop computer. 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.
Sony
According to Chinese news site MyDrivers, Sony will reveal a flagship smartphone at MWC, called Xperia XZ Pro. It is expected to have a 5.7-inch OLED display with 4K resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 SoC, and 6 GB of RAM. Other specs include a 3420 mAh battery, 128 GB of storage, and an IP68 rating for protection against water and dust.
Citing Don Mesa, Vice President of Marketing at Sony Mobile, the report states that Sony is looking to launch more smartphones with dual camera setups and full-screen displays in 2018.
Huawei
Huawei took to Weibo to announce that it would be holding a launch event at Mobile World Congress 2018. The company also announced that there would be another product announcement in March. While the article does not give out much information, it mentions that new products will be launched at the MWC event.
A GSMArena report suggests a new variant in the Mediapad tablet range might be slated for release, considering Huawei’s stellar year-on-year performance in the tablet market. A GeekBench listing of the tablet showed the device will have the octa-core Kirin 960 SoC, 8.4-inch display with QHD resolution, Cat. 4 LTE support, 4GB RAM, and Android Oreo.
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