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Amazon is the latest to pull out of MWC over coronavirus worries
Mobile World Congress just lost another one of its biggest names over coronavirus fears. Amazon has withdrawn from the tech trade show over the "outbreak and continued concerns" around the virus. The company was going to the late February event to push Amazon Web Services rather than anything consumer-facing, but it's still a big blow when MWC has already lost multiple companies.
Samsung reportedly scales back MWC presence over coronavirus fears
Companies like LG and NVIDIA aren't the only ones having second thoughts about Mobile World Congress in light of the current coronavirus outbreak. CNET sources say Samsung is scaling back its plans to attend the wireless extravaganza, with many executives cancelling their trips. The company is still "considering" its options and might change its approach again, the sources said, but it might not have nearly as much beyond its usual booth.
LG pulls out of Mobile World Congress over coronavirus concerns
Mobile World Congress is the event the world -- or at least, our particularly nerdy corner of it -- looks to for annual updates in smartphones, networking technology and more. This year, as concerns over a growing coronavirus outbreak continue to mount, LG has decided that the Barcelona-based trade show simply isn't worth the risk. "With the safety of its employees and general public foremost in mind, LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain," a statement emailed to reporters said. "This decision will prevent needlessly exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel, which most health experts have advised."
Making sense of the 5G phones at Mobile World Congress 2019
After years of talk, the era of 5G is finally upon us. This time around, you couldn't take more than a few steps on the MWC show floor without bumping into someone driving a delivery truck via 5G, or seeing a man remotely directing a surgery across town thanks to 5G's ultra-low latency. (In case you hadn't heard, MWC is weird.) For most of us though, 5G just means faster data for our smartphones, so we wanted to take a moment to dig into what the 5G phones we found in Barcelona really bring to the table.
The five-camera Nokia 9 PureView hits the US March 3rd
HMD Global isn't wasting much time with the Nokia 9 PureView. While it just announced the phone, which has five rear cameras, a few days ago at Mobile World Congress, it will start selling the handset in the US March 3rd. If you're interested, it might be best to act quickly as the PureView will cost you $599 to begin with, but that jumps to $699 March 11th.
I have an opinion on folding phones
Do you want a folding phone? Seriously. Not in a "I agree with the concept of one," more: "I am willing to buy one in 2019." Samsung's Galaxy Fold and Huawei's Mate X have both officially broke cover, but there are so many questions left unanswered. Thanks to MWC, there's also no shortage of folding phone prototypes, concepts and teases. Depending on who you ask (including me), folding phones are already many things. So let's play Choose Your Own Opinion.
Comparing the Galaxy S10+ and the Xperia 1 to the iPhone XS Max
Folding phones aren't the only big displays you'll see at this year's Mobile World Congress. Plenty of traditional, non-bendy devices have graced the show floor this year, with screens far past six inches — we're long past the days when handsets like the Galaxy Note were anomalies. This year's S10+ is certainly a contender in size, but Sony won't be left behind thanks to its super tall Xperia 1. These two flagships are entering a race that the iPhone XS Max is already in thanks to its 6.5-inch screen, though the addition of triple rear cameras will certainly help the newcomers' chances. For the full skinny on how this competition will shake out, you'll have to wait for our reviews of the new Samsung and Sony handsets in the coming weeks, but for now check out our handy spec table to see how the early numbers stack up.
Comparing the Galaxy S10, Nokia 9 and LG G8: Cameras galore
So we're more than neck deep into Mobile World Congress, and our hands-ons have been coming pretty fast and furious. Though you'll have to wait a bit to see our full reviews of the latest flagships from companies like Samsung and LG, we can always take a peek at the specs to see how they stack up against each other. Here we're looking at some of the smaller flagships — though when you're pushing six inches and up, small is relative. Check out the table to see all the key specs of the Galaxy S10, the Nokia 9 and the LG G8 — for starters, between three phones we've got 11 rear shooters alone!
Dispatches from MWC: Six things that don't fold
Did you hear? They're making foldable phones now! Yes, it's the unavoidable bendy trend of the show for sure, but there's plenty more going on here in Barcelona, and we've summed it all up here to provide some respite from our foldable future.
Comparing the Galaxy Fold, the Huawei Mate X and the Royole FlexPai
Over the past few years, new handsets haven't had a lot to distinguish themselves from the competition. We've seen more powerful cameras and larger screens, but the basic design has been a bit stuck. However, in the past week both Samsung and Huawei have showcased bendable devices that can unfold from pocket-size into a larger tablet-like screen. And companies like Oppo and TCL are also showing off their own concepts, though those are only prototypes for now. In terms of what you'll be able to buy soon, we've taken the incoming Galaxy Fold and Mate X and faced them off against the only folding phone that's made it to market so far: the Royole FlexPai. There's a lot more than just those eye-watering prices to take a look at below.
The Morning After: Huawei's foldable phone
Good morning! If you like your phones foldable, ready for 5G or just plain brand new, then we've got quite the Morning After for you. Over the weekend, we saw Huawei's attempt at a foldable phone, as well as a 5G phone from LG that's coming to major US carriers. Oh, and we have some earlier impressions after using the Galaxy S10 over the weekend. And if you're numb to phones? There's other things, too.
Nokia 9 PureView hands-on: A taste of our photographic future
We got by for years with one main camera on our smartphones. Then dual cameras became a thing, and now, the industry is steadily moving toward three as the norm. Surely that must be enough, right?
After Math: Mobile World Mayhem
Mobile World Congress is kicking off this weekend in Barcelona, Spain and Engadget's crack team of reporters will be coming to you live from the show floor! But the trade show isn't the only thing making mobile news this week: Chevy's finally adding a "Find my Car" feature to its app, Intel's pumping the brakes on rumors of its 5G modem availability, and Facebook is (unsurprisingly) once again in trouble for scraping sensitive data from its mobile users. In less disturbing news, BMW and Daimler are looking to invest a billion dollars into a different sort of "mobile" project.
We're live from MWC 2019 in Barcelona!
The show floor at Barcelona's Fira Gran Via may not officially open until Monday, but there's plenty happening at Mobile World Congress this weekend. We're on the ground in Spain to bring you all of the news as it happens, including live coverage of a Microsoft event tomorrow (February 24th) at 12PM ET/6PM CET. In addition what's expected to be the reveal of HoloLens 2, we're counting on huge announcements from the likes of Google, LG, Sony, Huawei, Nokia and more. Keep it locked here for all of the details, and follow along at our event hub, via the link below. In the meantime, check out what you can expect this week in our preview of MWC 2019.
Huawei's foldable phone will be revealed on February 24th
After years of buzz, we could finally see not one but two foldable phones launched this month. Huawei has taken to Twitter to announce an event at Mobile World Congress on February 24th at 2PM Barcelona time / 8AM ET, just days after Samsung's annual Unpacked festivities. The company revealed its plans to launch a foldable phone in 2019 last October. At the time, it said the device was undergoing fine-tuning, but the imminent launch indicates that Huawei may have smoothed out any wrinkles.
Microsoft might surprise us with HoloLens 2 next month
Microsoft has hinted it could reveal the long-awaited HoloLens 2 next month. It sent out invites to a press event taking place on February 24th, which CEO Satya Nadella, CVP Julia White and technical fellow Alex Kipman will host. Given the names involved, it seems Microsoft has something significant up its sleeve. Kipman is the creator of HoloLens, so his presence suggests Microsoft will have at least some news on the latest version of its mixed reality headset.
LG smartphone rumor suggests a 'second screen' add-on
Samsung has already teased its future of "Infinity Flex" foldable devices that blur the line between phone and tablet, and while we'd heard LG would show off something similar at CES last week, it didn't. Now CNET cites anonymous sources indicating that we'll see a new mobile device from LG at Mobile World Congress 2019 that supports an optional "second screen" attachment, described as a sort of case with a screen. That could give it extra display area rivaling devices like Samsung and Royole, and as Google has already committed to supporting Android devices with changing screen sizes, we'd expect to see more companies give it a try. The odd configuration could also explain some of the recent trademarks that surfaced from LG including Foldi and Duplex. CNET isn't clear on whether or not this adjustable device will be the mainstream G8 device, or perhaps a separate device like LG's previous G Flex series, but it will be something to keep an eye on as MWC's opening approaches on February 25th. We're expecting to hear more about Samsung's flexible plans and the Galaxy S10 on February 20th, and we wouldn't be surprised if LG also makes a pre-show splash with new mobile hardware.
Samsung may unveil its foldable phone and Galaxy S10 on February 20th (update)
Samsung has traditionally launched its new Galaxy S phones at Barcelona's Mobile World Congress. This year, though, it appears it's breaking with tradition. Wall Street Journal reports that the company will be showing off its 10th anniversary flagship phone line up and its much-anticipated foldable phone at events in San Francisco and London on February 20th. Initial reports suggested we'd have to wait until March to see the foldable, rumored to be called the "Galaxy F".
Testing LG V30S ThinQ's hit-or-miss camera tricks
The LG V30S ThinQ isn't a completely new phone, but there are enough new goodies to warrant taking another look at its camera, ahead of a deeper dive on the phone in its entirety. We know it has a fantastic range of features for mobile videographers and vloggers -- arguably the new 256GB storage option is aimed at these users. But how about these newly introduced camera features? Are they worth having? Is the AI cam better than my own judgement? And what about Bright Mode? Can algorithms save blurry night shots? We went out on an (inadvertently) wet and chilly Barcelona walking tour one evening to test these new camera tricks. Are they' enough to dethrone the likes of the Pixel 2, or at least reassess the V30 series when it comes to low-light photography?
The first Android Go phones blend low prices with lots of promise
The world's first Android Go phones debuted here at Mobile World Congress, and they just might change the way Android works for the developing world. We took some time to get acquainted with some of these new devices, but in case you're not entirely up to speed on Go itself, we've prepared this handy primer.
