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LG's modular G5 is its most daring flagship phone ever
LG is in a tricky position: starting with the G2, it's made consistently lovely flagship smartphones, but it can't even crack the top five top-selling mobile brands. The time has come for something seriously off the wall, and, well, LG went for it. Say hello to the LG G5, the most ambitious smartphone the company has ever made.
Live from LG's keynote at MWC 2016
LG is getting ready to kick off the festivities at Mobile World Congress 2016. We're expecting to see LG's new flagship smartphone, the G5. And this is just the start of a very interesting -- and tiring -- day. The company's press conference starts at 8AM ET, so be sure to stay tuned into this page and watch the livestream here.
Watch LG's MWC 2016 press event here
We're just a few minutes away from LG's huge press conference at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where the Korean giant has already confirmed it'll be debuting its latest flagship smartphone, the G5. Check out LG's livestream below, and follow along with our liveblog when the event starts at 8 AM Eastern.
We're live from MWC 2016 in Barcelona!
It feels like we never left. We are back in Barcelona to attend Mobile World Congress 2016, the European showcase for smartphones, tablets, hybrid laptops, internet services and a whole lot more. Back in 2015, we saw the introduction of devices like the One M9 and Galaxy S6, so you can expect more flagship announcements from the usual suspects -- including HTC, LG and, of course, Samsung, which is expected to reveal the GS7 and GS7 Edge.
Alcatel tries its hand at crafting a 2-in-1 Windows 10 tablet
It turns out the 2-in-1 Windows tablet PC bandwagon is too tempting to resist. Alcatel — a company best known for its cheap smartphones — just pulled back the curtains on the Plus 10. Yeah, that's right: Alcatel just built a PC.
Alcatel doubles down on cheap-good phones with two new Idols
Alcatel OneTouch had a surprise hit on its hands with the Idol 3, a reversible smartphone seated at the crucial corner of cheap and good. Is it any surprise, then, that the Idol 4S popped here at Mobile World Congress? (In a word: no.) We don't have a price to go with the phone yet, but it seems poised to keep the company's mobile momentum rolling along nicely.
What to expect from this year's Mobile World Congress
Team Engadget is slowly trickling into Barcelona as you read this, which can only mean one thing: The beautiful nightmare of Mobile World Congress is nearly upon us. The next few days will see some of the world's biggest, most important industry players try to outdo each other with smartphones, tablets and plenty more. If that sounds like an insane week, well, you're right (and we wouldn't have it any other way). Read on for a preview of what we expect the biggest news to be.
Samsung will stream the GS7 launch in 360-degree video
For MWC in Barcelona, Samsung will be doing an Inception-like trick of letting you see its brand new devices -- using last year's devices. The company is presenting Unpacked 2016 in 360 degree VR for the first time, where it will unveil the latest Galaxy S7 phones. To watch the event on a mobile phone or PC, you choose one of four different viewpoints, then rotate the field of view to see it from any angle. The most interesting option, however, is to see it using a Gear VR device and a supported Galaxy smartphone.
Garmin's latest wearables know what sport you're playing
Garmin has revealed the Vivoactive HR sports watch and Vivofit 3 activity tracker, which look like solid improvements over the previous models in both design and features. For the Vivoactive HR smartwatch, the biggest updatel is the built-in heart rate monitor that obviates the need for a chest strap. It's also received a complete style makeover and looks significantly nicer than the chunky square design of the original Vivoactive. Using the built-in GPS, it can track running, cycling, swimming, golfing, rowing and skiing/snowboarding, with custom settings for each sport.
Omate's kids smartwatch does 3G calls and reliable tracking
Smartwatch connoisseurs should already be familiar with Omate, the maker of one of the first full-Android watches with cellular connectivity. Given the recent surge in the number of kids smartwatches, it's no surprise to see Omate also announcing one, which is dubbed the Wherecom K3. It's essentially a plastic version of the company's earlier TrueSmart+, featuring the same 1.54-inch 320 x 320 touchscreen, 1GHz dual-core chip, 3G radio (1900 MHz for US or 2100 MHz for Europe), Micro SIM slot, WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS and Android 5.1. The additional benefits here are the swappable 20mm straps and obviously the lighter weight. Unlike the DokiWatch, though, there's no camera nor waterproofing on the $129 Wherecom K3, but it'll be available from retailers in April which is one month ahead of its competitor's shipping date.
Samsung's next smartwatch comes with an e-SIM
Samsung will release a version of its 3G-connected Gear S2 that ditches the traditional SIM card in favor of an electronic one. It'll be the first mainstream connected wearable that ditches the old technology in favor of its all-digital replacement. The move will help the device save some space, since even a nano-SIM slot requires real estate that could otherwise be used for the battery. The device will land in stores at some point in March, and has the blessing of the GSMA and various global carriers that support the standard.
Synaptics' fingerprint sensor fits inside the volume rocker
Synaptics' latest fingerprint sensor for mobile devices measures only 3.5 mm wide. It's so thin and tiny, it can fit inside a volume rocker switch on the side of your smartphone or tablet. The company is no stranger to developing sensors for various parts of the phone, such as the one it supplied for the HTC One Max that's located on the device's back plate. You might have to wait until next year to see the tiny scanner in action, though, since it's not slated to enter mass production until the third quarter of 2016. Besides the new product, Synaptics has also upgraded its SentryPoint security suite with an anti-spoofing feature.
Expect to see plenty more kid-friendly wearables soon
Qualcomm has signed a deal with three lesser-known tech companies to bring its new Snapdragon for wearables chip to a more niche branch of smartwatches. The most interesting outfit to sign on the dotted line is Infomark, which has no interest in making yet another Android Wear device. The business makes the JooN watch phone for kids, and is looking to produce similar gear that's targeted toward the elderly. Another new partner, Borqs, is similarly investigating "kid watches and elderly watches" for its growing wearables division.
Sony's new smartphone camera sensor is smaller and cheaper
At this point, Sony's more famous for the components that it makes for other people's devices than their own phones. It's certainly the case for its image sensors, which are now used by Apple, Huawei and, if the rumors are to be believed, Samsung. Just in time for MWC, the firm is releasing a new Exmor RS, the IMX318, that's likely to pop up in plenty more devices in the next year or so. It's a 1/2.6-inch stacked CMOS that has a maximum resolution of 22.5-megapixels and a hybrid autofocus that'll focus in as little as 0.03 seconds. The sensor is a lot smaller than its predecessors, but now includes three-axis, electronic image stabilization that could do away with bulky OIS lenses.
Leaked teaser video shows off waterproof Galaxy S7, S7 Edge
Samsung isn't officially showing off its next flagship phone until the 21st, there's already a video of it available on a company YouTube channel. Imploring us to get ready for #TheNextGalaxy, the video shows off what we're guessing are the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge. There's not much in the way of details and the design looks very close to the current S6 lineup, but a rainy segment would appear to confirm rumors of waterproofing. It also appears to have a flat back, confirming a Wall Street Journal report that it would ditch the protruding camera hump this time around.
LG brings a smarter pen experience to the Stylus 2
LG's promised trickle of details leading up to the G5's debut is in full force, but it's also teasing out at least one other model. Like last year, the outfit is selling a stylus-equipped phablet, the LG Stylus 2. Here's to hoping that the Korean tech company keeps that nomenclature from the prepared release rather than making us Yanks and folks in Korea request a "Stylo" again.
LG's 'Specialist' phones each bring one high-end feature
We still haven't seen all of LG's next premium phone, the G5, but tonight it's unveiling two interesting midrange handsets. Dubbed the Specialist X Series, the X cam and X screen are both fairly basic phones with Android Marshmallow 6.0, quad-core CPUs, 2GB of RAM and a smallish 16GB of storage for what we assume will be a reasonable price. As you can probably guess, each one then brings a extra...special feature.
LG will unveil the G5 on February 21st
It's no secret that LG has something planned for Mobile World Congress this month (it mentioned an event weeks ago), but the Korean tech giant is now making it clear as to what's up. It's posting teasers confirming a G5 unveiling just ahead of MWC, on February 21st. Yes, that's the same day that Samsung announces the Galaxy S7 -- unlike last year, LG isn't waiting until sometime after the big mobile trade show to debut its latest flagship smartphone.
Samsung reportedly launches its VR camera February 21st
Tired of waiting for Samsung's virtual reality-oriented Project Beyond camera to be more than just a well-meaning idea? You might just get your hands on it (or rather, something like it) soon. SamMobile sources hear that Samsung is preparing to launch a finished VR camera, the Gear 360, alongside the Galaxy S7 on February 21st. From the sounds of it, this device won't be as elaborate as Project Beyond -- it'll have two 180-degree fisheye cameras (à la devices like Nikon's KeyMission 360) rather than the abundance of cams on the concept. It'll record a 4K wrap-around picture if you use both lenses, though, and will have trick modes like split image views, panoramas and timelapses. There's no word on whether or not you can stream live footage online.
Meet Samsung's Galaxy S7 on February 21st
Waiting to see if Samsung can rekindle its smartphone sales streak with Galaxy S number seven? You won't be waiting long: media invites, as well as a tease-next-to-nothing teaser video, have both surfaced, with the most salient points being that the new Galaxy S will be revealed during the annual mobile flood of Mobile World Congress (in Barcelona, amigo), and that you can expect to sit through an hour of feature rundowns and poetic pontificating on February 21st. (Or, wait on a supercut of the most important parts.)
