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Here's what you missed from the MWC 2017 press events
All the big press conferences here at MWC 2017 are finally over, and that means it's time to bring you reports of the quirkiest devices and developments on the show floor. But in case you haven't been closely following the announcements out of Barcelona (we understand, there was a huge mixup at the Oscars), here's a quick recap of all the most important press events at the show.
Fox tests auto-downloading movies onto your phone
Wouldn't you like it if newish movies trickle-downloaded onto your phone when you weren't looking so you could watch them later? That's the concept behind an experiment being carried out by 20th Century Fox over the next month. The studio has partnered with Australian mobile network Telstra and Ericsson to test a mobile app that quietly pulls down flicks for watching, offline, later on. Assuming, at least, that you pay the requisite fee to unlock the film that's quietly occupying space on your smartphone.
Huawei is considering cell towers that wirelessly charge drones
Huawei's big news at MWC was, of course, the P10 handset and a new watch. The company does have its fingers in other pies, though, and one of those is the drone game. Far away from the exhibition halls where all the smartphones are on display is an area called "Innovation City" (it's more of a hamlet, but we'll go along with it). Here, Huawei is demoing a number of quirky ideas, one of which is a grand plan to help solve the short battery lives of drones -- and it's as curious as it is clever. In case you were worried, that's a scale model of a cell tower above. The plan isn't to have mega drones.
MediaTek's revamped 10-core chip will be hitting phones in Q2
MediaTek's first 10-core chips, the Helio X20 and X25, didn't exactly storm the smartphone market last year, but the company isn't ready to give up just yet. Following MediaTek's initial announcement back in September, the new 10-core Helio X30 is now finally entering mass production, with the first devices expected to arrive some time in Q2 this year. For those who aren't already familiar with this piece of silicon, the X30 is MediaTek's first move into 10nm fabrication, allowing it to join the likes of Qualcomm's Snapdragon 835 and Samsung's Exynos 9 Series 8895.
A first look at Gear VR's motion controller
Samsung and Oculus are making sure the Gear VR keeps up with Google's DayDream VR platform. The two companies announced a new version of the mobile headset and it now comes with a controller. In fact, that's the major difference, with the headset itself being marginally lighter and benefitting from a few cosmetic tweaks. I got to handle the controller for a brief spell here at MWC, and while there were no demos for me to experience, Gear VR's take on the mobile controller feels more like the HTC's Vive peripherals than anything else. And that's certainly not a bad thing.
MWC's best phones head-to-head: It's (mostly) about the display (updated)
While flagships may have been scarce at MWC this year, there were still more than a few notable smartphone announcements early in the week. We've put the biggest ones so far in a handy table so you can compare specs, features and more to decide which one might be your next daily driver. Who knows, we may be in for a few surprises now that the show officially started, but for now, here are the five handsets from Barcelona that you need to know.
Watch Sony's Xperia MWC press event in under 5 minutes
Sony invited us to their MWC booth to run down a few announcements in the span of about 30 minutes. Since you might not have a half hour to dedicate to catching the full video, so we've distilled down the most important details to a five-minute recap. Get all the info you need on the Xperia XZ Premium, Xperia Touch and Xperia Ear Open-style Concept, and save the bulk of your lunch break for playing Super Mario Run. Click here to catch up on the latest news from MWC 2017.
Roborace unwraps its driverless electric car
The team behind Roborace has taken a big step toward introducing a fully driverless racing competition. At a press conference in Barcelona, chief executive Denis Sverdlov and chief designer Daniel Simon revealed the final design for its track-ready "Robocar." We've seen images of the vehicle before, but they were merely renders; a hint of what the company was working on. The unveiling of a real car, all curves and carbon fiber, is our best evidence yet that the futuristic motorsport will actually happen.
Akai brings its iMPC music production app to Android devices
Akai's iOS-friendly iMPC app has been giving musicians and producers a much more mobile version of its MPC (Music Production Center) hardware for a while now. During MWC this week, the company is announcing a version for Android devices. There's a catch though: For now, it's only available on Samsung Galaxy phones and tablets. Despite that caveat, you can expect the same 1,200 samples, 80 editable sequences and 50 editable programs the iOS version offers.
K-pop and VR at MWC is sensory overload
I expected MWC to be a roller-coaster ride of emotions, but I wasn't quite anticipating getting on a literal one (albeit in VR) here at the show. When Korea Telecom (KT) offered up a chance to party with K-pop band Twice, I just had to get in line despite not really knowing what awaited me. VR experiences are pretty played out at this point, but Korea Telecom adds a twist by promising to deliver the media over 5G, which it just announced it will deploy commercially by 2019. Of course, since 5G isn't actually a thing yet, we were wired into a computer, and this demo really only showcased KT's ability to create entertaining VR content with a simulator ride.
Jolla's Android alternative is coming to Sony Xperia phones
If you're a fan of Jolla (a mobile platform that's part Linux, part Android and loosely based on Nokia's MeeGo project), good news. The company has announced it will be releasing an official version of its Sailfish operating system for a number of Sony Xperia handsets. The news came from the firm's press event at MWC this morning, and adds a big-name brand to the currently mixed list of devices that the plucky (persistent?) mobile software has officially been ported to.
Sony's Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra round out its mid-range lineup
With a 4K screen and Snapdragon 835 chip, the new Xperia XZ Premium has plenty of appeal, but there's probably a reason Sony didn't mention the price. Luckily, at MWC 2017 it also unveiled the $700 Xperia XZs, a 5.2-inch, 1080p smartphone with a "mere" Snapdragon 820 chip. If it was the sensor you really wanted on the Premium model, you're in luck -- the Xperia XZs has the same 19-megapixel Motion Eye camera that does 4K video and up to 960 frames per second.
Watch Samsung's MWC 2017 event in under 15 minutes
Samsung's MWC 2017 press conference opened with quality control assurances before moving on to the Galaxy Tab S3, Galaxy Book and a new Gear VR. We save you the trouble of watching an hour-long video with all the important details in a 15-minute clip. Don't forget: We'll be spending more time with Samsung next month as it's set to reveal the Galaxy S8 on March 29th. Click here to catch up on the latest news from MWC 2017.
Oppo's clever, zooming dual camera was inspired by periscopes
The dual-camera craze is real at Mobile World Congress, but Oppo decided to break from the pack with its own, very clever implementation. Long story short: the company managed to build a 5x "lossless" zoom system for smartphones using two sensors and a zoom mechanism inspired by periscopes. The latter part is nothing new, of course: 'tis a feature which was once common on compact digital cameras, and ASUS even applied this to its ZenFone Zoom last year. Oppo's implementation, however, takes things up a notch.
AT&T tweaks its unlimited data plans to offer tethering
Remember when AT&T announced that it would once again offer unlimited data packages, and they were a little underwhelming? Sensing its error, the company has taken the opportunity to roll out a tweaked plan to ease the pain of your wallet. AT&T Unlimited Plus offers unlimited calls, texts and 22GB of high speed data before you hit the throttling wall for $90 a month. Even better, the plan now offers 10GB tethering data per line -- something that was omitted from the prior set of plans.
Watch Huawei's P10 MWC event in under 15 minutes
Huawei took much longer than 15 minutes to reveal it new P10 phones and version 2.0 of its smartwatch at MWC 2017. Lucky for you, you don't have to relive every minute of the event in order to recap all the important news. We've edited down to the crucial bits, so you only have to dedicate a few minutes to catching up on any details you might have missed. Click here to catch up on the latest news from MWC 2017.
Huawei's fancy Porsche Design watch is rather ordinary
Huawei's Watch 2 is getting a limited edition version, courtesy of Porsche Design. While we've already strapped on the company's basic Android Wear device, the VIP version was behind glass in a corner of one of several Huawei booths here at MWC. (This company takes Mobile World Congress very seriously.) While there's no price, Huawei's last collaboration with Porsche Design on its Mate 9 smartphone resulted in a limited-run phone that cost four times the price of the muggle version. (The standard Huawei Watch 2 will hit retail for roughly $350, so multiply that a few times.) However much it does eventually cost, you'll get a thick leather strap with red stitching, as well as a specially engraved ceramic chronograph bezel. Other than that, it looks a lot like the original Watch 2, albeit made for Asia's gui zu (one-percenters). If Apple can do it, why not Huawei?
HTC's Vive Tracker and Deluxe Audio Strap cost $100 each
HTC launched a pair of desirable accessories for its Vive VR headset at CES 2017 in Las Vegas last month, and now we know when they'll arrive and for how much. The Vive Tracker, a 3D tracking device that you can attach to your wrists or any objects you want to use in VR, will cost $100 (£100 in the UK) and arrive to developers only starting on March 27th. The Deluxe Audio Strap, which adds some much-needed comfort to the otherwise fabulous headset, will also cost $100 and £100 in the UK.
Ricoh's next camera can stream live broadcasts in 360
Ricoh makes one of the best, simple 360-degree cameras out there. It's gradually added better picture quality, more video skills (and cheaper models) to its Theta series, but the company's taking its tech in a different direction with a spherical video camera capable of live streaming 2K at 30fps. The stitching takes place in real-time and the product is unmistakably for creators and media types. This is the Ricoh R Developer kit, and you can preorder one now.
Sony's new Xperia Ear lets in sounds from the outside world
Sony already debuted wireless earbuds with the Xperia Ear device last year. Here at MWC 2017, the company is showing off the next iteration of its virtual assistant-equipped audio gear. For now, Sony is calling the new gadget the Xperia Ear Open-style Concept as the product is style in the prototype phase. Unfortunately, that means we aren't able to listen to it here at the show, but the company is still offering some details on the setup.
