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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 Mate X: A first look at Samsung’s biggest foldable rival
Foldable phone fever meets 5G mania in Huawei's latest flagship. At MWC, the company unveiled the new Mate X, joining the likes of Samsung and Royole in offering smartphones with folding screens. Huawei's Mate X also claims to be the fastest 5G folding phone -- but it's not the first in the category to support the latest networking standard. We're not looking at a me-too product here; Huawei's take on the device has a few compelling differences from other folding phones we've seen so far that has me thinking it may have the best approach. We were able to check out a prototype (though we weren't allowed to touch it), and from that brief encounter, I'm already intrigued.
Huawei MateBook X Pro hands-on: Modest upgrades to a solid laptop
Huawei's Mobile World Congress lineup actually starts with laptops this year. Expect to see at least three MateBooks in 2019, in fact. The company is rounding out of its PC family, but the main draw is the triumphant return of the MateBook X Pro, upgraded for 2019 with up to 8th generation Core i7 processors, up to 16 gigs of RAM and 1TB of storage (double the amount from last year). There's also a GPU upgrade to the NVIDIA GeForce MTX 250, which I'm not going to complain about, either.
Xiaomi's Mi 9 flagship comes to Europe on February 28th
Xiaomi's latest Android flagship, the Mi 9, will hit European store shelves on February 28th. At a press conference in Barcelona, the company confirmed that the phone will be available with either 64GB or 128GB of internal storage for €449 (roughly $510) and €499 (roughly $566) respectively. We went hands-on with the Mi 9 last week and liked what we saw. The handset sports a 6.39-inch, FHD+ (1080x2340) AMOLED display with a teardrop notch and 19:6 aspect ratio. It's also packing a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor, 6GB of RAM and a 3,300mAh battery.
Samsung Galaxy S10+: What’s great and what’s not (so far)
Samsung's Galaxy S10 family was only announced a few days ago, but we got one just in time to bring along to Barcelona. It's a beautiful device, and clearly represents Samsung at the peak of its smartphone-building prowess, but there's a bigger question that needs tackling: What's it actually like to live with? We definitely don't want to rush this review, but after 24 hours of sharing our new S10+, senior mobile editor Chris Velazco and I have some thoughts -- join us as we share our early impressions below.
Oppo phone with 10x zoom camera will launch this spring
Following the teaser from mid-January, today Oppo held an event just ahead of MWC to talk more about its upcoming 10x "lossless" camera zoom technology. This will still be enabled by a triple-camera module, but now we know that from top to bottom, it'll start with a 48-megapixel high-resolution main camera, followed by a 120-degree ultra-wide camera and a stealthy periscopic telephoto camera. Together, these cameras cover a range of 16mm to 160mm, hence the 10x zoom rating.
Tune in to our Microsoft MWC liveblog Sunday at 12PM ET!
MWC doesn't officially begin until Monday, but a few companies are revealing the goods this weekend ahead of the show. Microsoft is one of those, and we'll be there on Sunday (February 24th) to bring you all the news as it's announced in liveblog form. Tune into our live coverage right here at 12PM ET/6PM CET as we find out what CEO Satya Nadella and HoloLens creator and Microsoft technical fellow Alex Kipman have to discuss here in Barcelona. We could see the official introduction of HoloLens 2, or perhaps some Windows Mixed Reality news. But no matter what's on tap, we'll have the details from Spain as they're unveiled on stage. If you want to watch live, head over to Microsoft's event page for the livestream when the time comes.
What to expect at MWC 2019
There's always plenty of news from MWC, and it's either entirely expected or word gets out early. This year is shaping up to be slightly different, though, as companies are preparing their version of the future of smartphones. From foldable designs to 5G and more, this year's Mobile World Congress won't only be jam-packed with news, but it should also be exciting once again.
Qualcomm's X55 modem will help make 5G phones a practical reality
The first batch of 5G phones is right around the corner, but Qualcomm is already preparing for the follow-up. It's introducing a Snapdragon X55 modem that should make 5G more viable in the real world. Unlike the X50, the new chipset will support "all major frequency bands" for (millimeter wave or lower), different operation modes and network deployments (including 4G/5G spectrum sharing), effectively supporting most any 5G rollout on the horizon. You'll be more likely to get coverage beyond your home network, and shouldn't be left behind if there's a coverage upgrade.
LG's first 5G phone will likely be the V50 ThinQ for Sprint
LG and Sprint haven't been shy about their plans to launch a 5G smartphone in 2019. Now, though, you might be looking at the device in question. Well-known scoop provider Evan Blass has obtained an image of the V50 ThinQ, a Sprint-bound flagship with some very conspicuous 5G branding. The picture doesn't include many details outside of a notched display and an abundance of cameras, but it hints at a February 24th reveal date that lines up with LG's South Korean announcement promising a 5G phone introduction that day, just ahead of Mobile World Congress.
Samsung will open three real stores in the US February 20th
On the same day we meet the Galaxy S10, Samsung is going to "celebrate 10 years of Galaxy" with three new retail locations in the US. While it has previously opened stores around the world, in the US Samsung has preferred to spread its Experience shops as store-within-a-store pop-up shops that mostly exist inside Best Buy. So now in the US, customers can go to a Samsung store and actually purchase something. The Americana at Brand– 889 Americana Way, Glendale, CA 91210 Roosevelt Field on Long Island– 630 Old Country Rd, Garden City, NY 11530 The Galleria in Houston– 5085 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77056 There are also hands-on demos and walk-in repairs available. The three locations opening February 20th are in California, Texas and New York, and Samsung claims these locations "are just the beginning." Even if you're not interested in picking up a Galaxy slate or getting the battery in your Note replaced, they'll also have 8K TVs, a 4K gaming lounge and 4D VR. If Samsung expands these stores to more cities, it could put some interesting pressure on other tech companies-turned-retailers like Apple and Microsoft.
LG's G8 uses its OLED screen for audio too
Even though we've likely seen all of the outside of LG's next flagship phone, there's still a lot to learn about the G8 ThinQ and the company is sticking to its custom by slowly releasing info as we near its MWC 2019 launch. Tonight LG has revealed more about its audio setup, which includes a "Crystal Sound OLED." Similar to LG-developed OLED technology we've seen come to market in Sony's TVs, it vibrates the screen to produce sound, with an effect that the company claims increases volume, with musical notes more discernible and voices clearer. Vivo's all-glass phone appears to be using tech that's either similar or the same. This doesn't mean the phone's screen will be shaking all the time, however, as LG explains that in speakerphone mode it will deliver audio through the bottom speaker, and step up to two channels with the top part of the screen. Other audio features we'll need to experience in Barcelona include support for emulated 7.1 surround using DTS:X with or without headphones, and its "Boombox Speaker" design that uses space within the phone as a resonance chamber to fill out its sound. It even supports the Master Quality Authenticated (MQA) encoded audio that Tidal uses and has a Hi-Fi Quad DAC.
Microsoft posts HoloLens 2 teaser ahead of February 24th launch
You've had to wait a long, long time for news about HoloLens 2, but it's finally right around the bend. Device creator Alex Kipman has posted a teaser for the mixed reality headset that confirms its premiere just before Mobile World Congress on February 24th. The clip itself is cryptic, with vague allusions to processors and possibly carbon fiber (which could help reduce the weight). Not that you'd need to read the tea leaves to have an idea of what to expect -- there have already been a few clues.
OnePlus will show a 5G prototype at Mobile World Congress
OnePlus is finally ready to show off 5G hardware after months of talking about it. The phone maker will have a presence at Qualcomm's booth during Mobile World Congress (February 25th through February 28th), and it plans to feature a 5G "prototype." It'll give attendees a chance to "connect and communicate" with the community using the next-gen wireless tech, and will demo the possibilities for "5G gaming." Really, it's a peek at what OnePlus might do for its first 5G phone.
LG's G8 will fight Face ID with its own 3D front-facing camera
LG isn't ready to show off all of the details around its next flagship phone just yet, but tonight it has revealed the technology we'll see in the G8 ThinQ's front-facing camera. By including a "Time of Flight" image sensor made by Infineon, LG claims it can deliver features like facial recognition, augmented reality and better selfies in all kinds of lighting conditions while using less power than other solutions like Apple's Face ID. While Apple's TrueDepth technology for Face ID is similar to what we saw in the Xbox 360 Kinect where it projects thousands of laser dots then measures the distortion to figure out where things are, Time of Flight is the tech Microsoft hoped it would get better results from for the Xbox One Kinect device. By capturing IR light as it reflects off of a subject, the idea is that it will give more accurate results with less computing power. There have been rumors that Apple is considering implementing it in the iPhone's rear-facing camera, however well-sourced analyst Ming-Chi Kuo shot those down, saying the device's existing dual-camera setup would suffice.
Sony's next Xperia phone may feature a movie-friendly 21:9 screen
One of Sony's upcoming phones could be pretty great for watching movies on the go, if a leak of a new Xperia is anything to go by. The images indicate it will have a tall, narrow display with a 21:9 aspect ratio (as opposed to the more common 16:9). That could be ideal for widescreen movies, but maybe not so much for video in other ratios, since black bars will take up much of the screen.
Samsung's 'hole-punch' screen comes to Korea with the Galaxy A9 Pro
Late last year, Samsung showed off its first quad-camera setup with the Galaxy A9, and now in Korea it has debuted the Galaxy A9 Pro with an Infinity-O display. Both features are expected to be included on its next flagship device, the Galaxy S10, which will be unveiled ahead of Mobile World Congress in Spain next month, however the Infinity-O made its first appearance on an identical phone launched in China with the name Galaxy A8s. Instead of going with a notched display like the iPhone X series and others, Samsung's all-screen design simply punches a hole into the display for a front-facing 2.4 MP camera, with small bezels at the top and bottom for 19.5 x 9 aspect ratio.
LG and Huawei will reveal 5G phones next month
In 2018, LG and Huawei announced that they're working on 5G phones slated for launch sometime this year. Turns out we'll see them both very, very soon: The companies will be unveiling the first devices that comply with 5G standards at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this February. According to Android Police, Huawei revealed that it's showcasing a 5G smartphone with foldable display at a 5G launch event in Beijing. The Chinese company didn't keep it a secret that it's developing a foldable 5G mobile device, but Huawei chief Richard Yu said in October last year that it hasn't been fine-tuned for customer use yet. While it's not clear how much it has improved since then, we'll still likely see prototype at the event.
Vivo's all-glass phone has no ports and a full-screen fingerprint reader
2019 may be the year of flexible mobile devices, but judging by a couple of announcements from China this week, it appears that we may also be expecting the disappearance of holes and ports on smartphones. Following yesterday's Meizu Zero, today Vivo has announced its latest concept 5G device, the APEX 2019, which is yet another smartphone with almost no holes. I say "almost" because there's still a tiny microphone slit below the screen, but other than that, you won't find any USB port, speaker grill or SIM tray around this shiny slab of glass.
LG's MWC teaser hints at phones with more touchless gestures
Besides the potential of foldable/expandable devices and 5G, what else can we expect to see at Mobile World Congress next month? According to LG's invite to its Premiere event on February 24th, we'll say "Goodbye Touch." The video clip shows a hand summoning and dismissing text with a simple wave, similar to things we've seen from tech like Samsung's Air Gesture that arrived in the Galaxy S4. Presumably LG's implementation will be far more advanced than what we experienced back in 2013, but we'll have to wait and see.
