Mobile World Congress is returning to Barcelona, filling out the halls of the Fira de Barcelona convention center between February 27th and March 2nd.
The trade show boasts that tens of thousands of attendees from over 200 countries are expected to attend to preview the latest technology impacting the mobile industry at large.
When it comes to consumer tech, that means MWC is a show filled with smartphone launches. Names like Honor, OnePlus, Huawei, and HMD’s Nokia are expected to make big announcements at the show, although key players like Samsung and Sony don’t appear to be preparing any major announcements for the event. And you can forget about Apple.
Like many trade shows, MWC has been a quieter affair for the past couple of years and was canceled entirely in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic. This year looks set to be slightly busier.
Read on for all the biggest news coming out of the show, and be sure to check back, as we’ll be updating this page regularly throughout the course of the week.
- RThis week on The Vergecast, we talked about TikTok’s AI filter, the Motorola Rizr, and Meta’s plans for VR.
It must be MWC, because every old mobile grievance was revisited, even as we celebrated what is surely our phone of the future, Motorola’s rollable Rizr concept.
We also dug into Alex Heath’s big scoop exposing Meta’s hardware roadmap, TikTok’s unsettling new filter, and talked a little about Elon Musk. Not too much.
Google Keep’s new Android widget makes it easier to check off items on your to-do list
The single note widget offers more interactivity than the app’s existing widgets.
MWC 2023 was a preview of what future phones could (and should) look like
Hands-on with HMD’s repairable Nokia and three more phone trends from MWC we hope are here to stay.
Motorola’s new Razr foldable is arriving this year
Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing confirmed to CNBC that the new foldable phone is coming ‘very soon.’
- JRizr up.
As well as Lenovo’s rollable laptop concept, we also checked out a phone prototype from its Motorola subsidiary. The company called it the “Motorola Rollable” in our demonstration, but it appears to be called the “Rizr” if the name printed on the rear of the device is anything to go by. That’s a nod to Motorola’s sliding feature phones from the mid 00s. Find our full thoughts here.
- JXiaomi’s augmented reality glasses are too big for real life.
XDA has an exclusive hands-on with a prototype pair of AR glasses by Xiaomi. They’re wireless, support gesture controls, and can switch between transparent and shaded modes.
But they’re also bulky as hell and a long way off commercial readiness. As we learned yesterday, Meta, too, is still betting on an AR future. But we’ve yet to see breakthrough hardware that can actually take us there.
Realme’s ridiculous 240W fast-charging phone is getting an international release
Originally announced in China earlier this month as the GT Neo 5, the Realme GT3 will soon be available in select markets across the rest of the world.
Redmi’s latest 300W charging feat powers your phone in under five minutes
Or if you’re really in a rush, you can juice up half the phone’s battery in a little over two minutes.
OnePlus is launching a foldable later this year
The Oppo brand says a folding phone is coming in the second half of 2023 and that more information is coming soon.
The Xiaomi 13 Pro is going global
Following a China-only launch late last year, the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro are taking the global stage at Mobile World Congress. They’ll be sold in Europe and Asia, but don’t get your hopes up for a US launch.
- RUnrolling Lenovo’s latest laptop and phone concepts at MWC 2023.
Just when we were getting used to foldable phones, tablets, and laptops, these concept designs suggest rollable screens are in the near future, ready to extend the view by a few more inches when you need them to, without taking up more space in your pocket or bag.
Jon Porter is at Mobile World Congress 2023 this week and can show you Lenovo’s rollable screen laptop plus its Motorola-branded rollable phone.
Nokia reveals new logo to remind you it doesn’t make phones anymore
You can still buy Nokia mobiles, just not from Nokia.
Honor’s Magic VS foldable will get a global release starting at €1,599
The company’s first foldable to release outside of China has been shown off alongside a more traditional Honor smartphone series, the Honor Magic5.
Google Chrome’s new zoom on mobile blows things up by up to 300 percent
Chrome on Android now lets you zoom in on text, images, videos, and on-screen buttons up to 300 percent without affecting the layout of the webpage.
Feb 27Emma Roth and Jon Porter
OnePlus’ new concept phone is its coolest yet
Those colorful strips on the back are designed to show off the company’s Active CryoFlux cooling system, which OnePlus says boosts gaming performance and charging speeds.
Lenovo’s rollables are a compelling, unfinished pitch for the future
First teased last October, the devices made an in-person appearance at Mobile World Congress 2023. But it’s clear they’re still far from ready for a public release.
HMD’s latest Nokia phone is designed to be repaired in minutes
The company claims the Nokia G22’s battery can be replaced in around five minutes and its screen in roughly 20. HMD is partnering with iFixit to sell replacement parts.
This Bluetooth fob turns iPhones or Android devices into two-way satellite messengers
The Motorola Defy Satellite Link Bluetooth accessory enables two-way emergency satellite texting using normal smartphones.
An exciting new lineup of smartphones is on the horizon… for Europe at least
Mobile World Congress arrives in Barcelona next week, heralding the arrival of a host of new smartphones for Europeans to enjoy and Americans to crave from afar.
Are those… light strips on the back of OnePlus’ new concept phone?
From its initial teaser images, it looks as though OnePlus is taking a little inspiration from Nothing’s Phone 1.
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