Mobile World Congress is an annual trade show organised by GSMA, dedicated primarily to the mobile communications industry, and has been held in Barcelona, Spain since 2006.
Usually held in late February or early March, it is attended primarily by mobile device manufacturers, mobile network operators, network equipment providers, and the tech press. Its annual attendance is generally around 100,000 people (when there isn’t a pandemic) and it’s often the setting for the unveiling of new tech and offerings from the biggest names in the industry.
After being cancelled in 2020, postponed and poorly attended in June 2021, we are set to see the event back on and jam packed from the 28th Feb to the 3rd March.
A few large tech firms are still not attending MWC 2022 due to Covid concerns, Sony and Lenovo being two of them, however we are still expecting a good show and some interesting announcements.
5G is at the forefront of most of our minds currently, and all tech firms and network operators are already providing and manufacturing 5G devices and connectivity. The focus will now shift on what we can do with this developing technology. Handset manufacturers who have already launched 5G ready devices are expected to concentrate more on flexible/foldable/rollable displays, wearable tech and more affordable mid range flagship devices.
Some names and announcements we expect are –
Qualcomm – the biggest manufacturer of your android phones innards and brains has a press event scheduled for 2.30pm CET Mon 28th Feb. It’s expected that much of the talk will be about the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 chip, but it’s believed there will also be talk around autonomous driving, augmented reality, virtual reality and other 5G based future technologies.
Samsung – Speculation is that Samsung may use MWC 2022 to reveal its rumoured Galaxy A53 smartphone, believed to be its next mid-range device. They may also be revealing new laptops for the tech market.
Lenovo – although not physically at MWC 2022, they will have a virtual stand there. There is wind of a gaming phone, the Legion Y90, and a gaming tablet, the Y700.
Honor – The tech firm Honor, has confirmed that it will be announcing the Honor Magic 4 at MWC 2022, and has a launch event scheduled for 1pm CET Mon 28th.
Huawei – With its flagship models, the P50 and the P50 pocket already launched, we expect Huawei to showcase more of their tech and what they have developed since their partnership with Google ended, with several talks scheduled across the event.
Nokia – In previous year Nokia usually launch a whole range of devices at Mobile World Congress, however they have already launched some updated Nokia G models and more affordable mid range devices, so it is suspected that they will launch higher range handsets at this year’s event.
Realme – has confirmed that it is hosting an MWC launch event at 10am Mon 28th Feb. It’s expected they will show the Realme GT 2 and GT 2 Pro for an international launch following its launch in China. We’re also expecting Realme’s magnetic charging solution MagDart to be showcased, alongside a new charging tech rumoured to offer 150W charging.
Oppo – The Oppo Find X5 series is set to be announced just before MWC 2022 kicks off, with an Oppo launch event at 11am GMT on Thurs 24th Feb. Oppo will also be present at Mobile World Congress. It says that it will be showing off more than just phones, so we’re interested to see what else they present at the event.
