In a few days, Barcelona will not only be synonymous with Spanish idleness. It will be the scene of the largest mobile phone fair, the Mobile World Congress. Official conferences, teasers, predictions, we tell you everything.
Since 1987, the world of mobile telephony has been in turmoil for the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. For the IFA in Berlin or even the CES in Las Vegas, it is the largest trade fair dedicated to mobile telephony. This festival of IT mobility in Cannes is organized by the GSM Association. In this exclusively professional show, the MWC is a fantastic global showcase where companies showcase their technological know-how. But it is also a strategic location where the microcosm of manufacturers – operators – sellers – content providers meet and do business.
After a canceled 2020 edition due to the coronavirus epidemic, a half-hearted 2021 edition in July, a 2022 edition that required a PCR test, the Catalan capital is once again throbbing at full speed for our favorite devices. In 4 days (February 27 to March 2), several tens of thousands of people will visit the stands and attend the conferences.
Samsung
Samsung has already presented its series Galaxy S23 (S23 Ultra tested by the editors) but we expect even more novelties from the South Korean manufacturer. It probably won’t be in the high-end segment (Galaxy S and Fold) but rather on the entry-level models (Galaxy A).
Xiaomi
On the Middle Kingdom side, Xiaomi is preparing to unveil the series 13. Like any Phonandroid reader, you already know everything about this new flagship. If the Chinese have already had the chance to see them on December 11, 2022, the Xiaomi 13 and 13 Pro will be presented in Europe on February 26 at 4 p.m., that is, the day before the Mobile World Congress. The public award in France is then made official. As on the Samsung S23 or OnePlus 11 5g, they will ship a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC Xiaomi extends its partnership with Leica for the photo part. The MWC in Barcelona is also an opportunity for Xiaomi to show off its robots. The Cyberdog canidoid and the CyberOne humanoid were seen a few months ago, but they’ve certainly made progress since then.
Honor
Honor [ ] blowing the embers on social networks for a few days by delivering the esoteric message “Unleash the power of magic” with the only indication of the date of February 27, 1:30 p.m….. The homepage of their site has since been more accurately the clearly shows the revelation of the Honor the Magic5 series And Magic vs until this date. After launching the excellent S23 Ultra, we can’t wait to see the competition.
Opposite
Oppo is even more mysterious on social networks and asks to prepare for the arrival of “revolutionary technological innovations “. Hopefully the reality fulfills the promise.
OnePlus
OnePlus will be present at MWC. OnePlus 11 5G has just been released, we were just expecting info about it his first tablet, the Pad, presented earlier this month. If we had the technical specifications, the price and date of marketing were still missing. We’re willing to bet they’ll be unveiled at Mobile World Congress 2023. Except OnePlus piques our curiosity on a “ OnePlus 11 concept “. A restyled 11 smartphone with a casing veined with a line of bluish micro-LEDs. For geeks, the look is inspired by Tron, not the cryptocurrency but the cult movie of the 80s. Nothing Phone (1).
RealMe
The BBK Electronics group, which owns Oppo and OnePlus, has absolutely no intention of playing pottery hounds under the Barcelona sun. The Chinese conglomerate also runs RealMe and will unveil its GT3 at a global conference on February 28 at 4 p.m. For now, we already know that the RealMe GT3 supports 240W ultra-fast charging. It will be powered by a SnapDragon 8+ Gen 1 to power Android 13.
The surprise: Tecno Phantom V Fold
Completely unknown to Europeans, the Tecno brand plans to create buzz for MWC 2023 by unveiling its first foldable phone, the Phantom V Fold! Faced with the Samsung Galaxy Z or the OPPO Find N2, for example, this subsidiary of the Chinese group Transsion intends to do just as well, if not better, with renowned manufacturers. Tecno is located in Africa, South America and Asia. The manufacturer mainly offers cheap phones. This player’s burst into the market for high-end smartphones like foldable smartphones would make people cringe… For now, all we know is that it’s powered by a Mediatek Dimensity 9000+. We will have to wait until February 28 from 5:30 p.m. to discover this Phantom V Fold.
Motorola
Motorola does not have a stand at this 2023 edition, but Lenovo, the parent company, has a large space. After surprising the public with a ThinkPhone from Motorola at CES 2023, the MWC will likely be the opportunity to tackle this phone aimed at professionals.
Others
Several other manufacturers have already scheduled conferences, but many announcements are being made in parallel with the show. Don’t look for Apple. No congress planned, no stand, the American manufacturer does not like to mix with other manufacturers during these shows. We have to wait a little longer for the Apple VR or the new 15-inch Macbook. Sony will not be physically present at the show.
Infrastructure
Among the hundreds of manufacturers present, telecom is not limited to a BtoC (from business to consumer) vision with telephones. So, Huawei doesn’t seem to be unveiling any new phones, but positioning itself as a leader in telecommunications equipment with a little foresight. A conference (February 26) will unveil its vision of an intelligent and green world based on 5G, the cloud and AI.
