Mobile World Congress is the biggest annual event for smartphone makers and technology giants across the globe. It gives a platform for big as well as small smartphone makers to showcase their latest products and innovations to a worldwide audience. Held every year in Barcelona, Spain, some people call MWC the Mecca for smartphone makers.
With so many companies competing for media and consumers’ attention, it can get a little daunting to figure out which products were a hit and which ones were a miss. We have been following MWC with undivided attention for the last few days, and here is our list of products that stood out amongst the crowd.
Promising announcements at MWC 2017
The Xperia Z5 was the world’s first smartphone with a 4K resolution display. The Xperia XZ Premium takes over from where the Z5 left, featuring the world’s first 4K HDR display, offering you a pixel density of 801 PPI.
If that’s not enough, the Xperia XZ Premium and the Xperia XZs are also the world’s first phones to let you record 720p videos at a whopping 960 frames per second – four times more than any other smartphone out there. This is achieved thanks to the new Motion Eye camera technology. Both these phones come with a 19 MP f/2.0 rear camera, featuring SteadyShot digital stabilization, OIS, Phase Detection and Laser Autofocus, along with a colour spectrum sensor.
While the bezels are not as ridiculously miniscule as those on the Xiaomi Mi Mix, users will find the LG G6 to be a lot more suited for regular smartphone usage.
Apart from that, the LG G6 is also the first phone to feature an aspect ratio of 18:9, allowing a “maximum viewing experience”. While this may take a while to get used to, LG thinks it is worth experimenting, taking a bold bet with its 2017 flagship.
At its event, yesterday, OPPO announced 5X Digital Camera Zoom technology. Inspired with how periscopes work, this technology from OPPO is all about shrinking the camera module size while offering you lossless 5x digital zoom compared to existing smartphone imaging solutions. OPPO says that it achieves this with its proprietary image fusion technology for digital zoom.
Android smartphones and featurephones.
The event saw the relaunch of the legendary Nokia 3310, received by most fans with enthusiasm. True to the spirit of Nokia, the company launched the Nokia 3310 in several colourful variants, standing out in a crowd of boring black, grey and gold phones.
While we cannot say if the new Nokia 3310 is as sturdy as the original, the phone managed to generate an insane amount of interest in mobile fans across the world.
The keyboard aside, the rest of the specs of the KEYone are a mixed bag. You get an octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor, a 4.5-inch display with an odd resolution of 1620 x 1080 pixels and a 12 MP camera. The camera and the 3505 mAh battery are decent, at least on paper, while it may take a while to get used to that screen resolution.
Aimed at business users, the BlackBerry KEYone promises great security and fast updates. That, coupled with the power efficient Snapdragon 625 and a 3505 mAh battery, makes for a very good option for many smartphone users out there.
Disappointing announcements at MWC 2017
The Nokia 6 is the company’s top smartphone now, featuring a 5.5-inch display and a lower mid-range Snapdragon 430 processor. The rest of the specs were nothing to write home about, either.
All in all, the three Nokia Android smartphones were of a me-too attempt than anything else. The Nokia 3310 at least had good colours, battery life and nostalgia going for it.
However, given Android’s state when it comes to tablets and the few number of apps that are made for tablets, the Galaxy Tab S3 ends up being more of a specs show without the software to back it up.
Unfortunately, Huawei has seemingly messed up on the design and look aspects – the Huawei Watch 2 looks like a cheap knockoff of the LG G Watch R. With cheap looking silicone straps, big bezels and a small display, the Watch 2 is a little disappointing to boot.
With so many companies competing for media and consumers’ attention, it can get a little daunting to figure out which products were a hit and which ones were a miss. We have been following MWC with undivided attention for the last few days, and here is our list of products that stood out amongst the crowd.
Promising announcements at MWC 2017
Sony
Sony was back with a bang at this year’s MWC. The Japanese tech giant launch the successors of its 2016 Xperia lineup in the form of two high-end Xperia smartphones.The Xperia Z5 was the world’s first smartphone with a 4K resolution display. The Xperia XZ Premium takes over from where the Z5 left, featuring the world’s first 4K HDR display, offering you a pixel density of 801 PPI.
If that’s not enough, the Xperia XZ Premium and the Xperia XZs are also the world’s first phones to let you record 720p videos at a whopping 960 frames per second – four times more than any other smartphone out there. This is achieved thanks to the new Motion Eye camera technology. Both these phones come with a 19 MP f/2.0 rear camera, featuring SteadyShot digital stabilization, OIS, Phase Detection and Laser Autofocus, along with a colour spectrum sensor.
LG G6
For LG, every flagship announcement has always been about innovating in at least one unique area. Every year, LG has launched one unique new feature, and this year is no different. While it may not necessarily be completely unique, the G6 features very thin bezels. The company managed to fit a 5.7-inch display in a body that is generally used for 5.2-inch display phones.While the bezels are not as ridiculously miniscule as those on the Xiaomi Mi Mix, users will find the LG G6 to be a lot more suited for regular smartphone usage.
Apart from that, the LG G6 is also the first phone to feature an aspect ratio of 18:9, allowing a “maximum viewing experience”. While this may take a while to get used to, LG thinks it is worth experimenting, taking a bold bet with its 2017 flagship.
OPPO 5X Digital Camera Zoom
OPPO has been using the MWC every year to introduce a new innovative technology. Last year, we witnessed OPPO’s custom fast charging solution, Super VOOC, giving a battery boost of 45% in 5 minutes. This year, the company has shifted its focus to smartphone imaging.At its event, yesterday, OPPO announced 5X Digital Camera Zoom technology. Inspired with how periscopes work, this technology from OPPO is all about shrinking the camera module size while offering you lossless 5x digital zoom compared to existing smartphone imaging solutions. OPPO says that it achieves this with its proprietary image fusion technology for digital zoom.
Nokia 3310
MWC 2017 also marked the return of former mobile industry king, Nokia, to the smartphone world. HMD Global, a firm founded by former Nokians, has partnered with Nokia to launchThe event saw the relaunch of the legendary Nokia 3310, received by most fans with enthusiasm. True to the spirit of Nokia, the company launched the Nokia 3310 in several colourful variants, standing out in a crowd of boring black, grey and gold phones.
While we cannot say if the new Nokia 3310 is as sturdy as the original, the phone managed to generate an insane amount of interest in mobile fans across the world.
BlackBerry KEYone
BlackBerry launched its latest Android smartphone, the KEYone. Featuring BlackBerry’s famed physical QWERTY keyboard, the KEYone is a hybrid Android smartphone, providing you with a touchscreen as well as a physical keyboard.The keyboard aside, the rest of the specs of the KEYone are a mixed bag. You get an octa-core Snapdragon 625 processor, a 4.5-inch display with an odd resolution of 1620 x 1080 pixels and a 12 MP camera. The camera and the 3505 mAh battery are decent, at least on paper, while it may take a while to get used to that screen resolution.
Aimed at business users, the BlackBerry KEYone promises great security and fast updates. That, coupled with the power efficient Snapdragon 625 and a 3505 mAh battery, makes for a very good option for many smartphone users out there.
Disappointing announcements at MWC 2017
Nokia 6, 5, 3
While Nokia managed to excite its current and former fans with the Nokia 3310, the rest of the lineup that the Finnish company unveiled was underwhelming.The Nokia 6 is the company’s top smartphone now, featuring a 5.5-inch display and a lower mid-range Snapdragon 430 processor. The rest of the specs were nothing to write home about, either.
All in all, the three Nokia Android smartphones were of a me-too attempt than anything else. The Nokia 3310 at least had good colours, battery life and nostalgia going for it.
Samsung Galaxy Tab S3
Samsung launched a few new tablets at MWC this year. The Galaxy Tab S3 is an Android tablet featuring a 9.7 inch Super AMOLED display and a quad-core Snapdragon 820 processor. Running on Android Nougat and with an S Pen stylus bundled in the box, the Galaxy Tab S3 may be one of the best Android tablets out there now.However, given Android’s state when it comes to tablets and the few number of apps that are made for tablets, the Galaxy Tab S3 ends up being more of a specs show without the software to back it up.
Huawei Watch 2
One of the best smartwatches to be released in 2015 was the Huawei Watch. It came with a decent design and looked good. With Android Wear 2.0 - a major update to Google’s wearables platform – being released recently, Huawei Watch fans would have had higher expectations from the Watch 2.Unfortunately, Huawei has seemingly messed up on the design and look aspects – the Huawei Watch 2 looks like a cheap knockoff of the LG G Watch R. With cheap looking silicone straps, big bezels and a small display, the Watch 2 is a little disappointing to boot.
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