What to expect at MWC 2017

Chris Martin reveals what we are expecting at this year’s event

MWC 2017 is approaching and the mobilefocused show in Barcelona could have a lot of great new products in store. Here we preview the show, which starts on 27 February and show you what to expect at MWC 2017 from Samsung, Sony, LG, HTC, Huawei and more.

Samsung

Right off the bat, we know that Samsung will not be announcing the Galaxy S8 at MWC this year. An executive has confirmed that the company won’t follow its usual tradition of revealing the new flagship in Barcelona. It’s unclear when it will arrive but most are tipping April.

So what will Samsung launch at MWC 2017? Well you can bet that it will have a range of products on show with possible devices including the Galaxy Tab S3 and Galaxy TabPro S2 – both tablets but new wearables are always a

possibility despite the recent Gear S3. The Tab S3 is looking like a dead cert with a couple of recent leaks and the image used for Samsung’s press conference invite (above).

In terms of phones, Samsung already introduced the new Galaxy A range for 2017 at CES and while there are some rumours the Galaxy Note 8 could make an appearance and MWC, we think it’s a long shot.

LG

It’s pretty much a given that the star of LG’s show will be the new G6 flagship smartphone which has been leaked recently. If the information is correct, it seems LG is ditching the modular design of the LG G5 and opting for a sleek design with tiny bezels (see page 6). Interestingly the phone will also have, we think, a 5.7in display with an unusual 18:9 (2:1) aspect ratio. The firm is also thought to be launching new Android Wear

smartwatches in partnership with Google, so we’re keen to see them in Barcelona.

Sony

We’re still a bit confused by Sony’s X portfolio of smartphones, having ditched the nice lettering system of Z down to E.

As much as we hope the firm simplifies things up, it’s rumoured to be launching follow-ups to the devices we saw last year – the Xperia X and Xperia XA. Whether the number 2 will be tagged on the end or new names created remains to be seen, but you can expect features like waterproofing and decent cameras.

In fact, going by one leak Sony will announce five devices at the show. The list, via sumahoinfo, suggests two of them will feature 5.5in screens and Snapdragon 835 processors – one will have a 4K screen and 6GB of RAM.

HTC

When it comes to HTC, we’re less sure on what the company will do at MWC. It’s just announced the HTC U Ultra and U Play while confirming they are not new flagships. That suggests we’ll see the HTC 11 then, if that’s what it’s even called, but the HTC 10 didn’t arrive last year so it’s by no means a given.

Huawei

Now getting more traction in the UK and Europe, many eyes will be on Huawei and its 2017 flagship phone. It has a press conference lined up for 26 February and we expect it to be launching the Huawei P10 which will have to take on the likes of the LG G6 and Galaxy S8.

The firm could also announce other products and we wouldn’t be too surprised to see a new tablet or two and hopefully a Huawei Watch 2 with Android Wear 2.0. A leak by Evan Blass says it ‘may launch February’ and will have optional LTE connectivity.

Nokia, Motorola and Xiaomi

You can expect plenty more phones at MWC this year and both Motorola (Lenovo) and Nokia have sent out invites so that’s a decent bet. The former is tipped to launch the Moto G5 and Nokia might release a P1 phone with a Snapdragon 835 and a tablet.

If you’re wondering if we might see new phones, or other devices from Xiaomi like the Mi 6 it looks like that won’t be the case. According to TechCrunch, the firm has no plans of the sort and will be ‘skipping the event entirely’.