Mobile World Congress (MWC) is an annual event that has hosted in Barcelona, Spain, for a fair number of years now, and always in the month of February. For smartphone companies that do not make any major product announcements at CES which traditionally kicks off in the month of January, MWC would be where the camera lenses of journalists are trained upon, seeing if there are any new devices that will be released or announced. Surely one name that will not fail to escape everyone’s lips would be the Samsung Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017.
Samsung
Samsung has confirmed their presence at MWC 2017, having sent out an invitation to an announcement that will be made. Not only that, the teaser in the announcement has also pointed to a kind of device that will be announced or revealed, which will most probably be the Samsung Galaxy S8 -- although that might not be the case. Not only that, there are also whispers on the ground that Samsung might also make an announcement for a brand new tablet. Whether that tablet will run on Android or Windows, it remains to be seen, so stay tuned.
LG
It makes perfect sense for LG to make an official reveal of the LG G6, taking into consideration how that has been the case for the past few years when it comes to new flagship smartphone announcements and releases from LG at MWC. The LG G6 is the latest flagship that ought to last for at least half a year, before perhaps the LG V30 is announced. We cannot wait to see what kind of hardware and performance capability that the LG G6 is able to achieve, although rumors do point to a new display aspect ratio, the possibility of having a bezel-less or near bezel-less design, as well as the Snapdragon 821 chipset running underneath the hood for more punch.
Nokia
Who would have thought that Nokia would be back from the dead? Their foray into the world of Windows smartphones did not really work out well in the end, and chances are there will be an announcement made for the rumored Nokia 3310 comeback. The Nokia 3310 is one classic handset that has spawned its very own memes over the years as being an indestructible device, and to see how the Nokia 3310 is presented to fit into the present context would be interesting.
Motorola
Motorola has changed hands more times in recent years than a used car, and with Motorola placing a countdown timer on their Germany website earlier in the month, it does seem to point to an upcoming MWC 2017 announcement. Could this actually deal with the upcoming Moto G5 and G5 Plus releases? How about having a successor to the Moto Z range? Perhaps there might be new Moto Mods in the pipeline as well, so we will have to be patient.
Huawei
Huawei has confirmed that they will launch a new wearable device at MWC 2017, which would most probably be the Huawei Watch 2 that will continue down the same path of evolution and user experience as with the original Huawei Watch. It is also worth noting that we can anticipate the presence of a new tablet in addition to the Huawei P10 and P10 Plus handsets, which will most probably continue the dual Leica lens tradition as with the Huawei P9.
Sony
Sony has yet to provide a hint as to what they will announce at MWC 2017, although the Japanese firm has confirmed their presence at MWC. How about a “true” 4K Sony Xperia handset for real? No one can really tell, but we will keep our eyes peeled.
BlackBerry
BlackBerry is a classic story of a giant falling from grace, with recent reports pointing to a market share of 0%. However, it seems that there might be an announcement of the BlackBerry Mercury coming right up, being revealed officially at CES 2017.
