Mobile World Congress 2020: What to expect from the world's largest mobile show
Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the biggest mobile event of the year. The show sees the launch of many of the year's top smartphones, smartwatches and tablets, as well as seeing the emergence of the hottest new trends in mobile, such as 5G.
Generally speaking, all the big brands attend MWC in one way or another. The exception is Apple, although the trends outlined at MWC very much include the iPhone.
Here's what to expect from Mobile World Congress 2020.
What and when is Mobile World Congress?
MWC is an annual trade show run by the GSMA. The location theoretically moves around Europe, but for many years it has been held in Barcelona, Spain.
For 2020 the show runs from 24-27 February - those being the dates when the show is active, the keynotes are running and the exhibition halls are open. However, many of the big announcements will happen at the press conferences on Sunday 23 February.
Outside of the consumer sphere, it also draws in many of the industry heavyweights to talk about the future of mobile, like 5G, mobile hardware, VR and other associated technologies.
What will launch at Mobile World Congress 2020?
Samsung at MWC 2020
Samsung - as the world's largest phone manufacturer - always has a big presence at Mobile World Congress, but we're not expecting the company to launch anything major at the show. The company will be launching the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy Z Flip at an event on 11 February, but we expect Samsung to be in Barcelona in force, showing off its new devices. That's likely to include the Samsung Galaxy Buds+.
Sony Mobile at MWC 2020
- 24 February, 08:30 CET
Sony Mobile always launches new handsets at MWC and we're expecting a flagship update for 2020, most likely building on the Xperia 1. That might be an Xperia 2 (or the Xperia 1 second-gen) and we've also seen the name Xperia 5 Plus floating around. It's likely to be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. There's also rumour of a mid-range Snapdragon 765 device, but very little to go on in that regard, perhaps an Xperia 10 update. Some commentators are saying that we'll see three new phones. Sony has, at least, confirmed that it's holding a press conference.
Xiaomi at MWC 2020
Xiaomi is trying to expand its influence in Europe and with Huawei struggling, there's an opportunity to be had. We've already heard that the Xiaomi Mi 10 will be launching with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 865. We suspect that it will be announced in China before MWC and then have a European launch in Barcelona. There's no confirmed press event so far.
Nokia at MWC 2020
- 23 February, 16:00 CET
Nokia like to go big at MWC, announcing a lot of updates to its devices. The company has invited the press to an event on the Sunday. We've already heard that Nokia will be launching an affordable 5G handset in 2020, on the Snapdragon 765 platform and we expect this will appear at MWC. It's reported to be called the Nokia 8.2, but few details are currently known. We're expecting a range of updates across its range of affordable Android One phones and we're also expecting a Nokia Originals - a new version of a classic Nokia phone.
MWC is just a month away! What does it stand for again?
— OPPO (@oppo) January 24, 2020
Mostly smartphones
Wait... Other stuff too?
Can’t wait!
Oppo at MWC 2020
Oppo is expected to launch the Oppo Find X2 at Mobile World Congress in 2020 and we're likely to see the global launch of the Oppo Reno 3 Pro. The company has been increasing its presence outside homeland China and we're expecting a big push. Again, this phone is rumoured to be on the Snapdragon 865 platform. It's also rumoured to have a camera under the display for a notch-free finish. Oppo hasn't confirmed when any event will take place, but has been talking about attending MWC for some time.
LG at MWC 2020
LG has made a few launches at MWC in recent years, often taking the time to launch a new flagship phone. That gave us the LG G8 ThinQ in 2020 so it would make sense to expect the G9 ThinQ in 2020. We've seen designs of this phone leak and it looks like LG wants to expand the cameras.
Huawei at MWC 2020
Huawei has had a strange year and with no end to the stand-off with the US in sight, it's hard to predict what might happen at MWC. Rumours suggest that the Huawei P40 and P40 Pro will be announced in March 2020, so anything that Huawei does at MWC is likely to be around other devices - perhaps a MateBook laptop or mid-range phone, or maybe an updated folding phone, the Huawei Mate Xs.
Honor at MWC 2020
- 24 February, 17:30 CET
Honor was the first company to confirm an event at Mobile World Congress, with a showcase on 24 February where it will be showing off devices it is launching in Europe, including the View 30 Pro and the 9X Pro.
Motorola at MWC 2020
- 23 February, 18:30 CET
Motorola is holding a press event and rumours are suggesting that it's going to be launching a device called the Motorola Edge. This might be joined by the Moto Edge+ and it's suspected that this is a new flagship grade phone, something we've not seen from Motorola for some time. There's also the Moto G8 and the Moto One Stylus that are all expected. It could be a big show for Moto!
Google at MWC 2020
Google always has a presence at MWC, although it usually saves it launched for its own Google I/O developer conference which has been confirmed for May 2020. There's rumours of a Pixel 4a device coming, but it's not currently known when the phone will launch.
Microsoft at MWC 2020
Microsoft has a lot more mobile devices to show off at the moment. With the new Surface Neo and Duo, there's a whole new category of Microsoft devices to push. Where better to do that than the world's largest mobile show?
Qualcomm at MWC 2020
- 24 February, 10:00 CET
Qualcomm will be powering many of the flagship devices that get launched at MWC 2020 and will likely have a big presence at the show. While it's already announced its core smartphone hardware for 2020, the company has already teased that it will be showing off a reference design for its next-gen expanded reality headset, powered by the new Snapdragon XR2.
TCL at MWC 2020
- 22 February, 18:00 CET
TCL has confirmed that it will be holding a press conference at Mobile World Congress. We have no idea what the company will be launching, and there are few clues on the invite.
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