Earlier this week, Acer announced the all-new Liquid Jade 2. The new Android Marshmallow-powered smartphone features fairly high-end specs for what looks to be a mid-ranger.
As conferences go, MWC felt relatively subdued this year, at least from an Android perspective. Huawei decided to sit this year out and launch a Windows tablet, Sony had a quiet event and HTC just sent out a press release for its new Desire series. While press events weren’t jam-packed in to a crazy schedule, there was still some exciting and fun stuff happening in Barcelona this week.
Nextbit didn’t have an official presence at MWC this week. There was no press event, or new release, just a small meeting room at the back of one of the halls. Members of the press could go and meet the company’s chiefs and PR team to get their hands on the Robin, the manufacturer’s breakthrough product which utilizes the power of the cloud to keep storage space free on the device. I tried the Nextbit Robin for a few minutes, and fell in love, but I’m not entirely sure why…
Here at MWC in Barcelona this year, HTC decided to quietly launch a couple of new budget friendly devices. One of them is the new, low end Desire 530. Design-wise, it’s very similar to most previous Desire phones, although with a new colorful, speckled rear shell.
Xiaomi has finally unveiled its next flagship phone at a press event this morning, and from the design alone, it would be easy to confuse the device with a Galaxy S7. The seamless glass front surface features a pill-shaped home button, a solid metal frame with sculpted edges, and even the glass back which curves towards the edges. But don’t let that copycat form factor put you off. With a starting price of around $306 USD (¥1999), this smartphone packs in an incredible array of high-end features…
We’re in Barcelona for MWC 2016, and the first company to show its hand here was Alcatel. Formerly Alcatel OneTouch, the manufacturer has come out with a new brand name, and a new focus on today’s trendy millennials who want a great phone without the usual expense.
The LG G5 is a huge departure from the company’s usual all-plastic affairs. And it’s finally here. What I love about this phone on first impressions is the way it feels in hand. The smooth metal finish combined with the rounded corners and edges help create a phone that looks and feels fantastic.
Compare that to last year’s G-series flagship’s right-angled corners and sharp design, and you’ll notice a stark contrast in approach…
Earlier this evening, Samsung finally took the wraps off its next generation Galaxy S-series smartphones. The Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge take what was great about the previous year’s flagships, and improve areas which needed it. In some ways, even going back to features we’ve missed.
After months of rumors and speculation, Samsung finally announced its next flagship handsets at a crowded event here in Barcelona. Thousands of tech journalist watched on as Sammy took the wraps of the Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge which, in many ways, are the upgraded models we needed from the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge launched in 2015.
LG has officially unveiled its latest G-series flagship device, and at long last, has taken a completely different approach to design. There’s no more plastic flimsy shell, but that doesn’t mean we’ve lost any versatility. Thanks to an unusual, detachable metal bottom edge, you can still remove and replace the battery on the LG G5.
At MWC last year, I think it’s fair to say Alcatel OneTouch surprised us all with its last Idol series phones. The Idol 3 lineup boasted specifications that pushed way past its price-point. The 1080p 5.5-inch model specifically was easily one of the best value-for-money phones available in 2015.
Fast forward to this year, and the company has done it again. With the Idol 4 and 4S, Alcatel (notice, no more OneTouch) is ensuring it remains competitive in 2016, giving the big-names a run for their money…
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Ahead of MWC 2016, Archos has announced the Diamond 2 Plus and Diamond 2 Note. Both phones are aimed at the European markets and feature metal bodies, high ends specs, and stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow at low price points.
While the Galaxy S7 has received almost all the pre-release attention, LG’s own upcoming flagship has seen its fair-share of Internet time. Most recently, an online listing showed up on a Dubai selling site, seemingly showing the all-metal device in full. In those images, it appeared as if the bottom edge was detachable, corroborating previous rumors that LG would be building in an innovative way to house a replaceable battery.
Bullitt Group has partnered with Cat in the UK to create the first Android smartphone with a built in thermal imaging camera. The embedded thermal camera from FLIR can detect heat and measure surface temperatures from distances of up to 100 feet. In the press release published today, the company also claims it’s the ‘world’s most waterproof smartphone’.
Despite being entirely touch-based for the overwhelming majority, a few successful smartphones have enjoyed styluses as secondary input peripherals, such as Samsung‘s famous Galaxy Note series. LG, not to stay behind, introduced a Stylus version of its G4 flagship last year, whose reception came as mixed due to a non-stellar pen implementation and an overall underwhelming experience.
The South Korean giant is nonetheless looking forward to a come back with the now-official upcoming LG Stylus 2…
Having already officially outed one of the features of its upcoming G5 smartphone, LG clearly isn’t shy about announcing features and products ahead of time. Ahead of their official debut, LG has revealed details of two Android Marshmallow-powered mass-tier phones called the X screen and X cam. As you can probably imagine from their names, each has its own single main feature.
We are about two weeks away from this year’s Mobile World Congress, which means we are entering the first of the two big periods of the year where all the major OEMs refresh their lineup of high-end devices. On February 21st, just a day before MWC kicks off, Samsung is expected to announce both the Galaxy S7 and the Galaxy S7 Edge.
Unlike last year, where the edge variant was simply a curved version of the 5.1-inch screened flat sibling, this year’s model should bump up the panel size to 5.5-inches, making it closer to the Galaxy S6 edge+, which made its way to the store shelves alongside the Note 5 later last September…
LG is a manufacturer capable of making brilliant hardware and well-considered smartphone designs. The LG G2 had impossibly thin bezels, unlike anything else on the market when it launched. Likewise, the G3 was the first mainstream smartphone to feature a Quad HD display. The G4 added to that with one of the best cameras we’ve ever seen on an Android phone and it gave us the option of really attractive, comfortable leather back panels.
Samsung has officially announced that they are hosting a Galaxy Unpacked event on Sunday, February 21st at MWC 2016. The widely expected event was actually leaked earlier today, but now we have a time and an official teaser video.
A handful of companies have already announced their intention to launch devices during (or before) MWC 2016 in Barcelona in a few weeks’ time. LG and Huawei have both sent out invites, while rumors are that Sony also has something planned. But, Samsung — a company which for the past few years has used the conference to launch its Galaxy S range — has been quiet so far…
Huawei has just sent out invitations to media for an event taking place in Barcelona on February 21st, the day before MWC 2016 kicks off in earnest. Time hasn’t yet been specified, but the event will take place at the Montjuïc Exhibition Centre, a location the manufacturer has used in the past to announce new products.
With Xiaomi having just announced its intention to announce the Mi 5 during MWC in Barcelona this year, Oppo wasn’t far behind with its own related — albeit incredibly vague — announcement. Oppo sent out a short press release claiming that it will show off a ‘groundbreaking power solution’ as well as an ‘unprecedented smartphone camera innovation’. If you’re looking for answers as to what exactly that means, I have none. It’s a string of buzz words that don’t say anything of substance.
The power solution could be anything from a new high density, high capacity, fast-charging smartphone battery, to a new battery pack. With Oppo having released motorized rotating cameras in the past, there are no shortage of possibilities as to what ‘camera innovation’ means.
Stepping aside from the excessive use of superlatives, Oppo had a fantastic year in 2015. Like Huawei, it saw a huge jump in the number of shipped devices worldwide. It sold 50 million smartphones, which was up 67 percent on the previous year, taking it up to 8th in the list of 2015’s biggest smartphone manufacturers.
“With our commitment to equip everyday consumers with the best technology, OPPO invests great efforts in technological innovation. We have a legacy of bringing new ideas to the industry that we are proud to uphold, such as introducing the world’s first motorized rotating camera, the fast and safe VOOC Flash Charge technology, the first front-facing Screen Flash, and the first selfie beautify function for smartphones,” said Mr. Sky Li, OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business. “We are excited to present OPPO’s latest breakthroughs at the world-class MWC and look forward to creating even more amazing user experiences.”
In 2015, OPPO sold 50 million units, representing year-on-year growth of 67 percent. The company has broken into the top ten smartphone brands worldwide, ranking eighth in units shipped, according to a recent report by TrendForce.
A few days ago, Xiaomi’s global VP Hugo Barra confirmed on Twitter that the company would be releasing the next eagerly-anticipated smartphone on February 24. Just a few hours ago, Barra took to Facebook to announce that a media preview for the Xiaomi Mi 5 will take place in Barcelona during MWC while the launch event takes place in Beijing…
