Tag: MWC 2018

HTC U12 Will Not Launch AT MWC 2018

HTC will not launch its much-anticipated flagship smartphone, the HTC u12 at MWC 2018. The Mobile World Congress is scheduled to take place from the 26th of February to March 1st in Barcelona. The company will apparently hold an event right after MWC in Barcelona and announce the HTC U12 there.

HTC U12 Render

A lot of smartphone makers are expected to take the stage and announce their upcoming phones. Along with concepts, companies like Samsung, Sony, and Xiaomi will announce their smartphones. It was reported that LG and Huawei would skip MWC launches to avoid clashing with the Galaxy S9 and S9+ launch. HTC, too, seems to take the same approach. The Taiwanese company is having a booth at the Gran Via Exhibition Center where it is expected to demonstrate its new standalone VR headset Vive Focus, and the HTC U11 EYEs, announced earlier this month.

HTC U12 Specifications

While not a lot is known about the upcoming smartphone, it is expected to have an 18:9 aspect ratio. Some rumours have gone ahead and claimed that it will have 4K resolution.

The Snapdragon 845 will power the new flagship. Like a lot of flagship devices in 2018, the HTC U12 will have 6GB of RAM and expandable onboard storage. The fingerprint sensor will be placed on the back of the phone as Clear ID seems unlikely to feature this soon in an HTC device.

HTC U11 EYEs

The HTC U12 will also have Edge Sense, a feature that allows users to launch an app or action by squeezing the frame of the device. The Google Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL had the feature as well which could only launch the Goog Assistant. HTC, however, allows for a lot of customisations pertaining to the use of Edge Sense.

The HTC U11 EYEs had a dual-camera setup on the front as well as Face Unlock. The HTC U12 is expected to have a better implementation of that along with a dual-camera setup on the back.

After the deal with Google, a lot of people speculated that the HTC U11 would be the last smartphone from the HTC brand. However, in its subsequent statement, Google hinted that HTC would continue launching smartphones. Since then, HTC has launched more than a couple of smartphones, the latest being the HTC U11 EYEs.

January 26, 2018
LG And Huawei To Skip MWC 2018 Launch Because Of Samsung

Mobile World Congress is scheduled to take place from the 26th of February to 1st March 2018. Apart from concepts and futuristic phones, a lot of consumer-ready devices are expected to be announced as well. Without a doubt, the most anticipated launch is that of the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+. Samsung is the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world and the Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ are its marquee phones for 2018 (until the Galaxy Note9 is launched) hence, are expected to grab most of the headlines. Other smartphone makers like Sony and Xiaomi are also expected to announce their new flagship devices as well.

While some companies would bite the bullet and launch their smartphones around the same time the Galaxy S9 and S9+ will launch, LG and Huawei appear to have other plans. According to a report, Huawei P20 (tentatively named) and LG V30+ Alpha will not be announced at MWC as the companies feel the launch of Samsung’s flagship devices will grab the spotlight.

Galaxy S9, S9+ Expected Design

LG not announcing a flagship smartphone at MWC is not surprising since it is reported that the LG G7 will be completely reworked. Even though LG re Even though the company announced strong financials for Q4 2017, the mobile division has continued to lose money. This prompted the CEO to announce that the company will no longer follow the yearly smartphone release cycle. It was reported that the LG V30+ Alpha, an extension of the LG V30 will be launched at MWC 2018.

An LG spokesperson confirmed that the company has a few announcements planned for MWC, but, if there will be no flagship phone announcement planned, it would be interesting to see what LG has in store for us. It could be a foldable smartphone concept for all we know.

As for Huawei, there was a leak of the company’s roadmap which pegged the Huawei P20 for a Q2 2018 release hence, an MWC announcement of the device was a fair assumption. But, the Chinese smartphone maker has remained tight-lipped on its plan for the next P-series smartphone. Just like it did for the Mate 10 Pro, Huawei could host a launch event right after MWC to unveil the new smartphone but, this is all speculation as of now.

LG V30+

However, neither of the companies have confirmed anything pertaining to this report which means that anything is possible come February 26th.

January 24, 2018
Sony Next In Line To Ditch The Headphone Jack

Back in 2016, Apple took the bold step of removing the beloved 3.5mm headphone jack from its iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Ridiculed by critics and peers at that time, the industry has slowly grown warmer towards the idea of wireless technology. Google launched the Pixel and Pixel XL a month after the iPhone 7 was launched and it mocked Apple for removing the headphone jack. A year later, Google launched the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL without a headphone jack.

Over the course of the past one and a half year, smartphone makers have partially accepted that wireless is the future and that removing the headphone jack will drive the industry towards creating better wireless technology. While LG and Samsung, the other major smartphone makers persist with a headphone jack, Sony appears to have finally switched sides as well.

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An upcoming Sony smartphone with the model number ID PY7-21831A has surfaced online as it passed through FCC. While FCC listings don’t usually shed a lot of light on specs and features of a smartphone, this particular listing reveals that this Xperia device won’t have a 3.5mm headphone jack. To take a drastic step like this, Sony would have to choose a flagship device hence, this could very well be the upcoming Sony Xperia XZ Pro. The Xperia XZ Pro is expected to be launched at MWC 2018 scheduled to take place from the 26th of February in Barcelona. Furthermore, the attached document also highlights that the dimensions of the phone are 152.79 x 72.42 mm and that it has a 5.7-inch screen diagonal display.

This information falls in line with previous leaks about the Sony Xperia XZ Pro. It will have a 5.7 inch OLED display with 4K resolution, thin bezels and possibly, an 18:9 aspect ratio.

Under the hood, the Sony Xperia XZ Pro will have the Snapdragon 845 chipset, 6GB of RAM and up to 128GB of onboard storage. The storage is expected to be expandable via a microSD card. The fingerprint sensor is expected to be housed inside the lock button on the side. Although, with the presence of an OLED display, Sony could go ahead and use a screen embedded fingerprint sensor.

The device will be powered by a 3420 mAh battery which will support QuickCharge 4.0+.

The Xperia XZ Pro will have a dual rear camera setup, with one of the cameras having an 18 MP sensor with 1.33 microns pixel size and a 12 MP sensor with 1.38 microns pixel size. On the front will be a 13 MP camera.

Whether the smartphone mentioned in the FCC documents really is the Xperia XZ Pro is yet to be seen and all of it will absolutely clear when the company unveils the device at MWC 2018. It will also be interesting to see if Sony does remove the headphone jack, what the company will say about the decision. Whether the industry trend forced it into the decision or whether the company has some exciting wireless headphones to go with its new flagship.

January 22, 2018
Samsung Galaxy S9, S9+ To Feature Variable Aperture, Y-Octa Display Technology

The upcoming Mobile World Congress show is scheduled to be held from the 26th of February to March 1st. While a lot of companies will showcase cool concept phones, a few smartphone makers will be stamping their authority in the market with their new flagship devices. One such company is Samsung, who has confirmed that the Galaxy S9 and S9+will be unveiled at the MWC 2018.

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There is not much left to be known about the two devices as is with every big smartphone launch, most of the details have been leaked. However, we are still a month away from the launch and Samsung is expected to add a lot of bells and whistles to its upcoming 2018 flagship smartphones. A new report is claiming that the Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will have a camera with a variable aperture, and other features like a Y-Octa Display technology.

In a previous leak, it was confirmed that the Samsung Galaxy S9 will have a 12MP camera with an f/1.5 aperture. It has now been revealed that the smartphone will have a variable aperture instead of a fixed one. The report suggests that with a variable aperture of f/.5/ to f/2.4, the camera on the Galaxy S9 will be able to adjust aperture similar to a DSLR camera.

The report also claims that Samsung will be using the new Y-Octa display technology on the new flagship devices. The Samsung Galaxy S9 is expected to have a 5.77 inch display and the Galaxy S9+ is expected to have a 6.22 inch display with the new flexible Y-Octa OLED technology. Lastly, the report also mentions some of the under the hood advancements.

Galaxy S9+ Case Renders

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ will be the first Samsung phones to introduce the SLP (Substrate like PCB) motherboard technology. This technology helps in creating more space inside to add other components like a bigger battery, advanced chips etc.

January 22, 2018
LG V30 With AI Capabilities To Be Launched At MWC 2018

When Google launched the Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL back in October, the company talked up their device’s AI capabilities. Apple, when it launched the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and the iPhone X also talked about the AI capabilities present in its A11 Bionic chipset. The two big names in the smartphone industry set the trend of machine learning taking centre stage at a smartphone launch and companies like Huawei have followed suit since then.

LG has been going through a bit of a rebranding/rehashing of its flagship smartphone lineup lately. And it is now confirmed that the LG G7 won’t see an early release that its predecessors have seen over the years. Instead, LG will launch a refreshed version of the LG V30 at the upcoming MWC 2018 scheduled to take place from the 26th of February. This version of the LG V30 will have enhanced AI capabilities.

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The device will have new technologies and functions and could carry an odd name for a smartphone, V30+?. This name kind of resembles a math formula and it’ll be interesting to get to know the logic behind this moniker. That is, if LG devices to go with this particular name. The reports suggest the smartphone will be a product of the partnership between LG and Google with Google Assistant-based AI functions.

The LG V30+ has glass on the back

So far, we have seen different implementations of AI from different smartphone makers. If LG goes the Google route, it will be interesting to see if the LG V30+? will focus a lot on music. Since the Pixel 2 phones have the Now Playing feature, the LG V30+? could implement that feature, and along with its superior HiFi Quad DAC, the smartphone could be a music-oriented version of the 2017 flagship from LG.

Pixel 2

Google also uses a lot of machine learning for its camera and has the best photography camera on the market right now. But, it seems highly improbable if the LG V30+? will come with such advanced machine learning capabilities that could potentially match up with the Pixel 2 devices. However, a tight integration of Google Assistant within the LG UI is a possibility or even a stock OS running LG V30+? could be announced.

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January 20, 2018
Nokia 9 And Nokia 1 Expected To Be Announced At MWC 2018

HMD Global is planning a grand outing for the upcoming Mobile World Congress scheduled to take place from 26th February. Recently, the company launched the Nokia 7 in China and there reports that the Nokia 9 and Nokia 1 will soon be launched as well.

Juho Sarvikas, the Chief Product Officer at HMD Global took to Twitter to announced that the company is planning something “awesome” for MWC 2018.

Sorry for radio silence. Been super busy planning #MWC2018 . Please expect it to be awesome ?

— Juho Sarvikas (@sarvikas) January 18, 2018

While he did not delve into details, it is possible that the company will launch its first flagship smartphone of 2018, the Nokia 9, and first-ever Android Go device, the Nokia 1. Since the company will announce the devices at MWC, it is expected that these smartphones are intended for the global market, unlike the Nokia 7, which is still a China exclusive as of now.

While there isn’t much known about the Nokia 1, a recent leak revealed two possible designs of the smartphone. Since it is an Android Go device, expect it to have entry-level specifications like 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage. The Nokia 2 was powered by the Snapdragon 212 chipset, and it’ll be interesting to see which chipset will be used inside the Nokia 1. Nokia has so far stuck to Snapdragon chipsets for its Android smartphones hence, a MediaTek chip unlikely.

There were renders of the Nokia 9 that were leaked in late-December and revealed a modern design with thin bezels. For all the bells and whistles in the Nokia 8, the smartphone did not look like a 2017 flagship smartphone especially with the likes of OnePlus 5T and Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 priced similarly in India.

The Nokia 9, however, seems likely to have an 18:9 aspect ratio and minimal bezels around the display. While there are phones with a better screen-to-body ratio, the trimmed bezels will be a welcome change for all the Nokia loyalists waiting to upgrade to the Nokia 9.

The other noticeable aspect of the phone here is the front-facing dual-camera setup. Front-facing dual cameras will be the next big industry trend and it has already started with the Samsung Galaxy A8+, Honor 9 Lite and even the HTC U11 EYEs.

According to a recent FCC filing, the Nokia 9 will have a 5.5-inch OLED display.

Under the hood, the Nokia 9 will have the Snapdragon 835 chipset and 128GB of UFS 2.1 storage.

Powering the device will be a 3250 mAh battery with 18W fast charging. The device will run Android 8.0 Oreo out of the box with very little customisations.

The listing reveals a 12 MP + 13 MP dual-camera setup at the back and a 5MP front-facing camera which could be the resolution of one of the front-facing cameras.

The Nokia 9 could be the successor to the Nokia 8, however, the presence of the Snapdragon 835 chipset is a bit disappointing. Especially since Samsung, Sony and possibly Xiaomi are planning to launch flagship devices with the Snapdragon 845 chip inside.

January 19, 2018
Xiaomi Mi 7 Could Be Announced At MWC

The Mobile World Congress is scheduled to take place from the 26th of February to March 1st. Two of the most anticipated smartphones of 2018, the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ are confirmed to be launching at MWC while Sony is expected to launch the Xperia XZ Pro as well. It looks like Xiaomi will also take to stage and launch its upcoming flagship device.

This screenshot from the MWC official website of Mobile World Congress confirms that Xiaomi will be attending the event as one of the exhibitors. This could mean that the company will announce its next device, which in all likelihood, will be the Xiaomi Mi 7. Lei Jun, founder of Xiaomi had previously confirmed that the Mi 7 would be unveiled during the Chinese spring season which indicates a timeline between the end of February and early March.

When Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 845, the flagship chipset for 2918 smartphones, Xiaomi conceded that its upcoming flagship smartphone will be powered by the same chip. This was an indication towards the Xiaomi Mi 7 and if true, we could potentially witness three smartphone launches, all powered by the latest Snapdragon 845 chipset.

Recent reports regarding the design of the Xiaomi Mi 7 hinted at an important change in the design of Xiaomi flagship phones. The leaked images revealed a stellar design with nearly zero bezels around the display. While some speculated that Xiaomi will implement a screen embedded fingerprint sensor in its next flagship, the other report claimed that it will have a Face ID-like facial recognition technology.

Lei Jun recently said that the company is focussing on AI a lot. This could mean that a facial recognition technology might be coming to its next flagship, the Mi 7. Xiaomi smartphones are known to be affordable yet, have great features and design. Only time will tell whether the Mi 7 will ever make its way to India and what its price would be.

January 18, 2018