Monday, February 27 opens the Mobile World Congress, the largest exhibition on the planet dedicated to mobile technologies. Numerama is in Barcelona and will offer you various articles and videos on Barcelona ads, as unusual as they are.
Who will be the star of MWC 2023, which opens on Monday February 27 in Barcelona? A smartphone as thick as a brick with a week-long battery life, a concept computer capable of recharging in seconds, screens capable of folding in all directions? Every year, the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the little brother of CES in Las Vegas, is the place chosen by hundreds of companies to present their latest innovations, but also, and above all, a ton of gadgets.
If the MWC has lost its splendor (big brands like Samsung, which presented their new smartphones there before, now organize their own conferences), it is still today one of the most emblematic shows in the news sector. technologies. Numerama has sent two of its journalists there, whose mission will be to walk the aisles of the show in search of the most original ideas.
The major manufacturers present on site
What to expect at MWC 2023? In addition to many startups and operators who came to present the latest innovations in 5G, several tech giants plan to use the show to announce major innovations. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the brands present on site:
- Xiaomi is organizing a major press conference on Sunday 26 February. The Chinese brand intends to unveil its new high-end smartphones there, the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro, designed in partnership with the photo giant Leica (the iPhone and Galaxy S are its target). Other products are expected to be announced and then exhibited at the show.
- Honor, now separated from Huawei, will announce a new folding phone in Barcelona. A good sign for this very high-end segment, a few days after the announcement of the Oppo Find N2 Flip.
- realme, Oppo’s little brother, could announce innovations related to ultra-fast charging. Some rumors also mention the existence of a smartphone with a Dynamic Island clone of the iPhone 14 Pro.
- OnePlus, which has already announced its new OnePlus 11 and OnePlus Pad products, will present a concept version of its latest smartphone in Barcelona. The first images show a product with LEDs on the back, like the Nothing Phone, designed by its co-founder. It’s hard not to see a provocation there.
- Oppo toasted priority at MWC with its own London conference on February 15. In Barcelona, he will still present innovations on his stand. We can expect new feats in ultra-fast charging and augmented reality.
- Other manufacturers, like Lenovo, TCL, ZTE And Huawei are here. They too are planning announcements in Barcelona.
What do all the actors on this list have in common? They are all Chinese. The line-up of the MWC 2023 symbolizes the rise of these new manufacturers, which steal the show from the historic brands, which now wish to be independent. Note, however, that brands like Samsung, Qualcomm, nokia, Intel And Google are eagerly awaited on site, with classified ads for some, just a stand for others. Apple, he never goes to the MWC. The Californian’s strategy is to be the master of his communication.
What are the trends to watch?
In addition to all these major announcements, the aisles of MWC 2023 should confirm trends seen at CES 2023. For example, we can expect the connected home, thanks to the Matter protocol, to be once again at the fore. ‘honor. Virtual and mixed reality, as Apple prepares to enter the market, should also fuel many fantasies, despite the loss of speed of the metaverse.
Obviously, the mobile telephony congress will also highlight 5G, with the promise of a “standalone 5G” finally ready. Today, French 5G relies on a 4G core network, which limits its capabilities. Very soon, it should switch to the new generation of networks, in order to show what it is really capable of.
MWC 2023 could also be an opportunity to discover new trends. If ChatGPT arrived too late to be the star of CES, today the AI battle is much more important. Will there be hundreds of startups with projects based on generative models, like OpenAI? Highly possible. Last year, it was the metaverse that was everywhere. Finally, the MWC should be, barring any surprises, gadget heaven.
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