MWC 2019

Not content to leave its February phone reveals at just four flagships and one high-end folding smartphone, Samsung has showed up at MWC 2019 with a pair of new devices in the Galaxy A line. Today, Samsung announced the Galaxy A30 and A50, two mid-range devices that seem to be primarily focused on mobile photography. To hear Samsung explain it, it sounds like the A30 and A50 are the first phones in a newly-relaunched Galaxy A series.

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Qualcomm showed up to MWC this morning with some pretty big news, announcing that the Snapdragon 855 will be at the center of a new extended reality ecosystem. Qualcomm’s XR ambitions have been out in the open for a while now, and while the company is working on its XR1 platform, it’ll also be partnering with various OEMs to create lightweight XR headsets that are tethered to 5G, Snapdragon 855 smartphones. Officially dubbed XR Viewers, these new headsets could make things like AR and VR more accessible for a larger segment of consumers - assuming, of course, that they have a compatible smartphone.

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Qualcomm's refrain may have been "5G, 5G, 5G" the last few months, but it's sneaking in some robots among its Mobile World Congress 2019 news. Qualcomm Technologies is announcing the Qualcomm Robotics RB3 Platform, a Snapdragon-based set of hardware and software intended to make building smart robots easier.

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On the heels of Qualcomm’s announcement that it’s partnering with a ton of OEMs to make XR Viewers that tether to 5G smartphones, Vuzix is pulling our attention back to Qualcomm’s XR1 platform. Today at MWC, Vuzix debuted the latest pair of smart glasses in the M-series, the M400. Primarily aimed at enterprise customers, the M400 is among the first products to use the XR1 platform.

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Sony has just restarted the Xperia line with the Xperia 1 but when it reaches the Xperia 9, it might be at a loss what to call the next flagship. That's because it has also just announced the Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus, the mid-range options for a new 21:9 wide screen trend that Sony is trying to start.

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Sony was once regarded as the slow-moving dinosaur of the smartphone world but, in three years' time, it had changed its business and marketing strategy twice already. The first was in 2016 when the company redefined its "Xperia" brand to refer to almost any product that had elements of AI in it, not just smartphones. Then just last year, it changed its design language that has been both an icon and a liability. This year, Sony is at it again, restarting its smartphone numbering from 1 with the new Xperia 1, heralding a new vision centered around "experiences beyond imagination."

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Some might be annoyed at how smartphone makers rush to be the first to put out something but there's a strategic reason for that. Most of the time, the world remembers the first one to come out with an innovation, regardless of who actually was making it first behind the scenes. Now that Huawei has revealed its own style of foldable phone, those that follow that same style after it will be judged as copycats. And that might be OPPO's new PR problem now that it's claiming it actually had one ready but decided not to announce it a few days ago.

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The Nokia 9 PureView is undoubtedly one of the non-folding highlights of MWC 2019 but that is far from HMD Global's only bet this year. For those who prefer an affordable pure Android experience, there are three new Nokia smartphones to choose from. The Nokia 4.2 and Nokia 3.2 join the growing number of smartphones with dedicated Google Assistant buttons while the Nokia 1 Plus is HMD's latest entry into the Android Go army.

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MWC is, unsurprisingly, filled with products and promises surrounding upcoming 5G networks. While forward-looking, the problem with these products is that they make the presumption that everyone is of the same mind and interests. TCL knows that just isn't the case and some need a serviceable and affordable mobile device that fits their constrained budgets. That's why it has announced the Alcatel 3, Alcatel 3L, and Alcatel 1S smartphones to bring a semblance of premium design to the bottom line. It also has a new Alcatel 3T 10 with an odd accessory that turns the tablet into a smart home hub.

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While it remains absent in the US, Xiaomi has had no problems expanding its operations to Europe. Taking advantage of the crowd that has gathered at Barcelona for MWC 2019, Xiaomi announced its two premium phones that will land in Europe to give their American friends reason to be jealous. The Xiaomi Mi 9 offers a premium flagship at under $600 while the Xiaomi Mi MIX 3 5G brings an all-screen slider that doesn't charge too much for its promise of next gen cellular data.

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For a time, it almost seemed like Intel would be the survivor of the two-horse desktop processor race. AMD, however, still had a thing or two to say and while it's not yet in the clear, it's becoming more common in new desktops and laptops. So as not to play favorites, Lenovo is putting out a new generation of IdeaPad laptops and convertibles as well as a new IdeaCentre All-in-One PC, all of which bring Intel and AMD together to the table, on way or another.

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Laptops are great for working remotely, but nothing beats having a second, larger display to expand your working space. Numerous studies have highlighted the productivity boost that comes with a second screen, but there are few practical options when working remotely. Here with a solution to the problem is Lenovo, which has taken the wraps off its new ThinkVision M14 USB-C mobile monitor.

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