MWC 2020: what to expect — phones, companies, events

When it comes to mobile tech, we have two major super-events to look forward to each year. Those being MWC and IFA, taking place in H1 and H2 respectively. And wouldn't you know it — the Mobile World Congress is upon us. The event will kick off on the 24th of February and will be held — as always — in Barcelona.

The floors of MWC are chock-full of consumer tech to see, touch, learn about, and try out and the conference halls are scheduled tight for one keynote after the other. Of course, all the major phone manufacturers will be there to get their devices under the spotlights.

So, what do we expect to see at MWC 2020? Here goes:

Samsung

Samsung is about to unveil its new flagship Galaxy S20 line on the 11th of February, so MWC will definitely not be the first time we get to see the new phones. However, we fully expect that there will be hands-on booths that will allow extensive coverage and comparisons with other contemporary smartphone models.

In other words, expect MWC 2020 coverage to scratch that Galaxy S20 itch that you may be developing right now!



There's also mixed reports about the foldable Galaxy Z Flip. Some say that it will be announced together with the Galaxy S20 phones, others said that the Flip will be unveiled at a separate event a few weeks after the S20. So, if we don't see the Flip on the 11th of February, keep your fingers crossed for MWC.

LG

Of course, right about this time of the year is when LG announces its next flagship, too. Usually, the G line gets introduced early in the year while the V line is saved for the second half. Last year, LG broke that pattern as it introduced both the LG G8 and LG V50 at the same time, just around MWC 2019. While do expect LG to announce something, we don't know if it would be a single phone or a duo.

Nokia

HMD Global's Nokia brand has been slowly regaining the love and respect of the smartphone community. Then it had the Nokia 9, announced at MWC 2019, which was... well, a flop.

Hopes are high for an alleged Nokia 9.2, which should be revealed around the same time in 2020. If rumors are correct and all goes well for HMD, the Nokia 9.2 is expected to be the first smartphone with a selfie camera hidden directly under the display. In other words — no notch, no punch hole, no nothing.

Huawei

Despite being in a complicated relationship with Google and its Android support, Huawei is expected to push on, introducing new smartphones as if nothing has happened.

If that is so, then MWC 2020 should be when we get to see the Huawei P40 for the first time. Rumors have been slim, but Huawei is pretty big on pushing the envelope when it comes to smartphone camera tech. So, we are low-key excited for what we may get to see.

Sony

It's just about time for Sony to launch a new flagship, though it's still veiled in mystery. We've heard the names Sony Xperia 1.1 and Sony Xperia 5 Plus thrown around. We have to say, the latter doesn't make much sense as the Xperia 5 was pretty much a smaller version of the Xperia 1. In other words, the Xperia 1 itself was an Xperia 5 Plus of sorts.

But hey, it's Sony and it's no stranger to throwing curveballs around.

In any case, it should be showing us what it has in store for us at this year's MWC as it traditionally has done in the past.

Microsoft

Microsoft kind of shocked the world with the announcement of the Surface Duo and Surface Neo. Both of these are foldable devices, the former running on Android and the latter working on a new Windows 10X operating system.

Both of these are supposed to release in the 2020 holiday season. However, Microsoft could still take them to MWC and show them around just to keep any kind of interest or hype going, lest we forget about the new Surfaces.