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The Mobile World Conference (MWC) 2019 is officially over. The event has seen the future of technology coming in smartphones and other devices. Companies made sure that they make the most out of the platform to get the attention pulled towards their products. We list down the best tech products launched at the MWC.
Foldable Smartphones
The highlight of the entire event was the launch of foldable smartphones by various smartphone manufacturers. Samsung launched the first foldable smartphone with two displays and six cameras. Huawei’s Mate X one-upped Samsung’s Galaxy Fold by launching a foldable smartphone with three screens and four cameras. Both these foldable smartphones are 5G ready and would be launched soon.
While Samsung has the upper hand in terms of the software and the features it previewed during the launch, Huawei won the show for the incredible design. However, the company needs to make sure it provides enough features that do justice to the design. Both the smartphones are pricey. While the Galaxy Fold starts at 1,980 USD, the Mate X starts at $2,600. The smartphones may not be perfect in certain areas like hinge-durability or thickness, but they’ve surely lead the path to the future of smartphones.
The most-talked-about topic of the event could possibly be 5G. Almost every major smartphone manufacturer at the MWC revealed a 5G smartphone.While some manufacturers revealed a special variant of their flagship device; for example, Samsung launched its S10 5G variant, other companies like LG launched a dedicated 5G-ready device, like the V50 ThinkQ during the event.
Companies like OnePlus showcased a demo of its 5G-ready smartphone without revealing any details about the device. The 5G-ready smartphones may be expensive, but promise to provide a better experience with faster performance when the super-fast network becomes available.
This foldable smartphone needs special recognition for the kind of innovation it offers. A foldable smartphone that has two batteries, three displays, four cameras and is 5G-ready is something worth appreciating. The device runs on a Hi-Silicon Kirin 980 SoC and is paired with a Balong 5000 5G modem. The three displays on the device are 6.6”, 6.38” and 8” foldable panels. Mate X has four cameras that include a 40 MP sensor, a 16 MP ultra-wide sensor and an 8 MP telephoto lens. Huawei has not revealed the fourth camera as of yet but stated that it would do so during the launch of the P30 next month. The specs and the design may be tempting for the techie in you, but if you intend to buy this device, you need to shell out at least $2,600.
Microsoft unveiled the second generation HoloLens at the MWC. The company stated that it has made several changes in the design and the display panel to offer a smooth and vivid experience to the user. The display in the HoloLens 2 has a Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) which is equivalent to 2K displays. The Mixed Reality Headset runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 which is based on the company’s Compute Platform. It also has an iris scanner that is used for user authentication. The device is available in some countries and is priced in the US at $3,500.
Smartphones at MWC
LG’s latest smartphone may look like any other flagship, but there is more than what meets the eye. The company’s flagship device is by no means an ordinary device. The specs include a 6.1- inch OLED display with Snapdragon 855 under the hood paired with 6 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage. The G8 has a 12 MP primary lens and a 16 MP wide-angle sensor on the rear with Night View mode, which combines up to 10 pictures into one image to reduce noise. These specs might be top end, but the best features are in the gestures and the display of the device. The LG G8’s screen itself is the speaker. It uses Crystal Sound OLED technology that uses the first half of the display as the front-facing earpiece. For sound, the handset vibrates the entire glass panel on the front. It also has a vein unlock feature wherein the front camera’s Time of Flight sensor scans the veins to unlock the phone. Lastly, the phone has a new feature called Air Motion wherein users can interact with the phone through gestures. Different gestures can be used to play and pause music, launch apps, answer calls, etc.
While other smartphone manufacturers stuck to dual or triple camera setups, Nokia took the lead with five lenses on the back. The company introduced the much-awaited device at MWC. It has five cameras of which two shoot in colour whereas the other three shoot in monochrome. Each of the five cameras features a 12-megapixel sensor. By pressing down on the shutter, all five cameras shoot different exposures simultaneously, which then get merged in an ultra-detailed image. Other specs include a 5.99-inch 2K pOLED display panel that has an in-display fingerprint sensor. It is powered by a Snapdragon 845 SoC and 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The smartphone runs on Android 9 and would be available in March for $699.
Sony’s latest smartphone offers a 21:9 ‘CinemaWide’ display. Arguably, the most talked-about feature of the Sony Xperia 1 is the display. It offers a 6.5-inch OLED display and supports 4K HDR. As mentioned, the device has a ‘CinemaWide’ display with an aspect ratio of 21:9. This aspect ratio is higher than what most rivals provide at 16:9, 18:9 and even 19:9. Xperia’s 21:9 aspect ratio would allow users to watch videos or any other form of content without any black bars on the sides, top or bottom. It runs on an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 processor that is coupled with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage.
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