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The latest updates from MWC 2018
By Harry Brown |
1st March, 2018 |
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The world’s leading phone manufacturers have been showcasing their offerings for 2018 in Barcelona. As another MWC comes to a close, it’s time to look at all the latest announcements from this year’s event…
Samsung Bixby smart speaker
As we predicted before MWC 2018 kicked off, Samsung’s Galaxy S9 has been a big talking point of the conference, despite the company unveiling its latest flagship at its own event before MWC.
We’ve long got used to the rivalry between Samsung and Apple, and the competition is moving into yet another area as Samsung’s mobile president DJ Koh has confirmed the company will be releasing a smart speaker in the second half of the year.
Naturally, the company is keeping tight-lipped about the device’s design or capabilities but we do know that it will be looking to compete with the likes of Apple’s HomePod as Koh told the Wall Street Journal: “I want to focus on more premium” rather than bargain smart speakers like the Amazon Echo Spot.
Nokia brings back curved 8110 phone
Last year Nokia saw a lot of success, and much hype, by bringing back an updated version of the classic 3310. Clearly the company is keen to see similar triumph this year as it has unveiled its latest retro release, giving the legendary Matrix banana phone a modern facelift – the original device was unveiled at MWC in 1996!
If you’re a fan of Snake, the 90s, or simply long to be able to answer and hang up calls by sliding instead of swiping, the 4G-enabled Nokia 8110 should be a definite consideration for a second phone.
The device is set for release in May and will cost around £70 – what a bargain!
Haier smartwatch
Whether it will actually catch or whether it is simply a gimmick, Chinese company Haier unveiled a smartwatch that uses the back of the wearer’s hand as a display. However, the Haier Asu might not be as slim as other devices on the wearables market due to its projector. Users can also interact with their flesh-based touchscreen, BBC News reports.
The company has announced plans to release the gadget in China later this year but it is currently unclear as to whether it will come to the UK.
Huawei’s tablets
Huawei has delayed the launched of its P20 until the end of March but it showcased its new tablet range at MWC. The MediaPad M5 range consists of three devices. The smallest, the MediaPad M5, has an 8.4-inch curved display and offers 359 pixels per inch. The larger version has a 10.8-inch screen at the same resolution thanks to the 2560 x 1600 IPS panel. The third device, the MediaPad M5 Pro, is the same size as the 10.8-inch device but it also comes with a stylus.
Another difference between the tablets is that the smaller MediaPad M5 will come with dual speakers, while the larger options will have powerful quad speakers in order to deliver better audio.