ALL THE MWC 2017 Updates!

MWC 2017 has arrived. Despite the weird timing of the event, I’m here to give you the latest updates! I don’t want to  repeat everything that everyone has already said, so I’ll just collect all the news for you!

This post is updated regularly as the news rolls by. Mobile World Congress starts on February 27th but the big tech companies had their press events the day before (February 26th).

Enjoy!

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Sony’s New Smartphone Lineup!

Sony didn’t have a great 2016. They mostly released boring smartphones last year. They had the Xperia Z5 Premium which was something to say the least.

This year at MWC 2017, Sony is basically putting out every phone they can and see what sticks.

Here’s the Xperia XZ Premium (Gaaaaaah, the naming!):

Here’s the Xperia XA1 and XA1 Ultra which features less bezels!

They also have another phone called the Xperia XZs. All phones are slated to come out this year.

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Moto G5 and G5 Plus Announced!

Lenovo announced the latest in their Moto lineup: the Moto G5 and Moto G5 Plus! Both phones carry a metal body and run Android 7.0 out-of-the-box without any skins whatsoever. What you do get is Motorola’s great software features like Moto Display!

Notable specs include:

Moto G5

• 5″ 1080p display
• 2800mAh battery
• Snapdragon 430 processor
• 2GB RAM, 16/32GB internal storage
• 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera

Moto G5 Plus

https://youtu.be/oo6bFoC_3f8

• 5.2″ 1080p display
• 3000mAh battery
• Snapdragon 625 processor (same as the Moto Z Play)
• 2 or 4GB RAM (depending on the market), 32/64GB internal storage
• 12MP rear camera with dual autofocus, 5MP front camera

Here’s a first impressions video from The Verge:

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Samsung’s Galaxy S8 Event on March 29th!

Samsung did have an event during Mobile World Congress. Sadly, they only announced two new tablets: the Galaxy Tab S3 and the Galaxy Book. I’ll just leave links right here and here to know more about it.

It’s a good thing Samsung left a big nugget at the end of their event: their next Unpacked event on March 29th in New York City!

Here’s the teaser:

https://youtu.be/2iNTxLXO-Iw

Unless you’re super ignorant, this is obviously a teaser to the Galaxy S8. I hope to see what Samsung does to remove the bad taste of the Note 7 debacle in its mouth. Go for it, Samsung!

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The Nokia 3310 is BACK!

After more than a decade, the Nokia 3310 is BACK in full force! HMD Global, the company that got the license to make Nokia-branded phones, chose to poke with our nostalgic selves and release a modernized version of the Nokia 3310.

Notable features include a 31-DAY STANDBY TIME, 22 HOURS of TALK TIME, and the SUPER NOSTALGIC game called Snake! It now has modern featurephone specs like a 2.4″ QVGA display, a 2-megapixel camera, and even a microSD card slot. It charges through microUSB and has a full headphone jack (unlike the iPhone 7).

Here’s a cool first impressions video from The Verge:

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Does Blackberry Have the Right One With the KEYone?

Blackberry has had a slew of Android phones in recent years. Some of them were just playing with the traditional BlackBerry design (see the PRIV). We finally have a proper Blackberry successor announced at MWC 2017 in the KEYone.

Just note that it’s TCL that makes this smartphone. TCL just got a license from Research in Motion (RIM) to use the Blackberry brand. Instead of going for the best specs, TCL opted to focus on additional security and privacy that Blackberrys are usually known for. It also carries the suite of Blackberry apps such as Blackberry Keyboard.

Here are some specs for you to chew on:

• Snapdragon 625 processor
• 3GB RAM, 32GB internal storage
• 3505mAh battery

More info on the Blackberry KEYone HERE.

First impressions of the KEYone from CNET:

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Huawei’s P10 and P10 Plus Announced!

Huawei also announced the P10 and P10 Plus at MWC 2017! Even though it looks like its predecessor, the P9, Huawei’s latest flagship has new features that could challenge the big ones. It still has the Leica-branded dual camera that made the P9 a very popular smartphone.

Here are notable specs and features:

• The P10 has 4GB RAM and 64GB internal storage while the P10 Plus gets 6GB RAM and 128GB internal storage.
• The dual cameras are also slightly different here: the P10 Plus gets the better f/1.8 aperture while the P10 is stuck with an f/2.2 aperture.
• Both the P10 and P10 Plus get Huawei’s Kirin 960 chip.
• Both phones have software that uses machine learning to help keep the phone as fast as it can. (It seems amazing on paper. Let’s see when we use it in person.

Here’s a hands-on of the P10 from Android Authority below:

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LG Announces Its Newest Flagship, the G6!

LG finally announced their latest flagship smartphone in MWC 2017: the G6! As you can see here, it’s nearly ALL SCREEN! It sucks that I didn’t mention this in my Must-Have Smartphone Features list this year but I think phones with mostly screen in the front will be a trend. The G6 is the perfect example of that. Its headline feature is the 5.7″ 2880×1440 screen with a weird 18:9 aspect ratio.

Other notable specs and features include:

• Dual rear cameras (one wide-angle camera and the other a standard one)
• Snapdragon 821 (Thanks, Samsung.)
• 4GB RAM, 32GB internal storage
• Android 7.0 Nougat with Google Assistant (only non-Google phone to come with this out-of-the-box)

First impressions on the G6 can be found HERE and HERE.

Video from The Verge:

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Anything here that you look forward to trying out? Let me know in the comments below and I might just try to get my hands on these stuff for review. Keep it locked here on Utterly Random Techie!