MWC 2024 live: all the news and phone reveals that matter
Mobile World Congress is underway with reveals from Xiaomi, Honor, Qualcomm, Lenovo and more major brands
Honor to livestream MWC press event
Honor has announced that it will launch new products during Mobile World Congress, with a dedicated event to take place at 13:30 CET (local time to Barcelona) on Monday 25 February.
You should be able to watch it live on T3. Alternatively, it will be streamed live on Honor's YouTube channel too, as well as on X.
OnePlus Watch 2 could be the best smartwatch at the show
OnePlus will launch its second-generation smartwatch on the Tuesday of the show (26 February) but hasn't been shy with some details already.
The OnePlus Watch 2 will feature "military-grade durability" for starters, and the manufacturer has confirmed that the battery life should last up to 100-hours between charges.
Don't expect the Nothing Phone (2a)
Although there will be a stack of exciting phone launches during MWC 2024 you'll have to wait a bit longer for one of the most talked about new handsets.
The Nothing Phone (2a) will launch after the show is done and dusted, on Tuesday 5 March instead. However, you can see the phone already, as we've corroborated the recently released renders with our own sources – just check them out above.
Keep your eye out for a new foldable phone
Although we're not expecting many new foldables, it is reported that Tecno plans to follow up its Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 rival with a launch during MWC.
The Tecno Phantom V Fold 2 is said to run on the same MediaTek Dimensity 9000+ as its predecessor, with 12GB of RAM, but it's worth remembering that Tecno's devices are much more affordable than many peers. Watch this space.
We're here
The T3 team are now here in Barcelona ready for MWC and we're expecting the first big announcements in just a few hours. Today there are keynote speeches from Xiaomi, Honor and OnePlus with a host of new devices expected. Stay tuned – we'll bring you the news right here.
Waiting for Honor...
I'm here at the Honor event, ready for the announcement of the Honor Magic 6 Series, Magic V2 Series and MagicBook Pro 16. The event starts shortly...
Iconic Nokia on its way
HMD, owner of Nokia phones, has announced that it plans to "bring back an iconic phone this summer. This is as well as a Barbie branded flip phone that it has planned. So which will it be? My favourite ever Nokia was the 8800, a compact stainless steel bodied phone with a sliding cover. Or maybe it's the 7110, which no only featured inthe Matrix films, but offered the company's first WAP browser.
Xiaomi the money
T3 resident Staff Writer, Sam Cross, here reporting live from the Xiaomi launch event in Barcelona. We've expecting news about phones, some IoT devices and possibly even some EV news. Stay tuned for more details.
Android phones to get connectivity advance
Qualcomm used MWC to reveal its latest and greatest modem, the X80, which might not sound like a super-exciting reveal – but it's actually really important for future Android phones.
Why? Because the new chip adds artificial intelligence for better 5G performance, plus non-terrestrial networks (NTNs) using Snapdragon Satellite for potential future services, such as SOS, being made possible.
We're here [part 2]
Hi, news editor Rik taking over and we'll be bringing you hands-ons and more mobile news today as the show kicks off in full.
We have several T3ers out at the show, including Sam Cross and Mat Gallagher (as you can see above) so will give you our impressions on the coolest products we see throughout the next few days.
TCL's latest smartphones are super affordable
As well as the European availability of several of its NXTPAPER products, TCL has announced several budget smartphones that are coming in April.
The TCL 50SE, 50 5G, 501 and 505 phones start at just £59.99 and will max out at £149.99 when they arrive in the UK in a couple of months. Wowsers.
Samsung Galaxy Ring unveiled
Although we're expecting a full launch at the end of the summer, alongside the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Z Flip 6, Samsung has displayed its prototype smart ring in public for the first time.
The Samsung Galaxy Ring is on its show stand and we'll be bringing you our own thoughts on it in the near future.
Off the cuff with Motorola
Motorola has taken the idea of the bendable phone to the next level with a concept device you can wrap around your wrist.
The Motorola Adaptive Display has a flexible material backing and can be bent backwards to form a C-shape. That doesn't just mean you can wear it, but you could stand it on one end, for example, to form a bedside clock.
It's crazy stuff but the sort of interesting idea that makes a show like MWC that much more fun.
C'mon Barbie let's go party!
HMD didn't actually show any phones during its dedicated press event on the eve of MWC. It instead announced product lines that are to come in the next few months, including a device it is working on in collaboration with the toy manufacturer Mattel.
The Barbie flip phone will be a retro-style device launching this summer. We don't have an awful lot of detail at present, but it is likely that it'll feature a physical keypad rather than foldable display. Oh, and it'll be pink, of course.
OnePlus Watch 2 looks the real deal this time
OnePlus has turned to Wear OS for its second-generation smartwatch and the device seems all the better for it.
The OnePlus Watch 2 is also pleasantly chunky and boasts up to 100-hours of battery life, so could be a real contender when it comes to the best smartwatches of 2024.
We see right through you Lenovo
Another out-there product to be shown at this year's MWC is the Lenovo ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop (which we're calling just Lenovo ThinkBook Transparent for the sake of our typing fingers).
I comes with a "world's first" 17.3-inch Micro LED see-through screen which looks pretty great in our opinion – very Minority Report. It also uses a touchscreen keyboard, just to make the whole shebang even more sci-fi.
Mystery Nokia phone reissue planned, what could it be?
Along with the Barbie flip phone we've already talked about, HMD announced that it will be reissuing a new version of yet another classic Nokia phone. It stopped short of saying which one though.
We've given it some thought and hope that it's a new version of the Nokia 7110 – a handset that came with a hidden keyboard. Let's just hope it's not the N-Gage though, we're not sure anybody was even ready for it back then let alone now.
Google's Wear OS finally gets a much-requested feature
Google doesn't usually attend Mobile World Congress, but it has timed a couple of releases to coincide with the show this year. The main one is that it is finally adding a long-awaited feature to Wear OS smartwatches that will no doubt please those who travel or attend gigs.
Basically, Google Wallet for Wear OS will soon include the likes of boarding passes, loyalty cards and tickets to events, so you won't have to fish out your phone when you want to use or show one. Hurrah!
The Honor Magic 6 Pro is eye-opening
The Honor Magic 6 Pro was launched during a dedicated event yesterday and we've been trying out one or two of its features since.
The main one is the handset's unique eye-tracking capabilities which saw us control a car using just our peepers. Not only could we start the ignition just by looking at an app on the phone, we could move the vehicle as if by magic... aptly named, then.
A Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra beater?
Another to hold an event prior to the show starting for real is Xiaomi. The Chinese firm launched the European versions of the Xiaomi 14 range, which includes the Xiaomi 14 Ultra – one of the most capable flagship smartphones we've seen.
The Leica partnership has certainly paid off for the rear camera, it seems, with a trio of 50-megapixel sensors (telephoto, periscope and ultra-wide) accompanied by a 1-inch Sony LYT-900 sensor for the main cam. It makes for a very interesting proposition and genuine rival to Samsung's current flagship.
So that's myself, news ed Rik, over and out. We'll be back tomorrow with more news from MWC 2024.
Please join us then as we delve into the latest on the additional products at the show, including cars and smartwatches, as well as the usual phones. Bye for now.
Finally, some AR glasses we'd actually wear
Morning... we're back at MWC 2024 on a fine Tuesday and it's news editor Rik here again to bring you today's latest stories.
First up, we've had an exclusive play with the Oppo Air Glass 3 AR spectacles and have to say we're very impressed. T3 news Writer Sam Cross even states that he'd consider buying them, as they are extremely light and look like a normal pair of glasses.
You can find out more right here.
Wow, a phone that can last two months on a single charge
Energizer is well known for battery technology and the latest phone from the brand certainly puts that at the forefront.
The Energizer Hard Case P28K is so-called because it comes with a massive 28,000mAh battery inside, which can last for up to 94 days on standby before needing to be recharged. It can even give you 122 hours of talktime.
The phone is primarily designed for those who work in extreme circumstances, not least because it weighs half a kilo, but does come with some decent specs.
Nothing left to the imagination
Although Nothing's press conference isn't until next week, the company clearly doesn't want its rivals to get all the glory during MWC. That's perhaps why it created an AR stunt in London to officially "unveil" the Nothing Phone (2a).
The "unboxing" took place yesterday with Nothing posting video on its own X (formerly Twitter) channel.
An unboxing like no other. Phone (2a) just dropped in London.Launching 5 March. pic.twitter.com/7hcb4ELYMGFebruary 26, 2024
Google announces host of new Android features
Google has announced several new features coming to Android to coincide with Mobile World Congress.
They include AI assistance for Android Auto, which will summarise long texts or group chats and read them out while you are driving. There's also some cunning new AR features in Lens that can tell you information on landmarks as you point your camera at them.