The Mobile World Congress held every year in Barcelona is where mobile manufacturers, journalists, mobile networks, app developers and the rest of the mobile ecosystem gather together to see what is going to happen in the next year. Many firms use it to launch their new phones and products.
Phone Launches for Mobile World Congress 2016
Samsung is almost certain to launch its new Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge phones at the event. The S6 was launched there and already people are excited to see what is coming for the new phones. LG are said to be launching their G5 phone, as well as a new mobile payment system. The payment system is a credit card-like device, called ‘White Card’ which will have a small screen and enable mobile payments in a similar manner to Apple Pay.
Xiaomi, the emerging Chinese manufacturer will be launching their Mi 5 phone. Blackberry have a phone codenamed Vienna ready for release during the show and there is likely to be an announcement from Microsoft of a new Lumia model. HTC is set to release the M10, but this may slip back to a later date.
Wearables, 5G and the Internet of Things
As mobile technology starts to reach even more parts of our lives, so Mobile World Congress 2016 has moved beyond phones. This year there will be many manufacturers showing off their new wearables from fitness trackers to watches and other niche devices.
The Internet of Things will also be one of the emerging technologies on show. With every inanimate object set to become ‘smart’ in the future, expect there to be many connected devices displayed.
Inevitably 4G won’t be the fastest network connection forever, so 5G is on the horizon and this will be a hot topic in Barcelona.
