Rolling screens, watches with earphones and huge batteries: these are the best gadgets of the MWC

Tech shows can be truly fascinating: for those of us who love this field, having the industry’s major players in one place is nothing short of adrenaline pumping. And the Mobile World Congress is precisely one of the most important.

After a rather shy 2022 due to the pandemic, today the MWC has returned in glory and majesty, with every corner of the huge Fira de Barcelona full of stalls, gadgets and lots of people. Nearly one hundred thousand people arrived during the three days of March that the show lasted, the main driver of innovation being networking and the generation of new business.

as a showcase for gadgets and news, the most important event remains the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) which takes place in Las Vegas in January. But that doesn’t mean new and eye-catching devices haven’t been seen in the halls of Fira. On the contrary: as far as the manufacturers are concerned, with the exception of Apple, they were all there, with more or less to show the public.

The MWC has therefore always been a great catalyst for getting a more global and broader view of the directions the technology and telecommunications industry is taking. This year was no exception.

For example, there’s been a lot of talk about the possible reach that 6G could have by 2030—and 5G has yet to be installed at scale—as well as the uses of new artificial intelligence tools, if satellite connectivity will reach everyone, what is the current functionality of the Internet of Things or how are the eSims — or virtual phone cards — doing that it’s time for them to start working in our country. Although these are the main themes, the gadgets and devices continue to be the most attractive to attendees.

Was there any interesting news to highlight? Of course. Too bad so bad, the smart phones and the portable Smart devices, such as watches and bracelets, remain the main tool in this industry. It was the highlight we saw and tested during Mobile World Congress 2023.

Mobile phones are always the big stars of the event. This year, yes, there were not so many models to highlight: many of them had already been presented, as was the case with Samsung and its S23 range, although some new features appeared.

It may be very close – I was invited by the brand to the show – but honestly the model I liked the most at MWC was the Honor Magic 5 Pro . New flagship From the Chinese company, which until not so long ago was part of Huawei, I liked it for its many premium features, but basically for two specific reasons: its battery and its camera.

On the one hand, the Magic 5 Pro is, until now, one of the very few models to offer a battery greater than 5,000 mAh, which until now has been the standard for the entire industry. . With this launch, Honor has managed to include a 5,100mAh battery. Maybe the difference is not that big —2%—, but for many users it can be a salvation during the day.

In addition, they presented a wonderful innovation regarding the manufacture of these batteries. Instead of lithium-ion, from this model Honor will include silicone-carbon batteries in its future devices, which allow 12.6% more energy. It’s probably the biggest battery innovation we’ve seen lately.

The Magic 5 Pro camera, for its part, has three lenses of 50MP each, which allow endless visual combinations, as well as the possibility of recording in 4K at 60 frames per second. That might sound relatively standard for a high-end mobile camera, but the folks at specialist site DXOMARK — one of the most prestigious tech test stands — have put it front and center. first place of his general classification. Not all manufacturers can say the same.

The rest of the industry also presented other interesting models, with a clear focus on foldable models. Like him Oppo Find N2 the same Honor Magic V — which will leave China to reach global markets, including our own — or the Phantom V-fold of the relatively unknown Chinese society tech .

Lenovo and Motorola – although the former owns the latter – have introduced their own rollable screens, both on laptops and cellphones. This new use is surprising, somewhat confusing in actual use, but it’s as literal as the name suggests: the screen rolls up or down from the base of the cell phone, extending or shrinking like a papyrus according to the needs of the user.

Although they were launched worldwide at Lenovo Tech World last October, they are still prototypes and there is no date to launch them for sale. But damn did they catch the eye: on Lenovo’s side, it’s a 12.7-inch laptop capable of expanding its screen to 15.3″. By the way, change the aspect ratio from 4:3 (traditional) to 8:9 (something like three 16:9 screens). The magnification and collection speed may be a little slow, but we are talking about a prototype and there is still a lot to work on until it finally goes on sale.

On the Motorola side, we have a smartphone with similar specs called RIZR (something like “breeding” or emergence) and its wow screen that surprised us. In compact mode it reaches 5″, but just by pressing the power button, or by putting the mobile phone in landscape mode (like when watching YouTube, for example), the screen is extended up to 6″. It’s also content-adaptive: that is, the image isn’t lost when the screen is retracted, which is rolled up on the base.

Meanwhile, giant Samsung, one of the world’s largest display makers with its own independent division, Samsung display solutions —, presented more possibilities for folding devices.

The South Korean brand presented three different models: the Flex S, with a three-layer “S”-shaped screen, which seems ideal for an ultra-compact mobile phone that can be transformed into a tablet. In addition, the three simultaneous screens could infinitely increase the possibilities of multitasking.

Then there was the Flex G, which, as the name suggests, has a design similar to that letter, has five sides, and can only bend inward. And also the laptop Flex Note, similar to the Asus Zenbook Fold, a computer with a large screen split in two (and virtual keyboard, or one is added via Bluetooth), with a fold for its closure.

All of the above indicates that folding screens will gradually become more common in our future devices, which opens up endless possibilities in terms of design, size and use.

The theme of batteries has finally had a little more echo this year. For a long time, almost by default, batteries that are made for mobile devices are made with lithium. This makes them very capable, but due to their size, they allow storage that has a certain capacity limit, usually close to 5000 mAh.

Well, Honor introduced the first silicone-carbon battery, which will allow 12.8% more storage, and which will be available in the brand’s next devices. Considering battery technology has been stagnating for years, relying on better component processes to make power delivery more efficient, this is a huge step forward. The dream of having a battery that lasts several days, apparently, does not seem so far away.

On the other hand, last year we saw on these pages how Oppo experimentally presented the first 240 watt mobile charger, which ensured a full charge in less than 10 minutes. This time the Chinese company real me presented the first model capable of being charged with this technology: the Realme GT3. To put things into perspective, within a minute and a half the device already had 20% of its 4,600 mAh battery charged.

From these battery improvements, in addition to the new, more efficient processors and, by the way, the powerful speeds of some chargers, it is more or less clear that the classic dynamic of charging the mobile phone overnight will remain in the past. The time in which we shower or prepare coffee will be enough to have a 100% device for the whole day. It’s not bad.

The Chinese mega giant made it clear at MWC that its business goes way beyond smartphones and accessories. And he did it by setting up the largest stand at the show. The space even had a cafeteria inside, where it handed out free drinks to visitors. This paraphernalia did not prevent Huawei from also showing some consumer products that surprised with their innovation.

Especially with his portable or wearables, where the brand has done its homework. On the one hand, he presented the interesting Huawei Watch D , a smartwatch that measures blood pressure from an inflated wristband inside the wristband. The results are as accurate as if they were made in a hospital, a novelty that will soon be on sale in our country.

But most striking, without a doubt, was the Huawei WatchBuds , an interesting and very functional combo, whose simple distinction is to have the possibility of storing the headphones inside the brand watch. Yes, as it sounds. The space, by the way, functions as a charging case for devices. Thus, there is no need to carry more devices in your pockets or purses.

The best part is that the sacrifice of the clock is not felt: it was only enough to enlarge the design of the GT3 by one more centimeter to accommodate the headphones. How had that never occurred to anyone!