And even with Samsung making us wait a little longer for the Galaxy S8, there will still be loads of phones, tablets, watches, gadgets on display in Barcelona. But if you can’t wait until the big event, we’ve got everything you need to know right here.
at’s we know is coming
G6
swung missed with its modular-minded G5, so it’s no surprise that it’s gone back to the drawing board with the G6. And from the looks of it, they got it right this time. ile we’ll be losing one of the last phone lines that still had a removable battery, has opted to put a premium on design, with a glass–metal frame, tiny bezels, a 5.7-inch Full Vision” Quad HD D screen. It’ll also be waterproof, come with a dual camera system, feature a Quad digital-to-analog converter like the one found on the V20. has also teased some interesting features of its Nougat-based UX 6.0 operating system. Taking advantage of the screen’s unique 18:9 aspect ratio, it will be separating the screen into two identical squares for both multitasking picture-taking. As explains, “The combinations are endless.”
Galaxy Tab S3
Rest assured Samsung fans, the company won’t be arriving at M empty-hed. For the first time in nearly a year a half, Samsung will be launching a new Galaxy Tab S, taking another crack at making a high-end Android tablet. From the rumors leaks, the 9.6-inch, 2048×1536 Tab S3 will retain the look of the S2, with a pill-shaped fingerprint scanner on the front flanked by a pair of navigation buttons. But the real upgrades will be under the hood. wered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor, it will be packed with 4GB of RAM (up from 3GB in the S2), sport 12Mrear 5Mfront cameras. Samsung will also be including an S n with the Galaxy Tab S3, a first for Samsung’s high-end tablet. ile there reportedly won’t be a Note-style slot for the stylus on the device itself, bundling an S n likely signals a push to highlight the production performance aspects of Android, positioning it as a work-oriented companion to the S8.
Huawei 0
The Mate 9 might have just led in the States, but Huawei is ready to launch two new flagship phones at M. Based on a series of leaks, the two phones, the 0 0 us, they will feature a Kirin 960 processor, a 3,100mAh battery. As the name suggests, the main differences between the two phones will be in the screens. The stard 0 will have a 5.2-inch 1080p display while the us model will have a 5.5-inch Quad HD curved AMOD screen. The two models will sports some visual differences as well. The stard 0 will include a fingerprint scanner built into the home button while the 0 us moves it to the back. Both phones will feature dual cameras metal designs, leaked images show the smaller model sporting blue, gold, green enclosures.
Huawei watch
’ll likely see more than a few Android ar 2.0 watches at M this year, but one we know is coming is a followup to the Huawei tch. don’t know much of anything about it, but Huawei CEO Richard Yu shared a marketing image on ibo to confirm that it will indeed be unveiled at M. The image doesn’t reveal anything about the watch per se, but the image suggests the watch will likely have more of a focus on fitness than the first model. Rumors have pegged the watch to sport a 1.4-inch display an E chip like the Sport, but hopefully Huawei doesn’t go too big.
Sony phones aplenty
Sony has had something of a haphazard strategy with its Android phones, but its M offerings might bring a bit more focus. Sony may launch as many as five new Xperia phones at the event, including a follow-up to its flagship XZ. kely called the X2 ( codenamed Yoshino), there isn’t much known about the hset other than it is expected to feature a 5.5-inch 4K screen. Additionally, there would be a variant with a Quad HD screen, with both phones showcasing Sony’s new IMX400 image sensor. Of particular note is that these phones are rumored to include the new SnapDragon 835 chip, which is all but confirmed to be debuting in the Galaxy S8. So it’s possible that Sony will tease these phone or skip an M unveiling altogether, which would leave a trio of somewhat bler mid-range offerings.
The return of Nokia
It’s been a while since Nokia made any noise at M, but that’s going to change this year. According to reports, parent company HMD Global is bringing four new Nokia phones with them. ’ve already seen the Nokia 6, the de facto flagship of the bunch, but rounding out the line will be the Nokia 5 Nokia 3 hsets. As their names suggest, they will be lower-end affairs, with the 5 featuring a 5.20inch 720p display a 12Mcamera. ss is known about the 3, but it is expected to cost around $150. ile it’s unlikely that any of these hsets will reach the States, there is one that might. According to a VentureBeat report, Nokia is prepping a modern homage to the classic 3310 feature phone, one of the most popular pre-smartphone hsets. ile it has long been surpassed by today’s touch-screen devices, the 3310 was heralded for its small, nearly indestructible frame, as well as a hful of then-novel features customization options, it’ll be interesting to see how Nokia updates it.
Moto G5 G5 us
It doesn’t look like novo will be bringing any flagship Moto phones to M, but there will be an update to the budget G4 G4 us. aked via an accidental posting by Spanish retailer K-Tronix, the bigger of the two models will feature a 5.2-inch Full HD display with a 12Mcamera, 3,000 mAh battery, 2GB of RAM, a Snapdragon 625 chip. Its smaller brother sports a 5-inch utilizes the Snapdragon 430 processor, with a 2,800 mAh battery a 13Mcamera.
BlackBerry Mercury
BlackBerry’s heyday might be long behind it, but they’re still the only name in QRTY phones. And there’s a new one coming at M, built on Android 7.0 Nougat. Blackberry offered a sneak peek at the new Mercury (DTEK70) hset at CES in nuary, but now it is ready to officially launch the phone, which reportedly features a 4.5-inch screen, Snapdragon 625 processor, 3,400 mAh battery. But all anyone who wants one is going to care about is the four-row keyboard permanently affixed to the bottom.
at isn’t going to be there
Galaxy S8
Not since 2013 has there been a Mobile rld Congress without a splashy Galaxy phone release. But this year the company has already lowered our expectations by announcing that it will be taking a little longer with the development of the Galaxy S8. ile that’s certainly a bummer, it looks as though the extra time is being put to good use. ong with the 8-point battery check that will hopefully ensure they won’t blow up, the S8 looks to be a beauty, with a stunning curved design bezels so small that there’s no room for the Samsung logo on the front. Additionally, it looks to be the first phone to use the 10nm Snapdragon 835 chip, which could make it nearly twice as fast than the S7. And perhaps the best news of all: It will be keeping the headphone jack.
Snapdragon 835 phones
’re not the only ones waiting for the Galaxy S8. Manufacturers everywhere are reportedly barred from using the next-generation Snapdragon 835 chip in their phones until the S8 ls, as Samsung has scooped up all of the available chips for itself. So any of the phones announced at M will likely be based on the older (but still very capable) 821 architecture. However, while some companies might try to take the wind out of Samsung’s sails by announcing 835 phones that won’t be shipping until later in the spring, the biggest flagships (like ’s G6, for example) won’t have the latest tech inside.
Anything from Xiaomi
ile fledgling Chinese phone maker Xiaomi used last year’s M to preview its ceramic flagship Mi 5, the company won’t be holding a keynote event at this year’s conference. Xiaomi is going through something of a transition period after its tremendous growth began to slow last year outspoken exec Hugo Barra left the company in nuary, so it’s not all that surprising that Xiaomi is sitting this one out. However, there are enough rumors about the Mi 6 to suggest it will be released sometime soon.
Something new from
If wanted to make headlines at M it could have delayed Android ar 2.0 launched the Sport Style watches, turned it into an event. But clearly doesn’t want to make headlines in Barcelona. ile the Android Village will still be the must-see booth at M, don’t expect to see any new Made by devices inside it.
at we want
Galaxy S8 peek
Samsung knows we’re all waiting for the Galaxy S8. So even though there won’t be an official unveiling, we’re hoping to get some information about it. Maybe a confirmation of the rumored h 29 event, or a hype-building video, or just a peek at how thin those bezels really are. st something to tide us over for the next few weeks.
HTC 11
HTC already unveiled the Ultra U last month but from what we hear, that’s not the only flagship phone it has planned for this year. And while the Ultra certainly looks good, it doesn’t quite have the high-end industrial design that the 10 has. And if we’re going to be paying $750 for a phone, we kinda wish it had a battery bigger than 3,000mAh slightly smaller bezels. Oh, a headphone jack.
A great Android ar 2.0 watch
So far, the only two Android ar 2.0 watches are the hulking Sport the underachieving Style. But somewhere out there is a smartwatch that combines good lucks with NFC long battery life to deliver all of the power of Android ar 2.0 with something we want to wear on our wrist. Maybe it’s the Huawei tch 2, or maybe it’ll come from Asus or Moto. But we just hope we get a look at it in Barcelona.
Giant batteries
If there’s one thing all of the upcoming phones have in common, it’s their giant, pixel-packed screens. And we’re hoping they all have nice big batteries to power them. There’s nothing worse than a great phone that can’t quite last through the day, it would be nice if we didn’t need to carry a battery pack around to make sure we did.
Something different
ile we’re certainly looking forward to the G6 Galaxy Tab S3, it’s hard to get that excited over phones tablets anymore. So we’re hoping M brings something a bit more outside the box. ’ve heard rumblings about a new Samsung folding phone in development for a while now, so it’s possible we’ll get a look at a prototype. Then there’s the report that Nokia will be reviving the retro cy bar-styled 3310. ’re not entirely sure what to expect, but we have visions of a rugged, rock-solid case with a small color screen that lets us perform rudimentary tasks ( play Snake, of course) without bogging down our attention span with tons of apps.
