It’s almost that time of year again, and Mobile World Congress (MWC) looks set to be bigger and better than ever in 2015. Held in Barcelona from 2nd to 5th March, the event is traditionally a time for releasing the latest flagship handsets, so let’s see what we can expect this year.
Here are four of the 4G flagship handsets that are rumoured to be launching at or around Mobile World Congress 2015:
Samsung Galaxy S6
After a standalone launch for the Galaxy S4 in 2013 Samsung used MWC to launch the S5 in 2014, so this year we can expect to see the S6 appearing in Barcelona. Samsung is holding a press event on 1st March.
Samsung seem to be prioritising quality over quantity these days, and the release of the Galaxy Alpha metal phone last year makes us think the Galaxy S6 is likely to be a premium metal build. The Galaxy S6 is expected to be fairly iPhone-esque in style, and will be taller and thinner than its predecessors. The display is expected to be around 5.1 inches with a higher resolution than the S5.
Alongside the Galaxy S6 Samsung is likely to bring a version with a curved edge known as the Galaxy S Edge. We’re also likely to hear more about its proprietary mobile operating system Tizen.
HTC One M9
This handset – codenamed the HTC Hima – is likely to be launched the day before MWC at an event HTC is holding on 1st March. The handset is expected to be one of the highest spec phones available with talk of a QHD display, a Snapdragon 810 processor, 3GB of RAM, a waterproof body. Other rumours suggest a mighty 20MP camera and Dolby 5.1 audio technology.
It is possible that an HTC One M9 Plus with a 5.2 inch screen, a QHD display and a fingerprint scanner, may also be launched at the event.
LG G4
The rumour mill can’t make up its mind whether LG is likely to go ahead and release the LG G4 at MWC to compete with the Samsung Galaxy S6, or whether it will wait until May and launch the new handset at its own event. Whenever it is launched it is expected to feature a 3K display, a 16MP dual-camera setup, 3GB of RAM, and the new Snapdragon 810 processor.
Sony Xperia Z4
Actually the Sony Xperia Z4 is now not expected to be launched at MWC, as Sony is likely to be switching from a six month cycle of flagships to just one flagship per year, meaning that the launch could be pushed back to the summer, even though the handset passed through Japanese certification authorities in January.
Sony are expected to stick to the OmniBalance design of the Z3 with the new Z4 and there may be two versions of the phone – one with a 1080 x 1920 full high definition screen and one with a much higher 1440 x 2560 (QHD) resolution.
In addition to the 4G handsets listed above many manufacturers are likely to be bringing wearables to Mobile World Congress such as a smartwatch from HTC and a circular smartwatch from Samsung. However true the rumours turn out to be, there will be plenty to talk about during the first week of March.