Mobile’s biggest trade show is nearing with Mobile World Congress 2024 happening in Barcelona in less than two weeks. Even though the showcase event for phones has seen fewer major announcements the last several years, it’s still an opportunity for many of the brands recognized outside of the U.S. to tease what they’re working on and expected to release.
Coming off the heels of CES 2024 and global launches for the Samsung Galaxy S24 Series and OnePlus 12, we’re barely through February before MWC 2024 officially kicks off. It should yield the momentum needed for other phones to help fill in that gap between now and the fall when most flagships are announced.
While it’s always been an opportunity for many global phone makers to unveil the hardware they’re planning to release, we’ve also seen other new innovations and technologies teased at the show. Before we dive into what we expect to see at MWC 2024, let’s briefly highlight everything you need to know about the event.
When is MWC 2024?
Mobile World Congress 2024 officially runs February 26 to 29 at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona, Spain. It’s organized by the GSMA, but many brands will host their own events outside of the venue. Even though some of these keynotes will be streamed online for public viewing, registration for MWC 2024 is open to exhibitors, press, analysts, GSMA members, and other partners.
OnePlus
The company is just coming off the global releases of its OnePlus 12 and 12R phones, which take top honors in our best phone battery life list for their endurance. Last year the company unveiled its OnePlus Pad at MWC 2023, a remarkable Android tablet that rivals the iPad Pro in terms of features and performance.
However, it looks like OnePlus will be making an announcement in the wearables space instead. There are whispers about the OnePlus Watch 2 tipped for an MWC 2024 launch, which would be interesting given the failure of the original model. OnePlus will hopefully redeem itself in a big way, but rumors hint to the OnePlus Watch 2 featuring a similar round face design paired with a Snapdragon W5 Gen 1. Other health-focussed features are expected as well, including blood oxygen, sleep tracking, heart rate, and more.
Nothing
Nothing’s already confirmed its next device will be making its debut soon, but neglected a date when it would happen. All fingers point to MWC 2024 as the likely time for a Nothing Phone 2a announcement. Based on the name, it’ll presumably follow in the same footsteps as being a low-cost alternative similar to Google’s Pixel A series.
Details are skimp, but it’s tipped to run a MediaTek Dimensity 7200 to help drive the cost lower than the Snapdragon equipped Nothing Phone 2 — along with a scaled back Glyph interface. The latter’s important because it’s been the feature that distinguishes Nothing’s phones from everyone else. So while a previous leak indicated the Glyph Interface was going to be dropped altogether, it was revealed later that wasn’t going to be the case.
Honor
Chinese phone maker Honor is slated to host its MWC 2024 announcement on February 26 to announce its Magic 6 Series and Magic V2 Series phones. The Magic 5 Pro was a show stealer at MWC 2023, so we expect big things out of Honor’s next flagship phone in the Magic 6 Pro during its Discover the Magic event.
Interestingly enough, the phone has already debuted in China featuring a Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, 6.8-inch curved OLED display, and a 180MP periscope camera with 2.5x optical zoom.
Xiaomi
Another popular smartphone maker hailing from China, Xiaomi is expected to unveil its upcoming Xiaomi 14 series during its Lens to Legend event on February 25. As the teaser implies, the Xiaomi 14 series should be focusing heavily around the camera — with rumors hinting to an upgraded Leica-branded triple camera system complete with telephoto camera with 3.2x optical zoom. Furthermore, the design should rival that of the iPhone 15 Pro with its skinnier bezels.
Motorola
After a stunning showcase in 2023, Motorola’s been able to redeem itself in the foldable phones space with the release of the Motorola Razr (2023) and Motorola Razr+. Just before we rung in the new year, the first whispers of Motorola’s new foldable phones teased us at three big upgrades that could be coming to its next top-of-the-line foldable.
On top of reportedly being powered by the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip, the Motorola Razr+ (2024) will also be accompanied by AI capabilities and a redesign. The former should be intriguing seeing that we haven’t heard about Motorola’s intentions around AI features, which of course, is the trend we’ll see in a lot of phones in 2024.
Samsung
At its last Galaxy Unpacked event in January, Samsung used the occasion to show off the new Galaxy AI features in its Galaxy S24 phones and left us with a teaser for its upcoming Galaxy Ring. While we could learn more about the smart ring wearable at MWC 2024, chances are that the official announcement could coincide with its fall Galaxy Unpacked — when its foldable phones are typically revealed.
There's also Samsung's expected mixed reality headset in collaboration with Google and Qualcomm. Given that rumors point at a late 2024 announcement, it would be wiser to show it off in a more complete package if it intends to steal the Apple Vision Pro's thunder.
Samsung isn’t expected to host any keynote for MWC 2024, but there’s always that offset chance of perhaps hearing about another low-cost phone in its Galaxy A-series lineup.
