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You may be wondering why Samsung, the largest phone manufacturer in the world, is not present at the Mobile World Congress, the largest mobile trade show. Of course they are, we just don’t expect any new products this week. Samsung launched Galaxy S phones at MWC, then moved to its own event to ensure it could keep all the headlines to itself.
The mega-brand is still present in Barcelona as the show is about mobile network technology, mobile components and finished phone products, and Samsung is involved in every part of the mobile industry from start to finish. We’ll be catching up with Samsung this week to make sure we don’t miss any surprise announcements from the brand.
As for the other big name in phones, Apple has never dabbled in major trade shows outside of its own events. The original iPhone was actually announced around CES, but not in Las Vegas at the official CES show. It was at an event in California. We don’t expect any Apple news this week unless there’s a rumor or leak to keep things fresh.
We knew Bullitt Group would have a new Motorola Defy with satellite capabilities, but we were surprised when we saw the Motorola Defy Satellite Link. This accessory connects to your phone via Bluetooth and allows you to send text messages to anyone via a satellite connection.
It relies on a Bullitt Group messaging app to decide whether to use the satellite or not. When you send a message to someone who doesn’t have the app installed, the first message they receive is a link telling them to start downloading. Then they can communicate with you wherever you are.
I wish there was no need for an app middleman, but nonetheless, this is the first truly consumer-friendly satellite messaging device we’ve seen. It’s available on the upcoming Motorola Defy 2 smartphone, as well as the intriguing new Satellite Link device.
We spent some quality time with Xiaomi’s new camera phone in our Xiaomi 13 Pro review, but Xiaomi’s entry-level model is no slouch either. While only the Pro model gets the large one-inch camera sensor, both phones benefit from Leica tuning.
We’ll have to spend more quality time taking photos with each phone to determine how much they benefit from the leading camera maker, but we’ve seen mixed results with these partnerships in the past.
The recent OnePlus 11 has a partnership with Hasselblad, but that deal appears to be related to color matching and processing. With Leica, it seems Xiaomi has also gotten help designing the camera’s lenses and components, which could make a difference.
One phone we expect to see soon is the OnePlus 11 Concept phone. OnePlus told us last month that it would have a Concept device here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and it’s since posted a preview on its website showing what appears to be the rear of the phone.
The image looks like the kind of liquid cooling we’d expect to see on a gaming PC, so we think OnePlus might have its sites on a serious gaming streak with the new concept device. With the Concept title, it’s not clear if this will be a OnePlus phone you can actually buy, or just a technology demonstration. We hope to be able to get started with the new phone soon.
OnePlus also teased a OnePlus Pad tablet and we expect to see the company’s first iPad competitor here at the MWC show. We’ll have practical details and a full overview as soon as we can devote time to the new devices.
Xiaomi’s new phones aren’t the first major Mobile World Congress launch we’ve seen. I had the chance to view satellite messages on a Motorola Defy prototype earlier this year, and now Motorola and Bullitt Group have Motorola Defy 2, as well as the Motorola Defy Satellite Link.
Both the robust, waterproof Defy 2 and the satellite link can send messages via a geostationary satellite. Unlike the iPhone 14 family of devices, which can use satellites for emergency messages and SOS, the Moto Defy 2 and its satellite connection are suitable for boring, mundane messages that don’t require a helicopter rescue.
The Defy Satellite Link launches in the US and UK for $99/£99, while the Motorola Defy 2 retails for $599/£549. The satellite messages are free for a while and then cost $4.99/€4, 99 for 30 messages per month via satellite.
Will Xiaomi’s large sensor challenge the Galaxy S23 Ultra? The new Xiaomi 13 Pro has the same one-inch camera sensor as the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, the Sony IMX 989 sensor module. That phone was so good that one of our writers called it the best camera phone he’d ever used.
While Samsung’s latest ultra-premium phone far surpasses the Xiaomi 13 Pro in terms of megapixel count, the size of the sensor is more important than the pixel count. Samsung’s sensor measures about 3/4 inch diagonally. The Sony sensor on Xiaomi’s new phone is one inch, the same size as many professional DSLR cameras.
Of course photography is complicated and the sensor is only part of the equation. Both phones also benefit from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, which includes Qualcomm’s image signal processor.
We’ll have to spend quality time with Xiaomi’s new 13 Pro before declaring it our camera of choice, but it certainly has the right specs to beat the champ, and we’re glad it’s more widely available than Xiaomi’s previous camera . .
Welcome to Barcelona, mobile fans! We are present at the Mobile World Congress in Spain, the largest trade fair for mobile technology. We expect a lot of news and Xiaomi has already kicked off with a big global announcement.
The Chinese company will finally launch its acclaimed Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro in the global market. That 1-inch camera sensor and Leica lens on the Xiaomi 13 Pro will be available in the UK and plenty of markets beyond, although sadly it won’t make its way to US soil.
We got our hands on both of Xiaomi’s new phones, as well as the rebadged Xiaomi 13 Lite, a bargain model that’s also launching globally. We’ll have a more detailed Xiaomi 13 review soon, so check back often.