The History and Present of MWC 2016

Mobile World Congress provides a chance for everyone who’s anyone in the mobile phone industry to meet, do deals and announce new products. Mobile World Congress, the world’s biggest and most influential mobile event had record-breaking 94,000+ attendees from 200 countries in 2015.

What to expect from MWC 2016:

For the last couple of years, MWC has been used by many mobile companies to create the build-up or advertise their flagship to the world. This year probably won’t be much different. Along with the big names HTC, Caterpillar, Gionee, HP, Jolla, Lenovo, Oppo, Xiaomi, ZTE will also be there.

Samsung is launching their best creation i.e. Galaxy S7. Though the latest device looks like an upgrade of S6, it has been updated thoroughly. We expect it to have a 12-megapixel camera, 2,800mAH batteries, and a micro-SD card slot. Samsung also has been emphasising the VR in its teaser, so a bet related to VR is a winning one.

Sony is holding a press conference at MWC, which may feature the Sony Xperia Z6 and a Z5 Tablet. According to AndroidPit, Sony traditionally releases a flagship every six months, so the timing is right for an MWC reveal.

LG is having an event the same day as Samsung, but it's not mincing words about what to expect. LG has unveiled the G5. Again, this is several months earlier than the G4 was announced last year. The G5 will also allegedly be powered by a Snapdragon 820 and an always-on screen feature. This phone is expected to step things up in the design department to better compete against Samsung with its new-found focus on build-quality.

Huawei is the shining star and recent rumours hint at a launch for the P9 Smartphone at MWC, as well as a 2-in-1 Windows device called the MateBook has been launched. The P9 is rumoured to include two cameras, 6GB of RAM, an octa-core Kirin 950 processor, and a 5.2-inch Quad HD screen. We could also see some wonky wearable’s like the TalkBand or perhaps a new smart watch. Mid-range phones are also a real possibility for Huawei, and there’s always the hope that the Chinese company will announce a U.S. launch partner for some of its Smartphone’s.

The History of MWC:

The event, which has been organised by the GSM Association, which is a collection of mobile operators and manufacturers who banded together in 1982 to promote the GSM standard – which went rather well, as it’s now used by more than 90% of networks, in 219 countries.

The show itself was launched in 1987 at the GSM World Congress, later changing to 3GSM World Congress when almost everyone switched to faster 3G networks. After the realisation that episodic name changes would be needed as new technology emerged; it later changed to the all-encompassing Mobile World Congress. Until 2006, it took place in Cannes, near the beach, but now it is held in the Spain, Barcelona.