MWC is canceled, but a bunch of new phones are still coming out

Mobile World Congress Barcelona, the largest global mobile technology event, was canceled due to Covid-19 virus fears. 

It’s a big blow for the mobile industry, and the thousands of exhibitors who won’t get the chance to show off their new devices. But make no mistake, the smartphones that were supposed to be announced at MWC 2020 are still coming, albeit on a slightly different schedule. 

Some of these announcements are unconfirmed and some are embargoed, so I can’t share every detail. But here’s an overview of all the devices that were likely to be launched at MWC this year, and an estimate on when we might see them. 

Huawei

Figuring out what, exactly, Huawei will do next is complicated by the fact the company can’t use Google services on its new phones, making them undesirable for most European and U.S. customers. 

However, there were indications that Huawei planned to bring a new foldable phone, the Mate Xs, to Barcelona. That phone, which is an improved version of the original Mate X, should be launching in Europe this spring. Huawei is also due to launch the Huawei P40 Pro.

LG

LG was definitely preparing to launch something at MWC, and while we don’t know what it was, our best bet is the LG V60 ThinQ. We don’t know much about the device, but a recent report pointed toward it having a huge 5,000mAh battery, four microphones, four rear cameras, and a good old-fashioned headphone jack. The company said it would launch its 2020 mobile products “in the near future.”

Nokia

There’s no official word on which devices Nokia was launching at the MWC. Rumors said the company might launch a new flagship phone, possibly dubbed Nokia 10, though details are slim. When it canceled its MWC appearance, the company said it will “update the media, our partners and customers on a new timeline for our product announcements.”

Oppo

Oppo is launching several devices in the near future, but the key phone that was supposed to make an appearance at MWC was the Oppo Find X2. It will have a Sony-branded camera sensor which should work great in low-light conditions, and a Snapdragon 865 processor. There’s no word on when the launch will happen yet, but it’s bound to be soon. 

Sony

Sony had a scheduled event for Feb. 24, the first day of MWC, where it was likely to announce a phone called either the Xperia 5 Plus or Xperia 2. It’ll likely be a Snapdragon 865 phone. The good news is that Sony’s plans haven’t changed much: The company will hold its press conference at 2:30 a.m. ET on Feb. 24, via video. You can tune into the conference over at Sony’s official Xperia YouTube channel. 

TCL

There’s no word on what TCL was launching at the MWC, but the company definitely had a planned presence, and was one of the last to fully bow out of the event. The company said it will “still announce its latest mobile devices,” though the exact date is unknown. 

Vivo

This was supposed to be a big MWC for Vivo, which was scheduled to hold its first press event in Europe. It was not meant to be, but the company told me it plans to show its Apex 2020 concept phone “soon.” Vivo’s Apex phones are typically very cool technology showcases — the original Apex, launched during 2018’s Mobile World Congress, was the first phone with a truly bezel-less screen. 

Xiaomi

Xiaomi had plans to launch a fairly big lineup of new products at Barcelona. The information is under embargo, but the company just launched its new Mi 10 series of phones in China on Thursday.

The most powerful of those phones is the Xiaomi Mi 10 Pro, which features a 6.67-inch AMOLED display with curved edges and a 90Hz refresh rate, a 108-megapixel quad camera on the back, 8/12GB of RAM, 256/512GB of storage, and a 4,500mAh battery with 50W fast charging. 

Xiaomi said it will still have a separate launch in Europe “at a later date”.

ZTE

China’s ZTE, which recently announced the world’s first Snapdragon 865 phone, the ZTE Axon 10s Pro, also had a scheduled appearance at MWC. ZTE might have planned a European launch for this device, but it’s possible that it planned to launch additional devices. At writing time, there’s no word on when or how ZTE will launch these new devices.