The big announcements of this year’s Mobile World Congress have been revealed.
It’s safe to say that MWC15 was probably the biggest one ever. When we decided to make a list of the best of Mobile World Congress 2015 it was actually pretty difficult to include just 10 things.
The top pick is obviously Samsung’s line of S6 devices but we’ve seen a lot of great smartphones, a couple of tablets and some wearables.
It seems like the big subject this year was security. We saw the Samsung Knox, Qualcomm’s Sense ID, a very advanced finger print scanner and the Blackphone 2 from Silent Circle, which is an incredibly secure smartphone.
Here is our list of the best of Mobile World Congress 2015. Enjoy
1. Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge
For numerous years, Samsung has been the ultimate ruler of the Mobile World Congress. This time, Barcelona was filled with huge Samsung billboards, which have shown us who the big dog is. Samsung’s flagship launch was probably the most important one the company has had in years, because it came after a drop in the mobile market and a very poor financial quarter for the company.
The strategy of the company for 2015 seems to cover more ground, as Samsung released two new devices, the traditional Galaxy S6 and the slightly more curved Galaxy S6 Edge. The devices are quite impressive in different aspects, and almost everyone agreed that they’re steps ahead of the Galaxy S5 released last year, despite the Galaxy S6 line not being waterproof.
2. HP Spectre x360
HP showed its latest 13.3 inch foldable tablet laptop combo, the HP Sprectre x360. The device offers premium specs and is made of aluminum. The laptop has different prices, depending on what you want, and starts at $999.
Probably the most important thing about the laptop/tablet is that it’s already available on the company’s website.
3. Samsung Pay
While it’s true that Apple Pay had a head start, the mobile payment system included on both the Galaxy S6 models has an advantage. The system works even with retailers that use magnetic strip cards and not NFC technology.
We can’t exactly tell you how well the system works for now and its security hasn’t been tested yet but the mobile payment system certainly looks promising. We’re very excited to see how consumers from South Korea and the United States will embrace this new system.
4. Sony Xperia Z4
Tablets are sort of declining right now and some analysts even predicted that this category will disappear completely in the near future. We haven’t seen many tablets at the MWC2015, it’s true. This, however, is what makes the Xperia Z4 from Sony a winner. It also helps that the device is very light, thin and waterproof. If you want a new 10 inch tablet that runs on Android, Sony has your back.
5. Huawei Watch
Smartwatches were pretty fancy this year. Before the launch of the Apple Watch, it seems that manufacturers did their best to release elegant watches that had classical appearances. The Huawei Watch is definitely one of the most elegant smartwatches we’ve ever seen and we certainly wouldn’t mind wearing one to any occasion.
6. Qualcomm Sense ID
The fingerprint ID systems found in smartphones now are very convenient but aren’t exactly perfect. The new fingerprint scanning technology from Qualcomm named Sense ID resolves many of the problems found in traditional fingerprint scanners. The technology recognizes your finger even if it’s dirty or greasy and it can be installed on any part of a smartphone.
But the most important aspect is that the system uses ultrasonic sound technology which scans the fingerprints in 3D. This means that the scan is a lot more detailed than in traditional systems and makes the technology more secure, claims Qualcomm.
7. Pebble Time Steel
Pebble broke records on the crowdfunding website Kickstarter with its future smartwatch, the Pebble Time. The company revealed a premium model of the watch at the Mobile World Congress 2015.
The Pebble Time Steel is a beautiful watch, it feels very solid and the company promises it has a battery life of 10 days. Pebble also launched a platform called Smart Straps, which lets developers create advanced and beautiful looking straps for the Pebble Time smartwatch.
8. Alcatel Idol 3
It’s pretty amazing to have a smartphone that allows you to call someone even when it’s upside down. But what’s even more amazing is that you can buy a smartphone that has top of the line specs for only $249 off-contract.
While we tested the Alcatel Idol 3 and its smaller brother, we can say that the devices didn’t have that premium feel found on the iPhone 6 or on the Galaxy S6. They weren’t as fast either but you can buy these phones for your entire family for what you would pay on just a single iPhone, contract-free. This looks like a great deal to us.
9. HTC Re Vive
You can definitely tell that a product is in its very early stages when the company that’s making said product isn’t even sure how it’s called at the moment. Going on the official website of the VR headset manufactured by HTC you will find out that the device is referred to as both HTC Vive and HTC Re Vive. The headset developed with Valve is a very intriguing one. It has more than 70 lasers and sensors that will guide you through virtual reality.
Valve and HTC announced their own VR headset and apparently it’s developed for PCs. The HTC Re Vive stands out from an overly populated crowd by making it a lot better than the Oculus Rift and the Project Morpheus from Sony. The room where the Re Vive was demoed was practically empty. There was only just one piece of furniture where the controller and headset were. While it’s clearly still a prototype, we were quite impressed by the HTC Re Vive.
It’s expected to make its way to stores in time for this year’s holiday season.
10. Blackphone 2 and Blackphone Plus
Silent Circle definitely had a lot to show and to say at this year’s edition of Mobile World Congress. The company really tried to show just how serious it is about security and shared with the audience a very big number. Apparently Silent Circle had $750 million in orders for the first product they’ve made, the Blackphone.
The Blackphone, however, was a mid-level device. The Blackphone 2 will come with top of the line specs, which means that people looking for privacy and security can also make use of a very powerful smartphone. The 7 inch tablet from the company, called Blackphone Plus will arrive later this year.
There were a lot of devices at this year’s MWC and some of them are really worth honorable mentions. We saw HTC’s new HTC One M9, which is a beautiful smartphone but just wasn’t too different from the device we saw last year and we aren’t very excited about it. If you’re hoping for an entirely new generation of smartphones from the company, you will be disappointed.
We also saw e-bike prototypes from Ford and a brand new wireless service from Google but these were very lacking in details to get too excited about.
So there you have it. This was our list of the best of Mobile World Congress 2015.
Images source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Roxanne Briean
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