MWC

Best of MWC 2024: AI Takes Focus, but Hardware Still Rules

Mobile World Congress (MWC) – the trade show that’s all about mobile tech – just took place in Barcelona last week, so here’s a recap of the best stuff I saw at the event. Not surprisingly, AI was the buzzword du jour at MWC this year – just like it was at CES in January – but this didn’t detract from manufacturers launching some interesting products and showing off exciting concepts.


OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition: The Perfect Smartphone If You’re a Fan of the Game (or the Color Purple)

If you read Dan’s review of the OnePlus 12R, you already know it delivers a premium experience in almost every way. But if you’re a Genshin Impact fan or the Iron Gray and Cool Blue colorways don’t quite do it for you, you’ll be glad you waited for this. The OnePlus 12R Genshin Impact Edition inherits the OnePlus 12R’s flagship specs, specifically tailored for Genshin Impact enthusiasts.


Xiaomi 14 Series: Flagship Smartphones with Advanced Imaging, Powerful Performance, and Innovative Features

Xiaomi has been collaborating with Leica on their flagship smartphones’ camera optics since last year’s Xiaomi 13 series, and now they have just announced the global launch of the Xiaomi 14 Series featuring Leica Summilux optics. Well, to clarify — it’s a global launch as long as you don’t include the United States, which is, unfortunately, pretty typical with many of the cool smartphones coming out of China these days. So, what does the Xiaomi 14 series bring to the table beyond excellent cameras?




Qualcomm at MWC Reminds Us That Their Connectivity Runs The World

Qualcomm quietly powers so much of our lives, from the processors in your phone to the connectivity in your house. They never stop innovating, though, and they came prepared to show off at MWC! We’ve gone from SIM cards down to eSIM, but Qualcomm looked at that and thought, “needs to be smaller.” Enter the iSIM, which takes the eSIM to the next step by integrating the SIM directly into the processor. This may not sound like a big deal to the end user, but it will save significant space under the hood. That means more room for your phone…





Lenovo Rollable Proof of Concepts Show They’re Always Innovating!

Lenovo comes up with all sorts of exciting concepts to push tech forwards. They’ve nailed the 2-in-1 with their Yoga line, and they’re experimenting with all sorts of ways to add extra screens and eInk options to laptops. At MWC, Lenovo and its Motorola division are showing off what might be the holy grail — rollable screens — not just on a laptop but also on a smartphone!







Gear Diary’s Best of MWC 2022

Another Mobile World Congress is in the books, and it was great to be able to attend in person for the first time since 2019! Seriously great. MWC is always heavy on new smartphone releases, and this year was no exception. Even so, there were plenty of other remarkable devices touting worthy upgrades or making their debuts. So with that, I give you Gear Diary’s Best of MWC 2022.


Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 Computer Platform Will First Appear in the New Lenovo ThinkPad X13s Gen 1

Qualcomm announced their new Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 computer platform at the Snapdragon Summit in December. PCs with the Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 computer platform promise to be always on and always connected, so their users can work anywhere without sacrificing productivity, connectivity, collaboration, or security. The first computer to employ this new technology is Lenovo’s new ThinkPad X13s Gen 1!