The Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is always a good opportunity for the minor players in the game to have their say. Apple, of course, never attends the annual showcase of new mobile tech, and the other big hitter Samsung didn’t offer up any new devices at this year’s event.
But a whole host of other phone-makers did show off some interesting innovations this week… here are four that caught our eye.
Nokia G22
Nokia was, of course, THE name in mobile phones until Apple came along and spoiled its party. The Nokia that has put its name to a new range of phones unveiled at MWC isn’t really the same company – the original Nokia, having changed hands several times over the last 15 years, no longer makes mobile phones, but licenses its name to a company called HMD… the people behind the new G22, C22 and C23.
These are all very cheap phones indeed by modern standards – the G22 is the top of the line and that only costs £149.99 and will hit the market on March 8. The phone’s specs are, as you might expect for the price, not much to talk about – it’s a bog standard three camera unit, a 720p 6.25in display, and a side-mounted fingerprint scanner for unlocking.
What is remarkable is the fact HMD has worked hard to make the G22 one of the most repairable phones you can buy. There’s even a kit created in conjunction with repair specialists iFixit, whose range of replacement parts can be used to fix the phone in the event of issues – HMD says a new screen will cost around £44.99 and can be installed in 20 minutes.
The C22, which will cost around £110, is the lowest specced of Nokia’s new phones, and will run the stripped down Android 13 Go operating system. The C32 will cost around £130 and runs full Android 13. Another big deal was revealed by HMD at MWC this year – it’s got plans in the pipeline to start making its phones in Europe and move away from its current manufacturers in Taiwan.
RealMe GT3
Not exactly a new phone – the GT3 was released in China as the GT Neo 5 last month – but the latest effort from Realme is now coming to the international markets by June. What’s really interesting about this otherwise unremarkable device is the new charging protocol it supports – its 4,600mAh battery can be fully recharged in under 10 minutes.
The 240W SuperVOOC charging system included was shown off as a proof of concept at last year’s MWC by Realme’s stablemate Oppo, but now it’s finally found its way into a real device. The charging system is now the fastest you can get for a USB-C connection. Realme says quick bursts of charging can be especially useful – a 30-second boost powers up the device enough for a two-hour phone call, three hours of playing music, or 40 minutes of streaming video.
On the back of the GT3 is another innovation, albeit of smaller consequence – there’s a lighting rectangle that can produce dozens of different colours to notify you of dozens of different things. It could, say, flash red when your battery is low, or green if you have an incoming text message. Meanwhile, the phone boasts a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 processor, a 6.74in display, and three rear cameras, with a 50MP main sensor. It should cost around £600 when released towards the summer.
Honor Magic VS
June will see the release of another folding phone to rival Samsung’s efforts – Honor’s Magic VS is a similar device to the Galaxy Fold4, which costs a little more. The Magic VS should come in at £1,649 when it hits the UK. It’s essentially a 7.9ins tablet when open, but folds into a more traditional 6.45ins device when shut.
There’s a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 inside, paired with a 5,000mAh battery. Camera-wise we have a fairly standard three-camera system with a main unit sporting a 55Mp sensor. Honor claims the phone can be opened and closed 400,000 times without any damage, which is twice what Samsung promises for its Fold4.
Alongside the Magic VS comes the Magic5 Pro, a more traditional phone with a 6.81 display and Qualcomm’s latest flagship processor. The main camera of the now standard three lens system features a periscope telephoto lens with 3.5x optical zoom. It’ll cost around £1,200 when it comes out in May.
OnePlus 11 Concept
Finally from this year’s MWC came a phone that you likely won’t be able to buy any time soon – the OnePlus 11 Concept. What’s interesting about this device is it features what OnePlus is calling an Active CryoFlux cooling system. The blue lines on the back represent the cooling liquid in the system, which should bring some benefits in performance for any future phones.
The chief issue in pushing processors to their limit is the heat they generate, which is a particular problem for gamers. OnePlus says the new system could produce around 2.1°C of cooling, which may result in faster performance of around four frames a
second for smoother
graphics.
The system could help cool the phone during charging, too, reducing charging times significantly. It’s not clear when, or even if, the system might make its way into a real phone, however.
