Top 5 Gadgets at MWC 2016

The 2016 Mobile World Congress (MWC), which took place in Barcelona from February 22-25, brought to light numerous incredible wonders of the latest hi-tech and we’ve got all you need to know about the five that got everyone talking.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Specifications

• Dimensions - 142.4 x 69.6 x 7.9 mm; 150.9 x 72.6 x 7.7 mm (Edge)

• Corning Gorilla Glass back panel

• Single or dual SIM (Nano-SIM)

• Samsung Pay (VISA, MasterCard)

• Dust proof and water resistant under 1.5 meters for 30 minutes

• Super AMOLED capacitive touchscreen, 16 million colors

• 5.1 inch; 5.5 inch (Edge) screen with 1440 x 2560 pixels

• Corning Gorilla Glass screen protection

• Android 6.0 Marshmallow

• Chipset - Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820, Exynos 8890 Octa

• CPU - Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo, Quad-core 2.3 GHz Cortex-A53 + quad-core 1.6 GHz Cortex-A53

• GPU - Adreno 530, Mali-T880 MP12

• 32/64 GB internal storage with 4 GB RAM + expandable storage (SD card up to 200 GB)

• Primary camera - 12 MP, f/1.7, 26mm, dual pixel autofocus, OIS, LED flash

• Video - 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, 720p@240fps, HDR, dual-video rec.

• Secondary camera - 5 MP, f/1.7, 22mm, dual video call, Auto HDR

• Non-removable Li-Ion 3000; 3600 (Edge) mAh battery

It’s pretty obvious that Samsung chose quality over drastic changes. The flagship’s design is very similar to its predecessor’s, while the specs aren’t much different either. However, Samsung did make some important changes: added a micro SD slot, which users have been demanding for a very long time, provided an extra GB of RAM for more multitasking and made the phone water resistant. The primary camera has seen an MP decrease, but boasts even faster dual pixel auto-focus and a 95% increase in light capture compared to the S6.

 LG G5

 Specifications

 • Dimensions - 149.4 x 73.9 x 7.7 mm

 • Single or dual SIM (Nano-SIM)

 • IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16 million colors

 • 5.3 inch screen with 1440 x 2560 pixels

 • Corning Gorilla Glass screen protection

• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

• Chipset - Qualcomm MSM8996 Snapdragon 820

• CPU - Dual-core 2.15 GHz Kryo & dual-core 1.6 GHz Kryo

• GPU - Adreno 530

• 32 GB internal storage with 4 GB RAM + expandable storage (SD card up to 200GB)

• Primary camera - 16 MP (f/1.8) + 8 MP (f/2.4), laser autofocus, OIS, LED flash

• Video - 2160p@30fps, 1080p@60fps, HDR, stereo sound rec.

• Secondary camera - 8 MP, f/2.0, 1080p@30fps

• Removable Li-Ion 2800 mAh battery

If you’re looking for drastic changes, look no further than the latest smartphone from LG as something you probably haven’t seen before. G5 is a modular phone, meaning you can remove the lower side of the phone and attach a new slot. For example, the LG CAM Plus expansion module adds an 1100 mAh additional battery and physical camera controls.

Although customers have been demanding a removable battery for a long time, many tech experts have expressed doubts about whether people will want a phone with so many different modules to attach and remove in different situations.

Sony Xperia X

Specifications

• Dimensions - 142.7 x 69.4 x 7.9 mm

• Single or dual SIM (Nano-SIM)

• IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16 million colors

• 5.0 inch screen with 1080 x 1920 pixels

• Scratch-resistance glass with oleophobic coating

• Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow

• Chipset - Qualcomm MSM8956 Snapdragon 650

• CPU - Dual-core 1.8 GHz Cortex-A72 & quad-core 1.4 GHz Cortex-A53

• GPU - Adreno 510

• 32/64 GB internal storage with 3GB RAM + expandable storage (SD card up to 200GB)

• Primary camera - 23 MP, f/2.0, 24mm, phase detection autofocus, LED flash

• Video - 1080p@30fps

• Secondary camera - 13 MP, f/2.0, 22mm, 1/3” sensor size, 1080p

• Non-removable Li-Ion 2620 mAh battery

Sony’s latest release is the death of the Z line. The new Xperia X, which tops the list of the three new X smartphones, is definitely a beautiful gadget with full metal body and solid display, outperforming its predecessor – the Z5. That said, the company is not planning to release it either in the US or Europe, thus Georgian customers will probably not be able to lay their hands on this device.

 HTC Vive

 Specifications

 • Display - OLED

 • Resolution - 2160 x 1200

 • Refresh Rate - 90 Hz

 • Steam VR platform

 • 15 x 15 feet tracking area

• Accelerometer, gyroscope, laser position sensor, front-facing camera

MWC is not all about phones. And this year was a clear confirmation of that fact, as HTC’s virtual reality (VR) headset stole the show. HTC and Valve’s collaboration has been lauded by critics, calling it “the future of gaming” and a “match made in heaven.”

The VR will cost around $800 and will go on sale sometime this April, competing against its main rival the Oculus Rift, which is $200 cheaper.

Huawei MateBook

Specifications

• Size - 278.8 x 194.1 x 6.9 mm

• 12-inch 2160 x 1440 IPS TFT LCD display

• 6th Gen Intel® Core™ m processor, dual core up to 3.1GHz

• OS - Windows 10 Pro or Home

• RAM - 4GB/8GB LPDDR3

• Storage SSD - 128GB/256GB/512GB

• Front camera - 5 MP, fixed focus

• 33.7Wh(4430mAh@7.6V) battery

Huawei is not settling only for the smartphone business. Their latest release – the Huawei MateBook - is set to rival the Microsoft Surface Pro 4, as it is the company’s first 2-in- 1 Windows convertible. The MateBook is designed to be used as both a tablet and a laptop at your convenience and boasts pretty impressive specs. The company has yet to make any announcements about the price and release date.

So, which of these devices stole your heart? Or are you waiting for the iPhone 7 and HTC One M10 to arrive? Head over to our Facebook page with your comments and check out the brands’ webpages for additional details about release and availability.

Beqa Kirtava