(Image source: Anuj Bhatia/indianexpress.com)The Mobile World World Congress (MWC) 2019 in Barcelona kicked off on February 25, with companies like ZTE and Sony launching new smartphones on the first day and OnePlus showcasing its 5G prototype device. Of course, Huawei’s Mate X, which was unveiled on February 24, had garnered a lot of interest, given this is a 5G foldable phone with a unique ‘Falcon wing’ hinge.
Nokia 9 PureView with five camera system was also unveiled by HMD Global with a focus on the camera. Sony revealed its latest Xperia 1, 10, 10 Plus phones which come with new 21:9 aspect ratio. We take a look at the biggest launches at MWC so far:
Watch our first look video of the Huawei Mate X
Huawei Mate X folding phone
Huawei Mate X is the company’s 5G smartphone with a folding screen, which is larger and thinner than Samsung’s Galaxy Fold. The Mate X unfolds into a 8-inch tablet. It gets a flexible OLED display on the front and the back and the fingerprint sensor is embedded in to the power button.
Read more: Huawei Mate X: The most finished foldable phone so far?
Huawei Mate X will cost 2299 euros, which is around Rs 1,87, 218 in India and will be available in select markets later this year. Other specifications are a Kirin 980 processor, 8GB RAM, 512 storage as well as two batteries of total capacity of 4,500mAh and support for 55W SuperCharge technology, claimed to offer 85 per cent from zero charge in 30 minutes.
Nokia 9 PureView with five rear cameras
The highlight of Nokia 9 PureView is, of course, a penta-lens camera system at the back. All are 12MP Zeiss sensors with the company using two RGB lenses and three monochrome lenses. The five cameras take advantage of computational photography and work in tandem to stitch together five different photos to a single 12MP photo.
Nokia 9 PureView gets a 5.99-inch QHD+ pOLED display with an in-display fingerprint sensor. The Android One phone runs Android 9.0 Pie out of the box. It is powered by the last year’s Snapdragon 845 processor, coupled with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage.
Watch our first look of Nokia 9 PureView
Priced at $699 or Rs 47,500 approximately, the Nokia 9 PureView is expected to go on sale in March, though in “limited quantities”. HMD Global’s India head Ajey Mehta has indicated to indianexpress.com that all the phones, including Nokia 9 PureView will be coming to India.
Read about all the Nokia phones launched here. Read our first look of Nokia 9 PureView here.
Sony Xperia 1
Sony launched its Xperia 1, 10, and 10 Plus smartphones with an extra tall 21:9 displays at the Mobile World Congress. The Xperia 1 is the flagship device, while Xperia 10 and Xperia 10 Plus are mid-range phone that run Snapdragon 636 processor.
The new Sony phones come with multi-window split-screen video to run two apps on the same screen simultaneously. So far, the company says apps like Netflix, YouTube already support 21:9 screen aspect ratio.
The Xperia 1 has a triple camera system, using Sony’s 12MP lenses with 16mm for wide landscapes, a 26mm lens and a 52mm lens telephoto shooting. Sony says it is using its α or the Alpha interchangeable lens camera in the Xperia 1. The phone also comes with continuous Eye Auto Focus, which Sony says will ensure sharp focus exactly to the level of eyes. The camera is also capable of delivering a continuous burst shooting with up to 10 fps AF/AE tracking.
Sony Xperia 10 and 10 Plus are identical except for a few changes in specifications here and there. For starters, the display on Xperia 10 and 10 Plus are 6-inch and 6.5-inch respectively with full HD+ resolution on both. The Xperia 10 has a smaller battery. Both the phones run Android 9.0 Pie and have dual rear cameras. Read our first look about the Sony Xperia 10 and 10 Plus here.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G
Xiaomi has finally launched the 5G variant of Mi Mix 3 that was originally introduced in China last year. The original Mi Mix 3 comes with support for 4G LTE, while the new phone now has Snapdragon 855 as well as X50 modem for 5G support.
Watch our video of Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 with 5G
The Mi Mix will be available in European markets through operators like Orange, Vodafone, Telefonica, and more. The phone will cost 599 euros, which is around Rs 45,049 on conversion. In addition, it has a dedicated button to launch Google Assistant and two 12MP cameras at the back.
Xiaomi Mi Mix 3 5G features a 6.39-inch HDR AMOLED display with 2,340 x 1,080 pixel resolution. The screen-to-body ratio is 93.4 per cent and there is no notch on top of the display.
Disclaimer: The reporter is in Barcelona at the invite of Qualcomm India
