Inside The Mobile World Conference

The Mobile World Conference hosted in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat in Catalonia, Spain earlier this month showcased some of the world’s best mobile inventions. Most notably, the Samsung Galaxy 9 and 9+ were introduced to the globe and although it didn’t get as much attention as it should have, we caught the introduction of this spectacular phone that is pushing boundaries and giving Apple a run for their money, once again.

Here’s what’s new: Samsung introduced the Smart Things app which is a way to control your devices in your home with the help of an app. It’s not a new concept, but an improved one.

Also, the team has added a sensor and is now partnering with the University of San Francisco School of Medicine for the Samsung Health app to measure blood pressure and do all kinds of things. But one of the most notable changes is a new camera that “sees the world clearly” with the help of the Infinity Display. But it can only truly be analysed properly after months of usage.

With AR emojis that look like you (kind of like Bitmojis) and the impressive Bixby that translates a foreign language in real time, there’s so much space for creativity – a feat Samsung has over Apple, for sure. Oh, not to forget Knox – the defense-grade security that will keep your phone protected from hackers.

But what else did the MWC have in store? The future of 5G. We’ve definitely come a long way since the inception of 1G but 5G is an even more advanced solution of technology that allows higher frequencies and of course, faster internet (or to put it into perspective, 257 times faster than your usual 4G allowing you to download movies in merely seconds). As fast as it may seem, it will take a couple of years before it is fully integrated into the country as it is still in the infant stages.

Asus also introduced two new mobile phones: the ZenFone 5 and the Zenfone 5Z. The ZenFone 5 is a midrange device that has about four gigabytes worth of random access memory (RAM) and 256 gigabytes worth of space. The 12-megapixel camera promises awesome autofocus and dual tone flash while the front-facing camera comes eight-megapixels worth of selfies and photos.

Working on Android 8.0, the Qualcomm Snapdragon chipset and Octa-core processor promises a fast experience, with other features including face detection, geo-tagging and panorama effects. Thank goodness there are still phones with FM radio too, which is included in this packet, and is available in both midnight blue and meteor silver.

Another new release includes the Nokia 8110 4G, which was dubbed the ‘banana phone’, a curvy edition of the 1998 mobile, which isn’t really a phone that you need, but could make a great collector’s item. The advertising for it is hilarious: “The new Nokia 8110 4G has a curved protective cover you can slide open to pick up calls and slide back to end them”.

Uhm, sure. Let’s go with that.

Other than that, more announcements were made about the future of biometrics, how you can use your phone (and your face) to control more items such as your car and the increase of mobile financial transactions instead of showing up at a shop. The world definitely has a whole lot in store for mobile devices and we’re here for it!

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