Round-up MWC 2018 (2/2): Sony, Android Go, notches and Facebooking on the moon

Last week in Barcelona, Spain, the annual Mobile World Congress took place place where well-known and lesser-known tech companies present their latest smartphones to the general public. We list the most noteworthy announcements in a two-part summary.

Dynamic vibration with Sony

When picking out a new smartphone, the Playstation manufacturer may not immediately be the first brand you think of. They would like to do something about that because at MWC 2018 they introduced two new devices again. With the Sony Xperia XZ2 and the XZ2 Compact, the Japanese tech giant launched two new high-end devices. The former is the flagship model, while the latter is the more affordable option.

The differences are found in screen size and battery life. Nice addition to the large model is the dynamic vibration. This new feature lets the device vibrate along with the music in a movie, for example. Also, as with Samsung’s new Galaxy line, filming in super slow motion at 960 fps is possible.

Source: Dutch IT Channel

Android Go

Google was not present at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona to present new smartphones. Indeed, the search engine giant introduced a stripped-down version of its Android operating system: Android Go. With this, Google wants to make it possible for its software to run flawlessly on budget smartphones, where previous versions of Android were often too heavy for the cheaper devices.

Several manufacturers took advantage of the launch of the new operating system to already launch some devices that will run on Android Go. The Nokia 1, Alcatel 1X, ZTE Tempo Go and several devices from the French brand Wiko are examples of budget models that can now effortlessly handle Google’s operating system.

Source: NewsBytes

Notches, notches and more notches

Not long ago, Apple introduced the notch with the iPhone X. The borderless screen has a notch at the top that makes room for the front camera and some sensors. She came upon that many criticisms to stand, but that did not stop several companies from copying the notch on their devices. For example, Asus presented the new ZenFone 5 at MWC 2018. Not only does the device resemble the iPhone X, the Taiwanese company could not close a sentence during the presentation without referring to Apple.

But it could be worse. Chinese Leagoo presented its device with the S9 as “the first Android iPhone X,” and the also Chinese company Blackview has developed a special Android version with the A30 that is indistinguishable from Apple’s operating system iOS.

Asus ZenFone 5

Source: CNET

Leagoo S9

Source: gizmochina.com

Blackview A30

Source: iphoned.co.uk

More announcements

Quantity over quality

The relatively unknown French
Wiko
was determined to make headlines with its new smartphones. And they succeeded. Apparently, they were not confident enough about the quality of their products, so they went for quantity. With no fewer than eight new smartphones, the French hope to squeeze in among the violence of the establishment.

Facebooking on the moon

With the following news, we immediately thought of an early April 1 joke, but nothing could be further from the truth. Vodafone, Audi and Nokia are joining forces to build a 4G network on, yes, the moon. The companies plan to launch a SpaceX rocket in 2019 with the technology on board to make it possible to stream in HD from space. They will be jealous of that in the countryside….

In-screen fingerprint scanner

Surely the most eye-catching technology at the MWC 2018 will come from China’s
Vivo
. There is no fingerprint scanner in their new Apex smartphone on the face of it, but it is definitely there. Namely, in the screen. The entire lower half of the screen is now capable of unlocking the device with your finger.

With MWC 2018 in Barcelona over, but that doesn’t mean you have to fall into a deep black hole.
Every month
we bring you the most persistent smartphone rumors and of course you can always visit our blog for the latest news regarding your best pocket friend.