After three years of extreme sluggishness due to the pandemic, Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2023 (MWC 2023) has announced that it will take place in Barcelona, Spain, from February 27 to March 2. At that time, including Honor, Huawei, OnePlus, Transsion, Xiaomi, ZTE, Realme, Nokia, Motorola and other manufacturers will participate in this exhibition.
As the largest global exhibition in the communications industry and one of the most influential exhibitions in the field of mobile communications in the world, MWC has always been a centralized place for new product releases by various smartphone hardware and software manufacturers, and it is also an "outpost" for operators and experts in the field of communications to display the latest products, technologies and development trends, which can make people deeply feel the momentum of the comprehensive recovery of the global technology industry.
(Source: MWC 2023)
On the first day of the exhibition held on the 2nd and 27th, well-known manufacturers from various fields such as Xiaomi, Lenovo, Qualcomm, Nokia, Motorola and other well-known manufacturers carried out new product release activities, releasing a series of new products including mobile phones, laptops, AR glasses, and communication technology. Taking this opportunity, today we will take a look at the key products released on the first day of MWC 2023.
MediaTek: A number of new products are launched, aiming to break through the sky
As one of the three giants in the field of mobile communications, MediaTek brings us a full range of chip products and technologies at MWC 2023, including Dimensity series 5G mobile platform processors, Filogic wireless connectivity platform, Genio intelligent IoT platform, Kompanio mobile computing platform and Pentonic smart TV platform and many other new products.
Among the many new products announced by MediaTek, the most eye-catching must be the new MediaTek MT6825 3GPP NTN chipset, which is a satellite communication product independently developed by MediaTek, which not only supports the breakthrough 3GPP 5G non-terrestrial network (NTN) technology, but also can make the device not limited by the mobile network, 4G, 5G mobile devices can be supported, providing more possibilities for more products to use satellite communications.
(Source: MediaTek)
According to the official introduction, the NTN technology used by MediaTek can not only realize the sending of emergency distress SMS like Huawei and Apple, but even achieve completely passive two-way information transmission, without requiring users to actively refresh new information, but automatically receive information sent through satellite connections around the clock, which is closer to our existing SMS experience.
According to the official introduction, MediaTek's satellite communication products are based on the 3GPP 5G R17 standard and develop IoT-NTN and NR-NTN technologies. Among them, IoT-NTN technology is designed for low-rate connections and is ideal for transmitting information, while NR-NTN technology allows for higher connection rates and even enables video calls in addition to information with lower network requirements.
Considering that the current satellite network supports IoT-NTN on a large scale, the first smartphones and other devices enabled by MediaTek will support this two-way satellite communication technology. But in the near future, MediaTek's upcoming NR-NTN chipset will provide devices with higher connectivity rates for applications such as navigation and real-time communications, enabling smartphones, IoT devices and cars to gain reliable connectivity benefits.
Qualcomm: Satellite communications are coming soon
Following the release of Snapdragon Satellite communication in January this year, Qualcomm officially announced at MWC 2023 that it has cooperated with a number of Android OEM manufacturers to apply Snapdragon Satellite to future smartphones, and many manufacturers such as Motorola, Nothing, Xiaomi, vivo, OPPO and Honor will be the first manufacturers planned to support.
According to Qualcomm's previous statement, Snapdragon Satellite is the world's first satellite-based two-way messaging solution for flagship smartphones, leveraging mobile messaging services around the world to provide global connectivity. Different from MediaTek, Qualcomm technology will be the first to be applied to terminals equipped with the second-generation Snapdragon 8 flagship mobile platform, and it is necessary to look forward to subsequent development as to whether it can be popularized.
(Source: Qualcomm)
Xiaomi: Xiaomi 13 series released overseas
At MWC 2023, Xiaomi officially launched two products, Xiaomi 13 and Mi 13 Pro, to the global market, and the configuration of the two products is consistent with the domestic version, so it will not be repeated. The starting prices of the two products are 999 euros and 1299 euros (7333 yuan / 9535 yuan) respectively, which is almost double the starting price of 3999 yuan / 4999 yuan compared with the domestic version.
(Source: Xiaomi)
It is worth mentioning that in addition to the two domestic existing products, Xiaomi also brought the Xiaomi 13 Lite at this conference. However, unlike the previous generation of products, Xiaomi 13 Lite is not a new product created for overseas markets, but a renamed version of the domestic Xiaomi Civi 2, which will provide two configurations to choose from, 8/128GB version for 499 euros (equivalent to 3669 yuan), 256GB version for 549 euros (equivalent to 4036 yuan).
(Source: Xiaomi)
From the pricing point of view, the overseas version of the Xiaomi 13 series is obviously aimed at Samsung and Apple, in an attempt to win a piece of the high-end market share in Europe. It is true that the Xiaomi 13 series has been improved and enhanced in many aspects such as appearance design, quality technology, hardware configuration, and functional experience, but from past experience, if you want to occupy a high-end market share in the European market, a certain degree of tie-in sales will be inevitable.
Lenovo: 2-in-1/Business is all here
As the leading PC manufacturer in China, Lenovo also released a number of blockbuster new products at the first time.
One of the most striking is naturally the scroll-screen notebook announced by Lenovo last year. As shown in the video, the notebook features a bendable OLED panel that appears to be automatically stretched by a motor, and built-in software automatically adjusts the resolution based on stretched conditions.
According to the official introduction, this scroll screen prototype is currently the world's first notebook product that combines a flexible screen with a deformable structure. Lenovo integrates a custom-made flexible screen into the notebook body through patented hinge technology, which automatically stretches the screen size from a 12-inch screen at 16:9 to a 15.3-inch screen in 8:9 ratio at the push of a button.
(Source: Lenovo)
The problem is that at present, it seems that the machine can only switch between presets of different sizes, and cannot manually adjust the screen size, which is still a certain gap from the expected scroll screen experience.
In addition, Lenovo released the eighth generation of the IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook at the recent show. The biggest feature of this product is the use of MediaTek Kompanio 520 chip, which is MediaTek's latest entry-level Arm notebook processor, with two Cortex-A76 large cores and six Cortex-A55 small cores, the highest frequency is 2.2Ghz, starting at 340 US dollars (equivalent to 2366 yuan).
(Source: Lenovo)
In the second half of last year, MediaTek reiterated its plan to enter the Arm notebook market to foreign media PC World. At present, it seems that MediaTek's first step into the market is still cheap entry-level chips, and as for the plan to enter the Windows on Arm PC market, it will require them to further invest in CPUs and GPUs to meet the needs of applications for higher performance.
Finally, Lenovo also updated a number of business notebook product lines such as ThinkPad T, X and Z series, all of which use the latest 13th generation Core/Ryzen 7000 series CPUs; In addition, there is an IdeaPad Duet 3i two-in-one notebook, which is equipped with an Intel N series full small core processor, memory optional 4GB/8GB LPDDR5 model, storage optional 128GB UFS flash memory/256GB SSD, the expected price starts from 449 euros (equivalent to 3300 yuan).
(Source: Lenovo)
Motorola: Stunning four-seat scrolling screen
If you want to say the most amazing mobile phone manufacturer on the first day, it must be Motorola. At MWC2023, foreign media Android Authority got the prototype of the Motorola Rizer scrolling screen mobile phone, as shown in the figure, the size of the machine is very small in the ununfolded state, when the user needs a large screen, the screen can be extended to a 22:9 ratio 6.5-inch large screen through the motor.
(Source: Android Authority)
According to foreign media, the experience of Motorola Rizer is quite good, and it can even be said that in most cases, scroll-screen mobile phones are much more practical than foldable mobile phones. The compact body design means that users no longer have to endure twice the thickness, and when you need more screen space, you can still instantly get a larger display, and you can also neatly put it away after use.
However, this new technology is naturally unlikely to be perfect at present. In addition to the extended screen part is easy to damage, by the serious limitation of the size of the fuselage, the battery capacity of the machine is only 3000mAh, and the existence of the folding screen and motor part also makes the thickness and weight of the machine difficult to control, nearly 210 grams of weight, almost comparable to Pixel 7 Pro and Xiaomi 12 Pro and other flagship mobile phones.
In addition, Motorola also plans to launch a gadget called Defy Satellite Link at this show, which allows any iPhone or Android smartphone to support satellite communication capabilities. According to the official introduction, as long as it is connected to the smartphone through Bluetooth, users can use the Bullitt Satellite Messenger application for two-way satellite text messaging, and the device is also equipped with a physical SOS distress button and a location report button in case of emergency.
(Source: Motorola)
The Motorola Defy Satellite Link will go on sale in April this year for $99 (684 yuan). In addition, Motorola will also launch an annual fee plan (starting at $149, equivalent to 1,030 yuan), users can send and receive up to 30 two-way messages and SOS assistance per month.
Nokia: New logo, new climate?
On the first day of MWC 2023, the most shocking thing was definitely Nokia's announcement that it would change its brand logo for the first time.
As shown in the figure below, the new brand logo has been replaced by five different letter shapes from the boxy blue character "NOKIA" on a white background. Pekka Lundmark, Nokia's chief executive, said in an interview: "The old logo was related to smartphones, and now we are a commercial technology company, and the new design is more in line with the company's goal of focusing on positive growth. This also means that many Nokia Logos familiar to the post-80s and post-90s generations are about to become history.
(Source: Nokia)
However, as the CEO of Nokia has shown, Nokia is now a pure commercial technology company, and the Nokia mobile phone business has long since been sold to HMD Global. HMD Global responded that the new Nokia Logo is only applicable to Nokia Corporation, and HMD Global will continue to use the current classic logo.
HMD Global, which holds Nokia's mobile phone business, also launched a new product - Nokia G22 at this exhibition. It is reported that Nokia G22 is HMD Global's first mobile phone with serviceability, which can easily remove the back cover and pull out the battery, and the official cooperation with iFixit to launch maintenance tools, parts and repair guides, so that users can try to repair the mobile phone on their own.
(Source: Nokia)
As for the configuration, Nokia G22 is positioned as a low-end mobile phone, equipped with UNISOC T606 processor, equipped with a 6.52-inch 720P + 90Hz display, equipped with a 50MP main camera + 2MP depth of field + 2MP macro triple camera combination, supports 20W charging, with side fingerprints, gray and blue options, and the starting price is 150 pounds (equivalent to 1250 yuan).
OnePlus: The first liquid-cooled concept machine
After half a month of publicity, the OnePlus 11 concept version was officially released this afternoon. In line with the previous warm-up, the machine is the world's first Active CryoFlux micropump active liquid cooling heat dissipation technology, which also makes it the first product to miniaturize the liquid cooling heat dissipation technology and put it into the mobile phone
According to the official introduction, in order to achieve this goal, OnePlus has created a number of exclusive technologies such as piezoelectric ceramic micropump, self-developed multi-layer diaphragm structure, precision runner cutting and processing, etc., and has obtained more than 30 related patents. Among them, piezoelectric ceramic micropump technology is the heart of micropump active liquid cooling and heat dissipation technology, self-developed multi-layer diaphragm structure ensures super water vapor blocking effect, and finally through precision laser cutting processing technology high-precision cutting processing flow channel, further improve the overall liquid cooling heat dissipation effect.
(Source: OnePlus)
OnePlus claims that through this technology, the OnePlus 11 concept version can reduce the battery cover temperature by up to 3-4°C and improve the stability of the frame rate by more than 4 frames in heavy-load scenarios such as Genshin. In addition, Active CryoFlux technology can also reduce the temperature of the phone by 1.6°C when charging, and the charging time can be reduced by about 30 seconds to 45 seconds, but the power consumption caused by the water pump and the waterproof problem inside the body are still worth paying attention to.
(Source: OnePlus)
Summary: Scroll screens and satellite calls have become a new trend
Overall, the trend of MWC this year is still obvious. First of all, satellite communication technology has become the focus of communication manufacturers, following Huawei, Apple, Qualcomm, MediaTek have launched satellite communication technology with their own characteristics, they clearly define satellite communication as a supplement to the ground communication system, specifically for users in sea, remote areas and other places to provide network services.
This positioning change marks that the development of WeChat communication has officially entered a new stage, making up for the shortcomings of traditional ground communication systems through satellite communication, and also making the hypothetical idea of "global interconnection" step by step into reality. Although mainstream applications are still limited to short messages with limited word counts, an emerging track of "smart phone + satellite communication" has emerged.
(Source: MWC)
Secondly, after the folding screen, the scroll screen has become the new favorite of the product form. In recent years, with the increase in the frequency of use of portable devices, the smartphones in our hands are becoming a complex that meets the needs of social, entertainment and office. How to make the mobile phone "extend" or "expand" as needed to become larger when in use, so that an inconspicuous daily device instantly switches to productivity mode, has become a common concern of consumer electronics manufacturers.
For this question, the most standard answer is the folding screen and scroll screen. Compared with the folding screen, the main advantage of the scroll screen is zero crease, thinner and lighter, longer use, the disadvantage is that the rigidity of the extended screen part is not enough, and the motor will affect the battery life of the whole machine. How to balance the advantages and disadvantages of the two forms will become a key to the future development of mobile phone manufacturers.
It is worth looking forward to the fact that in the next few days, Honor will release a new flagship product Magic 5 series, Huawei will also bring 5.5G technology and tactics, and many mobile phone manufacturers such as OnePlus and Transsion will bring creative concept product displays. The Lei Technology team will continue to follow up MWC, and readers are welcome to join us in this technology event.
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