MWC 2014 is now less than a week away and the rumours have pretty much gone into hyper drive.
Held in Barcelona between February 24 and 27, MWC 2014 will be used as a platform by a most major players on the mobile technology scene to launch their new flagship smartphones.
Last year, during the MWC 2013 period, announcements included the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, Huawei Ascend P2 and the Asus PadFone Infinity, and bigger things are expected this year.
If recent rumours are to be believed, MWC will see the Samsung Galaxy S5, the Sony Xperia Z2 and the HTC One 2 (M8) all enter the realms of reality.
We also expect to see some innovative new smartphone and tablet technology, given the intrigue surrounding devices like the LG G Flex and Samsung Galaxy Round. There should also be (even) more smartwatches to see, especially after the focus on wearable tech at CES 2014 in January.
Samsung at MWC 2014
Last year, Samsung held an event separate to MWC for the Samsung Galaxy S4 launch. This year, however, the eagerly awaited Samsung Galaxy S5 looks set to steal the show.
Despite the Barcelona-based convention swinging open its doors on the Monday morning, Samsung has confirmed it will not host its own private press conference until the evening of Monday, February 24.
While the Korean manufacturer will keep you waiting, it has teased big things, with the official invite stating the event will be dubbed "Unpacked 5", a sizeable nod to the inbound Samsung Galaxy S5.
Although sure to be the star of the show, the Samsung Galaxy S5 has been tipped to launch alongside a second-generation Samsung Galaxy Gear smartwatch and a new Samsung Windows Phone handset.
The Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 Lite was also rumoured for an MWC launch, but Samsung has launched it separately in press release form. It's not exactly the high-end offering, but more of a rival to the Tesco Hudl and Argos MyTablet.
Sony at MWC 2014
The Sony Xperia Z1 was launched in September at IFA, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for Sony to skip a flagship MWC unveiling this year. However, it did launch the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact at CES 2014, so technically there’s room for another flagship.
Earlier this year, it was rumoured that Sony would launch its next flagship, codenamed "Sirius" and expected to be called the Sony Xperia Z2, in Barcelona next month.
According to leaked specs, the Xperia Z2 will have a 5.2-inch display, 2.3GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and an Adreno 330 GPU backed by 3GB of RAM. It will run Android 4.4 KitKat and feature the same 20.7-megapixel camera as its predecessor. Latest leaked images have even claimed the Sony Xperia Z2 will boast a bezel-free, edge-to-edge display design.
There have also been a few hints of a next-gen tablet launch at MWC from the Japanese electronics giant. Apparently, the tablet will come with the Sony Xperia Z2 tablet name at launch and should be an updated version of the Sony Xperia Tablet Z launched at last year’s MWC.
Rumours suggest it will come with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, 4G and Wi-Fi connectivity.
Sony's MWC press conference is in the morning of Monday February 24.
LG at MWC 2014
LG launched the flagship LG G2 in time for IFA 2013 in September, so it may not launch a new flagship at MWC. However, it may well follow in the footsteps of its rivals with a LG G2 mini, competing with the likes of the Sony Xperia Z1 Compact and HTC One mini.
The G2 mini has pretty much been officially confirmed by a pciture posted on the official LG Facebook page, showing the mini next to its big brother for the first time - along with several other pictures of smaller things next to bigger versions of themselves.
LG has also revealed that it will launch the follow-up to the LG Optimus Pro at MWC in the form of the LG G Pro 2, although it isn't expected to be released in the UK.
A range of affordable LG L Series models were also unveiled at last year's MWC, so we could see a smattering of launches from the South Korean electronics manufacturer next week as well.
In fact, the latest rumours tip a series of mid-range Android 4.4 KitKat smartphone will be part of LG’s MWC announcements, with several already spotted on HTML5Test earlier this month.
There’s also been rumours of an LG-made Google Nexus 10 2014 tablet, plus it registered a Google Glass rival called the "Glasstic" so that could also make an appearance.
Although LG launched the LG Lifeband Touch fitness tracker at CES, the company is expected to unveil a fully-fledged smartwatch at MWC. Currently known as the LG G Arch, there are rumours it’ll only be compatible with LG smartphones, similar to the rather flawed Samsung Galaxy Gear.
Nokia at MWC 2014
Nokia is tipped to launch a pair of new devices at MWC, building on the successes of the camera-centric Nokia Lumia 1020 and the Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet. Its press event is scheduled for early morning on Monday, February 24.
The Nokia Lumia 2020 is supposedly the name of the 8-inch tablet that will launch at MWC 2014, alongside the new flagship Nokia Lumia 1820.
We could also see some new Windows Phone 8.1 software demoed at MWC by Nokia.
HTC at MWC 2014
Once upon a time HTC could always be counted on to launch its new flagship smartphone at MWC. Last year that all changed, as the Taiwanese manufacturer unveiled the HTC One at an event just before the Barcelona tech show even started.
This year HTC is doing the same for the codename HTC M8 flagship, due to launch as "The All New HTC One" or possibly as the HTC One 2. HTC released the press invites for its special event in London to launch the device on March 25.
The HTC M8 is said to feature a 5-inch 1080p full HD display, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor and run Android 4.4 KitKat with the new HTC Sense 6.0 UI.
Google at MWC 2014
We doubt Google will actually launch anything at MWC, but it will still have a presence there to tout its Android ethos.
It is possible an updated Google Nexus 10 could make an appearance, especially as it’s the last of the Google range to get an update this year.
Huawei at MWC 2014
There were murmurs of a Huawei Ascend P6 refresh for MWC, but instead the Chinese company quietly launched the Huawei Ascend P6S in a press release. Unfortunately, the P6S has little to offer over its predecessor apart from a very subtle speed boost, with the processor bumped from 1.5GHz to 1.6GHz.
Huawei has recently released an MWC teaser trailer hinting to a new smartphone, a "slim" tablet and an additional "multimedia" focused tablet for 2014.
This could mean that the Huawei MediaPad X1 7.0 tablet is officially unveiled at MWC next week.
ZTE at MWC 2014
ZTE launched the 5.7-inch ZTE Grand Memo and the small 3.5-inch Mozilla Firefox OS ZTE Open last year.
Rumours suggest it could pull a new flagship model out of the MWC bag this year, most likely in the form of the 6.44-inch ZTE Nubia Z7.
The company has issued a press release stating it will launch the 6-inch ZTE Grand Memo 2 LTE smartphone, as well as the Firefox 1.3 OS ZTE Open C at MWC.
Tizen at MWC 2014
Tizen is scheduled to have a rather large presence at MWC 2014, including the launch of the first Tizen OS running hardware. Samsung is tipped to launch its own Tizen OS smartphones at the event, with other manufacturers like NTT Domoco also tipped to launch Tizen devices.
TrustedReviews will be at MWC 2014 to bring you all the news as it happens.
Let us know what you'd like to see most at Mobile World Congress 2014 this year in the comments below.
