Everything you need to know about MWC 2015, from show dates and attendees to the likely big announcements
The 2015 Mobile World Congress kicks off in Barcelona on March 2, and runs right through to March 5.
It's the biggest annual mobile phone exhibition on the calendar, so it should come as no surprise that some of the biggest manufacturers in the game regularly choose to announce their new flagship phones around the event.
So what does MWC 2015 have in store for us? Here are some of the rumours currently doing the rounds concerning the bigger manufacturers.
Samsung
Last year, Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S5 on the first day of MWC 2014. We're expecting to hear about the follow-up at MWC 2015 that's likely to be called the Samsung Galaxy S6.
A new Samsung flagship is invariably a big deal, but the Samsung Galaxy S6 should be even more of one than usual. The Samsung Galaxy S5 was a perfectly accomplished Android phone, but it was lacking in any meaningful fresh ideas - something that would go on to set the tone in a flat year for the South Korean company.
Now there's talk of the Samsung Galaxy S6 sporting a bold new metallic design and a pin-sharp QHD display. There's also talk of a second variant with a bold curved display, rather like the Samsung Galaxy Note Edge. It's all very exciting.
There's also a rumour doing the rounds that Samsung will launch yet another smartwatch. The so-called Samsung Orbis could come with a round display and wireless charging.
SEE ALSO: Samsung Galaxy S6 vd iPhone 6: How will Samsung take on Apple?
Watch our video on what to expect from the Galaxy S6
HTC
It's been a painful road back to something resembling sales success for HTC, and while it's certainly not out of the woods yet, it has never failed to churn out a top notch flagship phone in a given year.
That's why we're excited to see the successor to the marvellous HTC One M8 on the eve of MWC 2015. Call it a hunch, but we reckon the new smartphone will be called the HTC One M9.
HTC has already sent out invites to its March 1 event, where the One M9 will almost certainly feature. Early reports suggest that it'll look and feel much like the HTC One M8, which basically means ‘gorgeous and metal.’
Otherwise, we're expecting the usual raft of high-end 2015 components - namely a large QHD display and a Snapdragon 810 CPU (if Qualcomm gets over its rumoured production issues in time).
Perhaps most importantly of all, given the company's former hardware weakness, it's been suggested that HTC will scrap its underwhelming UltraPixel technology (on the main snapper anyway) and fit the M9 with a proper, decent, 20.7-megapixel camera with OIS.
Could we finally have the perfect Android phone on our hands? Arguably not, given the likely lack of stock Android, but the M9 could get damned close nonetheless.
Another point of interest is the rumoured launch of an HTC smartwatch. Yes, this is reading much like the Samsung launch plan so far, but this is different. HTC hasn't released a smartwatch yet, so its wearable copybook is blissfully untarnished.
Given its design smarts and patience in coming to market, we're really interested to see what HTC can do for Android Wear. It seems likely that the HTC smartwatch will tie in with the company's new partner, sports clothing brand Under Armour, and its new fitness app, but we're more interested in how it will look.
LG
How do you follow up on the best smartphone of 2014? That's what LG's MWC 2015 showing will answer for us, hopefully.
We know it'll be called the LG G4, at any rate, because LG kind of told TrustedReviews as much. Oops.
It has a lot to live up to. The LG G3 was (and is) a truly brilliant phone, offering a just-so mixture of usability and cutting edge features - including the first major example of the kind of QHD display that every phone will be sporting in 2015.
So what do we know about the LG G4? It's widely held that it's going to have the same basic QHD display and Snapdragon 810 CPU combo as the rest of the Android big hitters.
But there are also rumours that LG will keep up the good work on the look and feel of its flagships, with thinner-than-ever bezels compensating for its larger-than-average screen.
One particularly interesting rumour is that the LG G4 will come with a Samsung Galaxy Note-like stylus. Given the G3's sizeable 5.5-inch display, we can see how it would fit, but does LG really want to nail its colours to the phablet mast with its popular flagship phone? And does it want the extra bulk?
Another possible enhancement for the LG G4 could be its design. LG's design team has previously demonstrated regret that the G3 didn't have a metallic finish - the company could correct that with a more premium-feeling LG G4.
Even if so, don't expect LG to go the whole hog and make an entirely metal chassis. It seems the expense would be prohibitive - particularly with the company's fondness for pushing spec boundaries elsewhere.
Like Samsung and HTC above, MWC 2015 could also see LG announcing a new smartwatch.
The key point of interest here is the suggestion that LG's new watch (dubbed by some as the LG G Watch R2) could come with 4G connectivity. Whether that's particularly desirable or even necessary on a smartwatch is open to discussion.
Sony
2014 was a topsy-turvy year for Sony. It turned around new flagship phones at a scarcely believable rate, which resulted in two of its finest ever phones: the Sony Xperia Z3 and the Xperia Z3 Compact.
And yet the year ended with the company's mobile department in the red again, prompting rumours that Sony was willing to send the Xperia brand the way of Vaio.
Before any such decision (or announcement, at least) will come MWC 2015 and - as seems likely - the Sony Xperia Z4.
The phone has made it through certification in its home country, so we will be seeing at least one more Sony smartphone - even if it's unlikely to be a radical departure from what we've seen before.
The rumoured QHD display and Snapdragon 810 specs will surprise no-one, nor will the suggestion that it will come with a familiar 20.7-megapixel camera. What's more, with the Sony Xperia Z3 only a few months old, you can expect that the Xperia Z4 will look and feel very similar.
In fact, we're far more excited to see the rumoured Sony Xperia Z4 Compact, and we're hopeful that this also makes an MWC 2015 showing.
We're suckers for high-end Android phones with sub–5-inch displays, and the Xperia Z4 Compact could be a doozy. Rumour suggests that it'll feature a 4.7-inch 1080p display paired with the same high-end internals as the Z4.
What are you hoping to see from MWC 2015? Let us know in the comments section below
