Mobile World Congress (MWC) is the biggest mobile event of the year. The show sees the launch of many of the year’s top smartphones, smartwatches and tablets, as well as seeing the emergence of the hottest new trends in mobile, such as 5G.

Generally speaking, all the big brands attend MWC in one way or another. The exception is Apple, although the trends outlined at MWC very much include the iPhone.

There are some highlights from the event: 

Sony Mobile always launches new handsets at MWC, and this year was no different with no less than four devices announced. Top-of-the-range is the Xperia 1 that sees a 4K OLED HDR 21:9 aspect ratio display, offering a different form factor. The Xperia 10 and 10 Plus also have 21:9 aspect ratio displays but they sit in the mid range. The Xperia 1 replaces the Xperia XZ Premium range, while the Xperia 10 and 10 Plus take the place of the Xperia XA range in an attempt to simplify the naming structure. There was also a 5G prototype on the stand.

The Huawei Mate X: the most extravagant phone of the show? We’d say so. Not only does Huawei’s crazy flagship have 5G connectivity, but it also comes in the shape of a mad folding design. 

Xiaomi isn’t new to MWC, but it has been increasingly raising its profile outside of homeland China – and 2019 is set to be the biggest year yet now that it’s launched in the UK.

Although there was rumour of a folding phone coming, that failed to materialise – so we suspect the company will unveil something towards the middle of the year instead.

And last but not the least there’s a lot happening with Oppo at the moment – it officially launched into the UK on 29 January with its RX17 Pro and Find X phones – and at MWC it showed off its first taste of a 10x zoom system, as well as showing off its first 5G handset – the very same phone.