Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 kicks off today in Barcelona and the Trusted Reviews team is on the ground bringing you all the latest smartphone, tablet and laptop news from the event.
Plenty of rumours and leaks have caught our attention over the past few weeks, all of which you can find by scrolling to the bottom of this page. This year we’re hoping for new flagships from the likes of Xiaomi, Oppo and Motorola, to name just a few major brands.
More crucially, we’ll also be using this guide to highlight all of the official announcements from the event as they roll in. Keep reading to discover everything that has been confirmed at MWC 2023 so far.
When is Mobile World Congress 2023?
Mobile World Congress 2023 is happening right now. The event takes place between 27 February and 2 March 2023 at the Fira Gran Via in Barcelona. The venue has been its home since 2013.
However, as with previous MWC events, many big announcements took place before the show even began. This year saw a range of major reveals on the weekend prior to the conference’s grand opening between 25 and 26 February 2023.
Honor
Honor announced two new flagship phones at MWC 2023, including the high-spec Honor Magic 5 Pro and the foldable Honor Magic Vs.
Both of these phones boast some impressive features. The Magic 5 Pro packs a massive 5100mAh battery, an eye-catching curvy design and a grand total of three 50-megapixel camera sensors. The Magic Vs, meanwhile, delivers a gapless design with a slimmer build, rivalling camera and longer battery life compared to Samsung’s Galaxy Z Fold 4.
You can find mobile editor Lewis Painter’s first impressions in the two links above or check back when we publish our full reviews to get an in-depth look at the new Honor flagships.
Nokia
Nokia took to MWC 2023 to launch the Nokia G22, a phone designed with “repairability at its core”.
Nokia has partnered with iFixit to equip the phone with accessible guides, tools and official parts, along with straightforward and affordable methods to replace the screen, USB-C port and battery if any of these get damaged.
The phone also comes with a three-year extended warranty, adding to its focus on longevity.
You can read more about the Nokia G22, including its specs and our first impressions of the device in our hands-on review.
OnePlus
MWC 2022 played host to the worldwide announcement of the OnePlus 10 Pro but, given that OnePlus already unveiled the OnePlus 11 at the beginning of February, we weren’t anticipating a flagship reveal at MWC 2023.
Sure enough, the brand didn’t step onto the showroom floor with a new phone but rather with a concept version of the OnePlus 11 with a new cooling system baked into its rear casing.
Not only can the cooling system reduce the phone’s temperature by 2.1 degrees, but it also increases how many frames per second a game can display and offers minor improvements to the charging time.
The transparent rear casing also gives the phone an eye-catching futuristic design with the cooling liquid moving across the phone.
Moving onto a device you can actually buy, OnePlus also unveiled its first tablet with the OnePlus Pad, which could be a potential challenger to the entry-level iPad. You can read our first impressions of the OnePlus Pad in our hands-on review.
Xiaomi
Xiaomi’s biggest announcement at MWC 2023 has been its Xiaomi 13 series flagship phones, a trio of smartphones that benefit from Leica’s pro-grade camera capabilities.
The Xiaomi 13 and the 13 Pro back flagship-level displays, the latest Android 13 OS and incredibly fast charging speeds. The Xiaomi 13 Lite, meanwhile, offers some great specs at a more mid-range price.
You can read all about the three Xiaomi 13 phones in our news story or head over to the Xiaomi 13 Pro first impressions review to get our initial thoughts on the newest Xiaomi flagship.
What to expect from Mobile World Congress 2023
MWC typically plays host to a range of tech announcements from some of the biggest manufacturers in the tech world, from Samsung to Xiaomi.
Here’s what we expect to happen at MWC 2023 based on previous announcements, along with leaks and rumours.
Samsung at MWC 2023
Samsung typically launches its flagship smartphones prior to MWC – that’s what’s happened in the past few years, anyway – leaving MWC to focus on other products.
Last year saw the launch of the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 and Galaxy Book 2 Pro, suggesting we could see another laptop-themed announcement at this year’s show.
Sony at MWC 2023
Sony hasn’t participated in an MWC show since 2019, and that doesn’t seem like it’s going to change in 2023.
Last year the company stated that it had shifted its focus towards “digital and online opportunities”, so it’s safe to assume it won’t have a physical presence at this year’s show either.
Huawei at MWC 2023
MWC 2023 is going to be a big year for Huawei, with a Huawei spokesperson claiming that “this will be Huawei’s largest year” at the event, taking up the entirety of Hall 1 at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona.
As for what Huawei plans to announce at this year’s show, that’s shrouded in mystery. It took the opportunity to launch the MateBook E 2-in-1 alongside the top-end MateBook X Pro laptop and its Kindle rival, the MatePad Paper e-reader, at MWC 2022, and we could see much the same in 2023.
Motorola at MWC 2023
While Motorola is keeping tight-lipped on its MWC 2023 plans for now, online whispers suggest we could see the flagship Motorola Edge 40 Pro make its global appearance following its launch as the Moto X40 in China recently.
Rumours do point towards a possible MWC 2023 reveal, while others suggest it could make its debut a month later in March 2023 in India.
Honor at MWC 2023
The GSM Association lists Honor as an MWC 2023 attendee with a booth – something it didn’t have at MWC 2022.
It doesn’t go into detail about what to expect, and Honor is yet to announce anything officially, but it does coincide with the rumoured launch of the Honor Magic5 series.
We fully expect Honor to host a presentation at some point during the show, though we’ll have to wait and see what it has planned.
Oppo at MWC 2023
Oppo arguably had one of the most exciting MWC 2022 launches with its flagship Oppo Find X5 and Find X5 Pro, but rumours suggest the successors could launch ahead of MWC 2023 – so what will Oppo reveal at the show?
While it’s unconfirmed for now, rumours claim that we’ll see the global announcement of the Oppo Find N2 Flip, a serious competitor to Samsung’s clamshell foldable in the west.
Realme at MWC 2023
The first smartphone to offer 240w fast charging capabilities is set to be revealed at MWC 2023, and rather surprisingly, it’ll be in the form of the Realme GT Neo 5.
Realme has already confirmed that the 240w fast charging will indeed be a feature of the GT Neo 5 but hasn’t said when we should expect to see an international launch.
Rumours currently point towards a release around the start of MWC, suggesting we don’t have long to wait to see the insanely fast-charging smartphone.
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We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
