MWC 2023: What is it and what can we expect?

MWC 2023: What is it and what can we expect?

Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 is fast approaching, and that means there’s about to be an

explosion of smartphone, tablet and laptop announcements.

The question is, with so many companies attending and plenty of rumours flying around the web, what

should you actually expect from this year’s MWC? Will we see flagship launches from the likes of

Xiaomi, Oppo, and Motorola? We break down all the expected announcements right here.

When is Mobile World Congress 2023?
Mobile World Congress 2023 is set to take place between 27 February and 2 March 2023 at the Fira

Gran Via in Barcelona, its home since 2013.

However, as with most previous MWCs, we expect most big announcements to happen before the show

begins. This year, we’re expecting the majority of big announcements on the weekend prior to the

conference’s grand opening, between 25 and 26 February 2023.

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.

While most are yet to publicly announce MWC 2023 plans, 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.

OnePlus at MWC 2023
MWC 2022 played host to the worldwide announcement of the OnePlus 10 Pro, but given that OnePlus

has confirmed that the international launch of this year’s OnePlus 11 will take place on 7

February, OnePlus’ MWC 2023 plans are a secret – but leaks give us an idea of what to expect.

In place of a standard flagship launch, OnePlus is rumoured to reveal a brand new concept phone

dubbed the Concept 2 at MWC 2023, following on from the announcement of the Concept 1 at CES 2020.

Xiaomi at MWC 2023
If rumours are to be believed, Xiaomi is going to have a very exciting announcement at MWC 2023 in

the form of the new top-end Xiaomi 13S Ultra, following on from last year’s Leica-branded

flagship. That is a bit of a surprise given the Xiaomi 12S Ultra wasn’t revealed at MWC 2022.

Key rumours revolve around the return of the Leica branding and the introduction of a huge 1in

sensor, though not much else is known right now.

Rumours also point towards the reveal of the Xiaomi Pad 6 and Xiaomi Pad 6 Pro tablets at this year’s show.

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.