Samsung Galaxy S5, LG G Pro 2 and more: What to expect at Mobile World Congress 2014

While the Consumer Electronic Show usually gives us a glimpse of the upcoming tech trends of the year, Mobile World Congress has been the stage for announcements from leading smartphone brands. And this year is expected to be no different. From Samsung’s flagship S5 to Nokia’s Android-powered device, MWC this year is likely to bring in a slew of “big” announcements for the mobile space. So we’ve sifted through rumours and official announcements to find out the smartphones and tablets that are expected to be launched at the MWC 2014.   Samsung Galaxy S5 Samsung is all set to pull the curtains off its flagship Galaxy S5 on February 24 at the company’s ‘Unpacked 5’ event slated to be held at MWC. After the massive success that was 2012’s Galaxy S3, the sales of last year’s Galaxy S4 have been quite poor as the high-end smartphone market hit a ceiling. The company will hope to remedy this problem by pushing out a new smartphone in the S-series as early as possible and slowly bring down the price of the existing high-end range. Samsung seems to be in a hurry and doesn’t want to wait until April like last year to begin selling its flagship.   Though Samsung has been tight lipped about the S5’s specs, most of them are already out in the form of leaks and rumours. The device is rumoured to feature an eye-popping 2560×1440 pixels of resolution, resulting in a massive pixel density of 560ppi. It is likely to feature a polycarbonate body just like the previous models and has reportedly ditched its ambitious “iris scanner” plans to go with a fingerprint scanner instead. Check out our round-up of Galaxy S5’s expected specs and features . [caption id=“attachment_217617” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] Galaxy S5 will be unveiled at Samsung’s Unpacked event[/caption]   Samsung Galaxy F While Apple opted for polycarbonate body for its “cheaper” iPhone 5c, Samsung is now rumoured to build a metal version of the Galaxy S5. The metal variant of the S5 is likely to be called the Galaxy F. An earlier leak had shown the metal frame of the phone, which led many to believe that Samsung is shedding its plastic roots. Of course just a metal frame does not tell us much about the materials for the exterior, but plastic build for high-end phones has been the biggest criticism against Samsung for many years. So it would make sense that Samsung is finally trying to change things around.   Sony Xperia Z2 At MWC this year, Sony could launch the Xperia Z2 (codenamed Sirius), successor to the Z1 launched last year. Just ahead of the event, snapshots have leaked showing the Z2 with bezel-free, edge-to-edge display. While the specs of the device are yet unclear, it is believed to be a significant improvement over its predecessor. The screen of the device is touted to be the key highlight. Most likely it will retain all the weather-proof capabilities. We wonder if Sony will follow the herd and add a fingerprint scanner to the device.  Some other rumoured specs include a 5.2-inch display, 4k video recording support, Qualcomm’s 2.3GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 MSM8974AB processor, 3GB of RAM and 20.7-megapixel rear camera.   If the spec sheet is to be believed then Sony’s brewing some tough competition in the premium smartphone space. The company is also expected to launch its flagship tablet at the event. The tablet – codenamed Castor – is powered by a Snapdragon 800 processor. The company is expected to launch both 4G and Wi-Fi variants of the tablet.   LG G Pro 2 By the end of January, LG had confirmed that it will launch the G Pro 2 in February , successor to the Optimus G Pro . The company has also confirmed that the device will feature a 13MP camera with enhanced OIS and 4k recording. The rear camera is reportedly capable of recording 4K videos (3840 x 2160 pixels). The G Pro 2 will also get a 2.1MP front-facing camera and LG claims to have added some improvements to it. The G Pro 2 will be the company’s largest smartphone yet and is widely expected to have a 5.9-inch Quad HD (1440 x 2560 pixel resolution) display. That would also make it the first LG phone with such a high resolution display and one of the first in the market, if LG manages to launch it soon after the announcement. It could also feature a finger-print scanner, which presumably will be seen in most of the upcoming smartphones in 2014. [caption id=“attachment_216707” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] LG G2 Mini coming soon?[/caption] LG G2 Mini LG introduced a refreshing change in smartphone design with the launch of the G2 last year. The phone fared quite well in our review . The company is now ready to churn out a mini variant of the device, which is expected to be announced in Barcelona. With the mini variant, LG is all set to follow Samsung, rather than Sony. This means, the G2 Mini is expected to be a stripped down version of the G2 and not a small screen alternative that maintains the same powerful features as seen in the original device. It is rumoured to feature a qHD (960x540 pixels) display, 1.2GHz MSM8226 Snapdragon 400 processor and the latest Android 4.4 KitKat version.   Nokia Moneypenny, Lumia 1525, Lumia 1820 If rumours are to be believed Nokia has a slew of handset announcements lined up for the Mobile World Congress this month. Nokia will reportedly roll out its first dual SIM Windows Phone 8.1-based device at the event. Apart from the OS and SIM capability, not much is known about the device yet.   Nokia is also expected to announce the rumoured Lumia 1525 and Lumia 1820 at the event. With a metal unibody design, the Lumia 1820 is likely to feature 5.2-inch display with 2K pixel resolution, 32GB onboard storage, Qualcomm Snapdragon 805, 3GB of RAM and 3400mAh battery. The Nokia Lumia 1525 may come with specs on similar lines, but is likely to rope in a larger 6-inch 2K display. Nokia is also rumoured to announce the Lumia 1520V with 4.45-inch screen and a 14MP camera at the event. [caption id=“attachment_216382” align=“aligncenter” width=“640”] No Google Play for Nokia’s Android phone[/caption]   Nokia X As we get closer to the Mobile World Congress next month, rumours around the Nokia Android phone are also getting stronger. Highly speculated to launch at the MWC, the Nokia X aka Normandy is believed to run a heavily skinned version of Android 4.4. KitKat, making it look more like a Windows Phone, rather than your average Android phone. There has been wide speculation that Nokia may push out its low-end Asha series running on Android OS, and camouflage it with a completely different UI, something we’ve seen Amazon do in the past. On the other hand, company’s high-end Lumia device would still run on Windows Phone OS. Going by the leaks and rumours so far, this looks more and more likely.   Samsung Galaxy Band Despite the not-so-popular Galaxy Gear , Samsung isn’t ready to give up on smartwatches yet. Just before CES, the company had hinted that it plans to bring the Galaxy Gear successor, and word is that the device will be announced at the MWC later this month. Reports claim that Samsung plans to build a fitness-focussed smartwatch dubbed Galaxy Band . The criticism that the Gear received has probably led Samsung to re-brand the smartwatch and not follow the Gear nomenclature, or it could just be a new product category from Samsung. The Galaxy Gear has already seen a price drop twice and is now selling around Rs 15,000 .   Sony Smartwatch 3 We may see the successor of the Galaxy Gear battle it out with the new Sony Smartwatch 3 post MWC. The Smartwatch 3, successor to the Smartwatch 2, is likely to be a complete overhaul of the existing device. It may carry forward some features found in the predecessor such as receiving text and email notifications directly on the smartwatch. It is also likely to have support for Bluetooth and NFC, while Sony should ideally improve app functionality and bring support for third-party apps too.