Mobile World Congress (MWC) is just around the corner, with this year’s edition of the annual mobile trade show set to kick off on Monday, February 26.
While it’s true that Apple, Samsung and Google prefer to keep their device announcements in-house these days, MWC – which is once again being held in Barcelona for 2024 – is still the place to be for anyone who’s anyone in the smartphone industry.
In this guide, we’ve detailed everything you need to know about MWC 2024 – from announcement predictions to the dates and times of major keynotes.
When is MWC 2024?
MWC 2024 runs from Monday, February 26 to Thursday, February 29 this year, though certain press-only briefings will be held a day prior, on Sunday, February 25. That’s when we’re likely to hear the first of this year’s mobile announcements.
As it has done every year since 2006 (a pandemic-induced cancellation year notwithstanding), MWC is taking place across various locations in Barcelona, Spain.
What to expect at MWC 2024
Below, we’ve detailed everything we know about attending companies’ plans for MWC 2024, including the dates and times of their respective keynotes (if available at the time of writing) and what products they might show off. We’ll be updating this page with more information as it’s confirmed.
One notable absentee from the below list is Apple. The iPhone-maker doesn’t attend MWC; it prefers to show off its latest software and hardware at dedicated Apple events in June and September, respectively. Other mobile companies (including Samsung and Google) host their own announcement events throughout the year, though if they’re included on the below list, they typically make an appearance at MWC, too.
Samsung
Keynote time: Monday, February 26 at 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm GMT
Samsung’s first Galaxy Unpacked event of the year played host to the launch of the excellent Samsung Galaxy S24 series, so we’re not likely to see the company debut any new consumer products at MWC 2024. That said, Samsung will be in attendance, and has confirmed (via its website) that it’ll be exhibiting its new “digital, AI and Cloud technologies” on the show floor.
Samsung is also hosting an invite-only MWC business summit on Monday, 26 February at 9am ET / 6am PT / 2pm GMT, which will see executives “unveil Samsung’s strategic vision and comment on key market trends.”
Keynote time: N/A
Google doesn’t typically host keynotes at MWC, and we’re not expecting that to change this year. The company will be in attendance, though, and the brief write-up on Google’s MWC exhibitor page suggests that Google Cloud – i.e. Google’s suite of cloud computing services – will be the focus of any announcements.
OnePlus
Keynote time: N/A
OnePlus used MWC 2023 to show off a concept version of the OnePlus 11 and announce that it was working on the first OnePlus foldable (which turned out to be the OnePlus Open). So, we could see the company taking a similar approach with its newly released OnePlus 12 phone at MWC 2024.
We haven’t heard anything about a conceptual OnePlus 12 just yet, but rumors do suggest that OnePlus will be unveiling the OnePlus Watch 2 at this year’s trade show. That device is said to come with a larger AMOLED display and run on Wear OS 4 – the same operating system as the Pixel Watch 2 – which would be a huge advantage over the custom-built software that the OnePlus Watch runs on.
Honor
Keynote time: Sunday, February 26 at 8am ET / 5am PT / 1pm GMT
Honor typically goes big at MWC, and that looks set to be the case again in 2024. The former Huawei subsidiary has confirmed that it’ll be unveiling the Honor Magic 6 Pro to the European market in Barcelona (having already debuted the phone in China last month), and it looks like we’ll be getting a better look at Honor’s new on-device AI features, too.
The brand has also confirmed that the Porsche Design version of its latest foldable, the Honor Magic V2, will be on the show floor at MWC 2024. Honor recently announced a collaboration with Gameloft that will see a foldable-specific version of Asphalt 9: Legends become playable on all versions of the Magic V2, so we’re excited to take that new title for a spin on the Porsche Design Honor Magic V2 RSR.
Huawei
Keynote time: Sunday, February 25 at 10:30am ET / 7:30am PT / 3:30pm GMT
This year, Huawei’s MWC presence will be all about “exploring the future of 5G.” In other words, the company won’t be debuting any new devices in Barcelona; instead, we’ll likely hear about its latest innovations in digital infrastructure.
Nothing
Keynote time: N/A
Nothing rarely (if ever) announces new products at MWC, but the London-based startup does routinely seize the opportunity of Barcelona to tease fans about its upcoming launches. In 2022, for instance, Nothing CEO Carl Pei made a point of being spotted with the then-unannounced Nothing Phone 1, and in 2023, Pei and Qualcomm held a joint press conference in which they confirmed that the Nothing Phone 2 would use a Snapdragon 8-series processor.
So, might this year’s MWC showcase play host to some sort of tease surrounding the Nothing Phone 3? Potentially, yes – but we think it’s much more likely that we see the company’s budget Nothing Phone 2a phone, instead.
Nokia
Keynote time: N/A
Nokia is a mainstay of MWC. Last year, the company announced its Nokia G22, Nokia C22, and Nokia C32 smartphones, so we may see a successor to one – or all three – of these devices at MWC 2024. That said, there’s no mention of new products on Nokia’s MWC attendee page, so we’re inclined to expect some B2B announcements, instead.
Interestingly, Nokia’s parent company, HMD Global, recently announced plans to sell mobile devices bearing its lesser-known HMD name. HMD Global will still make Nokia-branded phones, but the company is “getting warmed up to bring you even more, including original HMD devices, and phones from all-new partnerships.” So, we might see the first of these HMD phones at MWC 2024.
Motorola
Keynote time: N/A
Motorola debuted a conceptual, rollable revival of the Motorola Rizr at MWC 2023, which hit the show floor alongside the Motorola Defy 2 and the Motorola Defy Satellite Link.
Motorola hasn’t yet confirmed that it’ll be attending MWC this year, but the brand’s parent company, Lenovo, is reportedly preparing to debut the world’s first transparent laptop in Barcelona this month, so we think there’s a good chance that Motorola will be exhibiting new products (conceptual or otherwise) on the show floor, too.
Xiaomi
Keynote time: Sunday, February 25 at 10am ET / 7am PT / 3pm GMT
By the sounds of things, Chinese mobile maker Xiaomi is going all in at MWC 2024. For starters, the company has confirmed that the Xiaomi 14 series, comprising the Xiaomi 14 and the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, will be announced on February 25 in Barcelona, and we’re hearing rumors that a titanium-clad version of the Ultra could be unveiled, too.
We’re expecting Xiaomi to share details about its new smart home devices, too, but the biggest announcement looks set to come by way of a four-wheeled product. Xiaomi’s X post regarding MWC includes the hashtag #HumanCarHome, so we’re confident that we’ll see more of the company’s SU7 EV – yes, an electric car – in Barcelona.
“Xiaomi will rival Porsche and Tesla, and create a dream car for the new era of the automotive industry,” Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun said in a recent statement, and judging by the confirmed specs of the SU7 EV, it could be the hottest product of MWC 2024.
