Chinese telephone manufacturers are carrying the torch for Europe’s greatest cell present

Next week sees Mobile World Congress return to Barcelona, two years after the COVID-19 pandemic pressured the cancellation of the world’s greatest cell phone commerce present, and one yr after the present occurred with out lots of its largest exhibitors in attendance. Not everyone seems to be making a return to this yr’s in-person occasion (Sony, Lenovo, and a few media shops together with The Verge aren’t attending) nevertheless it nearly feels just like the present is again to full energy.

But it’s additionally an occasion that’s going to point out off precisely how a lot the smartphone trade has shifted in recent times. As it stands, all of the present’s greatest {hardware} bulletins seem more likely to come from Chinese manufacturers like Oppo, Honor, TCL, Xiaomi-sub-brand Poco, and Huawei, slightly than manufacturers from Europe, America, and even one other Asian nation like South Korea.

Honor, for instance, is planning to announce the Magic 4 series at the show, marking its first Western flagship smartphone launch since splitting with former father or mother firm Huawei. Although the corporate launched the mid-range Honor 50 globally final yr, the Magic 4 is rumored to be utilizing Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 processor, making it a direct (and sure reasonably priced) competitor to the likes of Samsung’s Galaxy S22 or the OnePlus 10.

Meanwhile Oppo has stated it plans to announce “several high-end flagship products” alongside augmented actuality and 5G “R&D achievements” at this yr’s MWC. The firm is recent off the heels of asserting its newest flagship smartphone, the Find X5 Pro, final Thursday, however nonetheless intends to make use of this yr’s present to make main bulletins.

Or what about TCL, which says it plans to reveal more entries in its 30 Series of smartphones after asserting the primary two entries, the 30 XE 5G and 30 V5G, at CES earlier this yr. Or Poco, the Xiaomi sub-brand that plans to announce the Poco X4 Pro 5G and Poco M4 Pro at an occasion on February twenty eighth. Oppo spinoff Realme is promising to announce the “world’s fastest smartphone charging technology” at this yr’s present, which for these retaining observe would should be quicker than the 125W UltraDart technology it introduced a few years in the past.

In distinction, main telephone manufacturers outdoors of China have hardly ever proven a lot curiosity in utilizing MWC for main consumer-facing bulletins. Google has by no means launched a smartphone at MWC, and Apple takes the present about as critically because it takes each different main commerce present, which is to say “not very.” But even Samsung, which used MWC to announce its flagship Galaxy S smartphone as not too long ago as 2018, seems to be focusing its MWC launches this yr on a humble laptop computer. Only HMD, the Finland-headquartered firm that now produces Nokia-branded smartphones, has routinely timed its main product bulletins with the Barcelona commerce present.

MWC’s rising concentrate on Chinese corporations doesn’t imply it’s shedding relevance, as a result of these telephones are extra fashionable with prospects all all over the world than ever. As of final yr, IDC reports that three out of the highest 5 hottest smartphone manufacturers worldwide — Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo — are headquartered in China, with the primary and two spots being taken up by Samsung and Apple. It’s the same scenario in Europe particularly, the place Counterpoint Research reports that seven out of the highest ten hottest smartphone manufacturers are headquartered in China.

Instead, I feel the development is an attention-grabbing show of who has probably the most to realize from timing an enormous announcement to coincide with a crowded commerce present. It’s not corporations like Samsung and Apple, which have the type of international bodily presence that permits them to host large launches individually from main commerce reveals. But for a corporation like Honor or TCL, a present like MWC appears to be like like a useful strategy to get plenty of press into one place to point out off your wares.

The information round MWC 2022 will nearly actually be dominated by Chinese tech manufacturers, who’re doing the very best out of anybody at retaining the excitement round Europe’s greatest cell present alive. But the extra you take a look at it, it begins to appear to be good logistics.