TCL Ultra Flex fast charging at 150W: the most interesting phones and technologies announced at MWC 2022

MWC 2022 is live this week in Barcelona, ​​Spain. As the event will continue for the next two days, most of the participating companies have already held their keynote speeches to announce a slate of distinct offerings that will hit the market this year. MWC was a big event for mobile phones. However, this year’s conference saw not only cellphones, but also other technological developments making their global debut. These include new Windows laptops from companies such as Samsung and Lenovo, Android tablets and portable devices. Mobile phones that were launched at MWC 2022 also included new form factors, including foldable phones and gaming phones.

Here is a list of the 10 most exciting phones and technologies launched at MWC 2022.

1. TCL Foldables

One of the most interesting announcements from MWC 2022 included the latest foldables from Chinese manufacturer TCL. These include the TCL Ultra Flex and the TCL Fold ‘n Roll. The TCL Ultra Flex comes with a 360 degree hinge mechanism which allows users to bend the phone both inward and outward. When unfolded, it offers a tablet-like experience on its 8-inch PLP AMOLED display.

Unlike the Ultra Flex, the TCL Fold ‘n Roll has a single screen on one side that can be extended to expand the screen area by up to 10 inches. The phone can also function as a regular foldable phone where users can have an 8.85-inch tablet-like screen when unfolded and a normal 6.87-inch screen when folded.

The TCL Fold ‘n Roll was first unveiled in April last year.

TCL Ultra Flex and Fold ‘n Roll are currently in the prototype stage. It is therefore unclear if these new models will be made available to end consumers by the company at any time in the near future.

2. 150W charging from Realme and Oppo

As phones become quite prominent in our daily lives, manufacturers are rushing to reduce their charging times. BBK Electronics subsidiaries Realme and Oppo joined the competition this time around and brought their 150W charging solutions. Realme has announced that the Realme GT Neo 3 will debut its in-house 150W UltraDart Charge technology. Oppo, on the other hand, mentioned that its 150W SuperVOOC charging will be available first on OnePlus phones in the second quarter of 2022.

Realme GT Neo 3 will be among the first phones to offer 150W charging
Photo credit: Realme

Realme and Oppo (or OnePlus) plan to put up a tough fight against Xiaomi which introduced its phones, including the Xiaomi 11i HyperCharge 5G, with 120W fast charging earlier this year.

3. Lenovo’s new gaming phone

At MWC 2022, Lenovo Legion Y90 debuted as the company’s latest gaming phone. The smartphone comes with a 6.9-inch Samsung E4 AMOLED display with a 144Hz refresh rate. The Legion Y90 is powered by an octa-core Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, along with up to 18GB of storage. RAM and vapor chamber cooling. The high-end variant of the phone also includes RAID 0 storage stripe which brings 128GB of SSD storage.

The Legion Y90 supports Dolby Atmos. The phone also has a dual X-axis linear motor and packs a 5,600mAh dual-cell battery with 68W fast charging.

Lenovo is initially offering the Legion Y90 in China at a starting price of CNY 3,999 (approximately Rs 47,900) for the base 12GB RAM + 256GB storage variant. The top-end 18GB + 512GB model, on the other hand, is priced at CNY 4,999 (around Rs 59,900).

4. Honor the flagship

Honor Magic 4 Pro was launched at this year’s MWC as the brand’s latest flagship. It comes with top-notch specs that include a 6.81-inch quad-curved Flex OLED display with 120Hz dynamic refresh rate, Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 SoC, and a triple rear camera setup that includes a sensor 50-megapixel main and a 64-megapixel secondary sensor with a periscope-like telephoto lens. The Honor Magic 4 Pro also includes 8GB of RAM, 256GB of storage and a 4,600mAh battery with support for 100W wired and wireless SuperCharge fast charging.

The Honor Magic 4 Pro is priced at EUR 1,099 (around Rs 93,000). It will be available in different color options as well as a special Orange version (vegan leather).

5. Lenovo ThinkPad laptop based on ARM architecture

At this year’s MWC, Lenovo introduced the ThinkPad X13s as its latest ARM-based ThinkPad laptop. The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is powered by Snapdragon 8cx Gen 3 SoC, with Adreno GPU and up to 32GB LPDDR4x RAM along with up to 1TB PCIe SSD. The laptop also features a 13.3-inch WUXGA display and offers connectivity options including 5G, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth v5.2, two USB Type-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports and a SIM card slot. It weighs 1.06 kg and is 13.4 mm thick.

The Lenovo ThinkPad X13s is priced at EUR 1,399 (about Rs 1,18,400). The laptop will initially be available in Europe from May and will go on sale in the US through carriers AT&T and Verizon later in 2022.

6. Huawei eReader

Huawei MatePad Paper debuted at MWC 2022 as the company’s first e-reader. The device packs a 13.3-inch E-ink display that has a pixel density of 227ppi. The screen supports touch inputs and works with a bundled stylus called Huawei M-Pencil. Under the hood, the Huawei MatePad Paper features a hexa-core SoC, with 4GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. The device also includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB Type-C connectivity.

Huawei MatePad Paper has a 13.3-inch E-ink display
Photo credit: Huawei

The Huawei MatePad Paper will debut in Europe at EUR 499 (around Rs. 42,200). It would compete with Amazon’s Kindle Oasis.

7. Samsung Windows 11 Laptops

At MWC this year, Samsung didn’t show off any new phones to show off, but showcased its Galaxy Book 2 Pro, Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360, Galaxy Book 2 360, and Galaxy Book 2 as its four new laptops that all run Windows. 11. The new laptops feature the latest Intel Core processors and have up to 32GB of RAM along with discrete graphics options. The machines also have up to 1TB of NVMe SSD storage and touchscreen versions to choose from.

As for pricing, the Samsung Galaxy Book 2,360 starts at $899.99 (approx. Rs. 68,100), while the Galaxy Book 2 Pro starts at $1,049.99 (approx. Rs. 79,500) and the Galaxy Book 2 Pro 360 at $1,249.99 (around Rs. 94,600). Pricing details for the Galaxy Book 2 have yet to be revealed. Additionally, all new models will debut in markets, including the United States, starting in April.

8. Huawei AiO with a UHD display

Huawei MateStation X was launched by the Chinese company as part of its lineup at this year’s MWC. The all-in-one PC comes with a 28.2-inch UHD touchscreen display with an IPS panel under the hood. The machine also features an AMD Ryzen 5 5600H or AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor with integrated AMD Radeon graphics, paired with 16GB of RAM. It includes two 5W speakers and a 10W subwoofer along with a 720p camera for video calling.

In terms of connectivity, the Huawei MateStation X has two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack. The AiO PC seems to be taking over Apple’s iMac with its sleek design. Moreover, it works on Windows 10.

The Huawei MateStation X debuted in Europe at 2,199 euros (about 1,86,000 rupees). Details on its availability in other markets, including India, have yet to be announced. However, the device with a 23.8-inch screen was launched in China last year.

9. Affordable Nokia C Series

Although this year’s MWC will feature unique Windows phones and laptops, Nokia brand licensee HMD Global used the conference to showcase its new affordable Nokia C-series phones. The latest range includes Nokia C2 2nd Edition, Nokia C21 and Nokia C21 Plus. All three phones have basic specs to appeal to people looking to upgrade from a feature phone.

Nokia C21 is one of the company’s latest affordable phones
Photo credit: HMD Global

The Nokia C2 2nd Edition is the most basic option in the series, while the Nokia C21 and Nokia C21 Plus are the company’s new budget models. The Nokia C2 2nd Edition comes with a standard 5.7-inch FWVGA display, a single 5-megapixel rear camera, and a quad-core SoC. In contrast, the Nokia C21 and Nokia C21 Plus both have 6.517-inch HD+ displays with a waterdrop-style notch design and octa-core Unisoc SC9863A SoCs. The Nokia C21 Plus comes with a rear dual camera setup, while the Nokia C21 has a single rear camera.

In terms of pricing, the Nokia C2 2nd Edition starts at EUR 79 (approximately Rs. 6,700), while the Nokia C21 and Nokia C21 Plus start at EUR 99 (approximately Rs. 8,400) and EUR 119 (approximately Rs. 10,100), respectively.

10. New Poco phone with 108MP main camera

Debuting at MWC 2022, the Poco X4 Pro 5G comes with features like a 108-megapixel main camera sensor, 120Hz AMOLED display, and Snapdragon 695 SoC. The Poco X4 Pro 4G also includes up to comes with 8GB of RAM along with a maximum storage of 256GB. The smartphone packs a 5000mAh battery that supports 67W fast charging.

Pricing for the Poco X4 Pro 5G starts at EUR 299 (around Rs. 25,300) for the 6GB + 128GB storage model and goes up to EUR 349 ​​(around Rs. 29,500) for the 8GB + 256GB option. available in European markets from March 2, although details of its arrival in India and other regions have yet to be announced.

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