MWC 2017: What to expect from BlackBerry, Nokia, Samsung, Sony and more

Here's what to expect from the biggest mobile trade show of the year

With Mobile World Congress — MWC, for short — right around the corner, the rumour mill has been spinning at warp speed with regards to what smartphone manufacturers have in store for their next flagships.

It's not just the latest handsets that'll debut at the event, though. We can also expect to see a plethora of new tablets and smartwatches on display too, together with an abundance of other innovative technology.

Obviously, keeping up with all of the latest chatter surrounding what's set to be announced at MWC is a tough task, so we've taken the liberty of creating this guide to detail all of the devices that we believe will be showcased at the event.

When is MWC 2017?

MWC is scheduled to take place on February 27 through March 2. The majority of major announcements usually occur a day or two before the conference kicks off, and it doesn't look like this year is going to be any different as a number of device makers have already sent out invitations to their own press events.

BlackBerry

Back in September 2016, BlackBerry announced that it would be putting an end to the internal development of its smartphones, relying on TCL for future hardware. However, CEO John Chen confirmed in November that the firm would release one last in-house handset with a QWERTY keyboard (codenamed DTEK70/Mercury).

Despite showing off a prototype of the device to members of the press last month, there were some rumors being thrown around (albeit from rather unreputable sources) claiming that it wouldn't be ready in time for MWC, but lo and behold, the company has sent out invites to an announcement that's taking place on February 25.

Recent speculation points towards the unit sporting a 4.5-inch Full HD display, a 2GHz octa-core Qualcomm processor, 3GB of RAM, an 18MP rear-facing camera and an 8MP selfie shooter, though all of the internals are far from confirmed. It's also expected to ship running Android 7.0 Nougat.

Huawei

Chinese manufacturer Huawei has revealed that it will host an event on February 26 to unveil a new flagship device, which is believed to be the much-rumored P10. Purported specifications include a 5.5-inch curved QHD display, a Kirin 960 octa-core chipset, 6GB of RAM, 256GB of internal storage and a dual-lens camera.

There's a good chance, however, that we could instead see the release of the Mate 9 Pro as the firm has a history of waiting a month before taking the wraps off its true flagship for the year. Whatever the case may be, the handset is anticipated to share some stage time with the Huawei VR headset and long-awaited Huawei Watch 2.

HTC

This one's a bit of a stab in the dark, but it's said that HTC will unveil a new handset at MWC 2017. The Taiwanese company has already shown off what many believe to be its flagship smartphone of 2017, the U Ultra, but it turns out that's not the case — it's actually planning on releasing another device, which has been codenamed Ocean.

Unfortunately, as it hasn't officially scheduled a conference, a launch is looking unlikely. But that hasn't stopped rumours about the phone from building up. Aside from featuring top-of-the-line internals, the Ocean is said to sport a unique method of interaction that doesn't require any buttons.

Dubbed Sense Touch, the feature — which recently broke cover in a leaked video — reportedly enables users to control the device by swiping or tapping the metal frame that runs along the edge. While it sounds great, there's no telling how functional it will be in the real world. This is HTC we're talking about, after all.

LG

Right now, the LG G6 is looking like a promotional poster for MWC 2017. The manufacturer has already sent out invitations to an event it's holding on February 26 and has all but confirmed that the phone, which is rumoured to pack its new 5.7-inch QHD LCD 18:9 LCD display, will be the focus.

The abundance of leaks we've seen over the course of the past few weeks suggest that the device will sport a Snapdragon 821 quad-core processor, an Adreno 530 GPU, 6GB of RAM, 64/128GB of expandable internal storage (up to 256GB), a 16MP dual-lens rear-facing camera and a 12MP selfie shooter.

The firm's recently-announced Android Wear 2.0 smartwatches should also be on display for attendees to have some hands-on time with.

Motorola

Motorola has invited the press to a special gathering it's holding on February 26. While it's possible that the Lenovo-owned company will showcase a new flagship, it's more likely that it'll use the conference as an opportunity to announce a revamped model of the Moto G and possibly even the third-generation Moto 360.

Nokia

Unfortunately, we don't know much about what Nokia has up its sleeve for its event on February 26. Last month, it launched the Nokia 6 in China, so if we were to hazard a guess, we'd say that it could be preparing to reveal that it's bringing it to other regions, alongside its rumoured flagship of 2017, the Nokia 8.

Samsung

Originally slated to take the wraps of the Galaxy S8 at MWC 2017, reports out of Korea indicate that Samsung has pushed the handset's debut back to March, so that it can carry out extensive tests to ensure that the phone is ready for its introduction to the mass market. The conference on February 26 won't go to waste, though.

It's expected to announce two foldable smartphones (which shouldn't be available to purchase until late 2017), together with the much-anticipated Galaxy Tab S3. There's also a possibility that Samsung's answer to the Microsoft Surface, the Galaxy TabPro S2, will also be ready for an MWC unveiling.

Sony

Hoping to go out with a bang, rumour has it that Sony will uncover five new devices on February 27. Sadly, the exact names of the handsets are unknown, but we believe that they're all updates to the Xperia X line. That said, it's likely that the firm will showcase a new Android-powered tablet, too.