AR glasses, rollable phones and other futuristic devices at MWC 2023
Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023 wrapped up on Thursday, bringing the world’s largest smartphone event to a close. Many notable devices from companies like Xiaomi, Nokia and Tecno were launched at the event, while other companies showed off smartphone prototypes with miniaturized liquid cooling technology and rollable displays that fold and unfold at the touch of a button. MWC 2023 also saw companies like Xiaomi and Oppo show off prototypes of AR glasses with compact designs.
On this week’s episode of Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, host Jamshed Avari and Senior Reviewer Sheldon Pinto sit down with Reviewer Pranav Hegde who attended MWC 2023 in Barcelona. Although MWC was cancelled in 2020 and was a hybrid event last year, Hegde describes MWC 2023 as a “vibrant” event.
At MWC 2023, Xiaomi announced the global launch of the Xiaomi 13 series along with the introduction of the Xiaomi 13 Pro in India. The smartphone comes powered by the latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 SoC and features Leica-tuned cameras. The handset is the company’s most expensive model to arrive in India, placing the device in the same price bracket as the Vivo X80 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy S23.
The Motorola Rizr, a new “rolling” phone with a display that rolls out from the bottom of the handset and can be expanded from 5.4 inches to 6.5 inches at the touch of a button, was unveiled at MWC 2023. While it has Rizr branding on the back, it’s worth keeping in mind that this is a prototype and will likely need to be developed before it’s commercially available.
While many expected to see a OnePlus foldable at MWC, the company instead unveiled the OnePlus 11 Concept phone. This handset features a miniaturized liquid cooling mechanism that isn’t as effective as the company’s existing 45W cooler that can drop temperatures by up to 20 degrees Celsius.
The Nokia G22, announced by the company at MWC 2023, is a phone that is fully user-repairable. Customers in the US and Europe will be able to repair their own handset using parts and a guide provided by iFixit. Nokia launched a pair of G-series phones in India last year, but there’s no word on whether this phone will debut in India, or if customers will be able to repair their own phones.
Xiaomi and Oppo also unveiled new AR glasses powered by Qualcomm’s latest push into wearable tech. These devices aren’t ready for public use yet, but Xiaomi showed off a new pair of glasses with both AR and VR modes, while Oppo unveiled new AR glasses with minimal functionality. The companies didn’t reveal many details about the kind of apps and features that will be supported on these wearables. Apple is also expected to unveil its first wearable VR headset later this year.
You can listen to all of this in detail in our episode by clicking the play button on the Spotify player above.
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