Chinese phone brands are carrying the torch for Europe’s biggest mobile show

Photo by LLUIS GENE/AFP via Getty Images

Two years after the cancellation of the world's biggest mobile phone trade show due to the COVID-19 epidemic, the show will be back in Barcelona next week. It almost feels like the show is back to full strength, even though not everyone is making a return to this year's in-person event.

The event is going to show off how much the industry has changed in recent years. The show's biggest hardware announcements are likely to come from Chinese brands, rather than brands from Europe, America, or even South Korea.

Honor is planning to announce the Magic 4 series at the show, marking its first Western flagship phone launch since splitting with its parent company. Although the company released the mid-range Honor 50 globally last year, the Magic 4 is rumored to be a direct competitor to the likes of theGalaxy S22 or the Pocophone.

Several high-end flagship products, augmented reality and 5G will be announced by Oppo at this year's Mobile World Congress. The Find X5 Pro was announced last Thursday and the company plans to use this year's show to make major announcements.

The first two entries in the 30 Series of phones, the 30 V5G and 30 XE 5G, were announced at the Consumer Electronics Show. The Poco X4 Pro 5G and Poco M4 Pro will be announced at an event on February 28th. At this year's show, Realme is promising to announce the world's fastest charging technology, which would be 125W UltraDart.

Major phone brands outside of China have not shown much interest in using MWC for consumer-facing announcements. Apple takes every other major trade show very seriously, and even though it has never launched a phone at the show, it takes the show very seriously. HMD, the company that makes the HMD phones, has timed its major product announcements with the Barcelona trade show.

The increasing focus on Chinese companies doesn't mean that the phones aren't popular with customers all around the world. Three of the top five most popular smartphone brands are based in China, with the number one and two spots being taken up by Apple and SAMSUNG. Seven out of the top ten most popular smartphone brands are based in China, according to Counterpoint Research.

The trend is a display of who has the most to gain from timing a big announcement to coincide with a crowded trade show. It's not companies like Apple and SAMSUNG that have the kind of global physical presence that allows them to host big launches separately from major trade shows. For a company like Honor or TCL, a show like the Mobile World Congress looks like a great way to get a lot of press into one place to show off their wares.

Chinese tech brands are doing the best they can to keep the buzz going around the biggest mobile show in Europe. The more you look at it, the better it looks.