While we had to sit out Mobile World Congress this year and watch from back home, we still monitored what was coming out of the event and were intrigued by some of the gear shown at this European technology show. As a result, we’ve compiled a short list of the Best of MWC 2019.
Generally, Mobile World Congress is about mobile devices but there were some devices announced that aren’t so mobile. While most of our list falls into the mobility category, there are a couple of things that don’t.
Mobile World Congress is about new mobile technology and innovation. There are plenty of ready for prime time devices and then some that aren’t just there yet but great first steps. Our list has a mixture of both. So without further delay, here is our Techaeris Best of MWC 2019.
Best Slim Laptop
Lenovo IdeaPad S540 Intel
The IdeaPad S540 is a slick looking 14″ or 15″ consumer laptop with some good power under the hood. It also sports a top mounted Dolby Audio speaker system and has super thin bezels packing in more screen in a smaller footprint. Our pick for Best of MWC 2019 is the S540 with the Intel chipset and NVIDIA graphics cards.
- New: Up to 8th Gen Intel Core i7 Intel and Up to AMD Ryzen 7 3700U Mobile processors
- New: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 , GeForce MX250 or Intel Integrated graphics and AMD Radeon RX Vega integrated graphics
- New: TrueBlock Privacy Shutter for webcam
- New: Thinner 3-side bezels (over 25% smaller than previous gen)
- Dolby Audio Speaker System for enhanced sound
- Premium all Aluminum chassis
- New: dual-action fans for cooling
- All day battery life with New RapidCharge technology that gives you 80 percent capacity in 1 hour
Best AIO Desktop
Lenovo IdeaCentre 24″ A340
While the Lenovo IdeaCentre A340 isn’t exactly mobile, it is still a sweet looking and powerful AIO. The IdeaCentre A340 series is built for the home workspace, offering a modern design with tech inside to hit the mark on performance needs. Our pick for Best of MWC 2019 is the 24″ Lenovo A340 with the Intel chipset.
- Up to latest generation Intel Core series processors with AMD discrete graphics
- Up to FHD touchscreen display with slim bezel for more immersive entertainment experience.
- Narrow bezel design with 90% screen body-to-ratio Bigger display (22” and 24” AIO options)
- New: TrueBlock privacy shutter for webcam
- New: Metallic asymmetric stand design that is stylish and stable
- Full sound with 2 x 3W Stereo Speaker
Best Foldable Phone Design
Huawei Mate X
The questions about the need for foldable smartphones is still up in the air with very few answers to the point. But that isn’t stopping companies from producing foldable smartphones. The Huawei Mate X is the company’s entry into the market and they made a pretty impressive splash at MWC with it.
When the Mate X is folded, you get a 6.6″ OLED screen and when it is unfolded the screen is an 8″ OLED. Like Samsung’s device, this is meant for productivity and portability. With a folding device, Huawei believes you won’t need a smartphone and tablet anymore. The Mate X is also fairly slim for what it is, sitting at 5.4mm thick. The screen uses Huawei’s FullView display and delivers a ton of clarity and detail.
We picked the Huawei Mate X as a Best of MWC 2019 winner because of it’s ability to pack in so much display without bezels or notches. Will it ultimately win the market? We don’t know, only the market can tell.
Best Smartphone Display
Sony Xperia 1
Sony’s Xperia 1 has us excited. The first 4K HDR OLED display on a smartphone and at a 21:9 aspect ratio. Sony has never been a huge player in the smartphone market, at least in the United States. While they aren’t that significant, they occasionally announce a smartphone that is worthy of talking about.
This display could at least give Sony a new leg up in the market overall. Even in markets where the company generally does well, there has been disappointment expressed in Sony’s mobile design. The Xperia 1 could change a lot of that.
The flagship Sony Xperia 1 sports a 6.5″ CinemaWide 4K HDR OLED display which has a 21:9 aspect ratio. Of course, since this is an OLED Sony panel, we expect color reproduction to be amazing.
The panel uses Sony’s BRAVIA TV technology and what the company calls its X1 mobile engine. The X1 mobile engine is supposed to bring more contrast, color, and clarity to the OLED display. The display also supports 10-bit tonal gradation and wide color space ITU-R BT.2020, as well as DCI-P3 with Illuminant D65 and is covered by Gorilla Glass 6.
The Xperia 1 also sports a triple lens camera (12MP) with a 16mm for wide landscapes, a versatile 26mm lens, and a 52mm lens telephoto shooting (35mm equiv.). Sony says they packed in some of the technology from its Alpha line of cameras which they are calling BIONZ X for mobile.
The cameras offer up the world’s first Eye Auto Focus in a smartphone. The camera also delivers continuous burst shooting with up to 10 fps AF/AE tracking. Sony also says you can capture better low light images with the F1.6 lens and large pixel pitch 1.4μm Dual Photo Diode image sensor.
As for performance, the Xperia 1 is rocking the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 and Snapdragon Elite Gaming for handling processor-intensive apps and games. As for RAM, you can expect a healthy 6GB of RAM as well as Android 9.0. We picked the Sony Xperia 1 as a Best of MWC 2019 for that amazing display and unique aspect ratio.
Best Mobile Storage Device
SanDisk 1TB MicroSD Card
Digital storage has come a long way and the technology keeps getting better. At Mobile World Congress 2019, the all-new SanDisk 1TB microSD card was just announced. That’s right, the SanDisk 1 terabyte microSD card. Wrap your brain around that for a minute. While Samsung has just made it possible to get 1TB of storage in a smartphone, most smartphones don’t have that capability.
Yes this card is pricey at US$449.99 but it is also faster and we have awarded it Best of MWC 2019 because of the accomplishment of getting 1TB of storage on a MicroSD card.
Best Flagship Smartphone
LG V50 ThinQ
LG phones are some of the best on the market. They do not get nearly as much coverage as their competitors but they often have competitive displays, cameras, and specifications.
The LG V50 ThinQ gets the thumbs up for Best of MWC 2019 because of all of the above. LG delivers great cameras, a great display,
While this little addition has a lot of us scratching our head and asking why. It is, in retrospect, kind of cool. The company has improved their cameras and LG has always had really great cameras.
The V50 ThinQ is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 with the Snapdragon X50 5G modem. Battery power is provided by a 4,000mAh cell which is 20% larger than the V40. LG has also implemented a new Vapor Chamber heat-dissipation system to keep internal temperatures low and support sustained apps processing performance even when multitasking.
Best Non-U.S. Smartphone
Samsung A50
While we generally cover devices for the United States and Canadian markets, we do cover devices for the overseas market. One such device is the Samsung A50 and it is our Best of MWC 2019 for best smartphone not coming to the states. The A50 and A30 are bound for India.
The Samsung Galaxy A50 is the more premium device of the pair (
It comes with three rear cameras, a 25MP sensor with f/1.7 aperture, a 5MP depth sensor with f/2.2 aperture and an 8MP ultra-wide sensor with f/2.2 aperture. The front camera is a healthy 25MP sensor. Samsung has included its new in-display ultrasonic fingerprint sensor.
Best Wearable Device
nubia Alpha
We’re going out on a limb here because we really like the idea of the nubia Alpha. We do think there is some work that needs to be done to make this a better product than it currently is but we think the concept is pretty awesome.
The nubia Alpha has a 4.01″ flexible OLED display and the company says it has 230% more screen area than standard wearable displays. One can only assume they’re referring to smartwatches and fitness trackers. The nubia α also has a panoramic aspect ratio which the company says gives you a more immersive experience.
The nubia α has a new UI that integrates your voice assistant as well as gesture recognition. It also has a built-in camera with photo and video functionality. The sensor is not that impressive at 5MP but it does have an 82-degree wide angle lens and
The nubia Alpha is water-resistant, made of stainless steel and the company says they’ve lab tested it with over 100,000 screen flex motions.
As for what’s running under the hood, you have a Snapdragon Wear 2100 processor and a 500mAh battery, which the company says has 48-hours of standby time. The Alpha also has Quick Charge technology with a magnetic type charger.
That is our Best of MWC 2019! What do you think of these devices? What did you think of MWC this year? What are your best of MWC 2019 picks? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter, or Facebook. You can also comment on our MeWe page by joining the MeWe social network.
Last Updated on February 3, 2021.
