How fast do you need to charge your phone? Because Realme thinks – no matter how quick your current device is – it's not quick enough. That's based on the international launch of its new flagship, the Realme GT 3 – which boasts impressive 240W fast charging.

The company used Mobile World Congress 2023 as the stage for the launch of the Realme GT 3, which comes one year on from the global release of the Realme GT Neo 3 – one of the first smartphones to feature 150W fast charging.

While Realme is billing the GT 3 as its new flagship phone, in truth it's essentially a rebadged Realme GT Neo 5: a premium mid-ranger that made its debut in China only a couple of weeks prior, on February 9.

This marks the first time we've seen a Neo-branded device materialize as a full-fledged GT flagship-class phone in its transition to global markets and perhaps more interestingly, Realme has chosen to hold fire on launching a Realme GT 3 Pro model, as it did last year with the Realme GT 2 and GT 2 Pro.

The use of a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chip, rather than Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 is par for the course, where the company's non-Pro models are concerned. However, it's still built to deliver a responsive experience by way of a 144Hz display, up to 16GB of RAM, and, of course, that next-generation fast charging.

It's worth noting that while the Realme GT Neo 5 / Realme GT 3 now supports "the maximum charging power for mass-produced Type-C smartphones," to quote Realme during the GT 3's launch, only hours earlier, rival Xiaomi served up footage of a modified Xiaomi smartphone replenishing its 4,100mAh battery to 100% in under five minutes by using a specialized 300W charger.

It's the fact that Realme's phone is actually going on sale soon that really cements its position as the current leader in terms of fast-charging phones, and the stats that the company dropped during the launch certainly suggest those with battery anxiety might find the GT 3 particularly appealing.

According to Realme, the phone's 4,600mAh cell can hit 100% charge in 9.5 minutes, but it's perhaps the even-shorter examples that really impress. The phone can refill from flat to over 20% in just 80 seconds (actually hitting 23% in the live demo we were treated to at the launch), while just 30 seconds of charge time should result in up to two hours of use.

Won't charging that fast destroy the battery over time?

Of course, 240W SuperVOOC fast charging is nothing if the battery can only hold half its charge after a year of use and Realme has thought of that, too, promising a resilience of 1,600 cycles (compared to what Realme claims is a typical industry standard of 800) before the battery holds only 80% of its charge compared to new.

An integrated AI Charging system also alters the phone's charging behavior based on use case. If the GT 3 detects you're at the airport, it'll give you the full 100% as quickly as it can. However, if you're sleeping or driving, it'll stem the flow to hold the phone at around 80% charge until just before you wake up or arrive at your destination, at which point, it opens the gates again to hit 100% while minimizing battery wear and tear.

Assuming these ludicrous speeds ring true (and we'll be putting them to the test in a full Realme GT 3 review soon), you might be interested to know when and where you can pick one up. We don't have availability yet, but it should be making its way to European markets very soon, with a somewhat confusing starting guide price of $649 (confusing because there's no US release planned), which equates to £540 or AU$960.

Even without concrete plans to bring this ultra-fast charging to the US, the SuperVOOC technology is the same as what's found in Oppo and OnePlus phones. The latter usually uses its small but growing US footprint to showcase leading-edge designs and technology.

In the meantime, check out our rundown of the best Android phones and our hands-on Xiaomi 13 Pro review: one of the other big mobile launches that just took place in Barcelona.

The original Nothing Phone 1 is an important independent launch, if only because the phone world is dominated by so few players. With the Nothing Phone 2, founder Carl Pei hopes that lightning will strike again and again, and this time it looks like he is bringing more of his winning original OnePlus formula to the upcoming handset. 

Even though Nothing is a smaller player in the phone market, it has some big name tech investors backing the company, including former Apple and Next executive Tony Fadell. Nothing CEO Carl Pei built OnePlus from the ground up into Oppo's performance brand, and founded Nothing when he left. 

OnePlus started as a bargain phone company offering handsets with premium performance. It sacrificed some camera specs and durability features like water resistance in favor of faster chipsets and dazzling displays. 

The original Nothing Phone 1 looked more like a design concept, and the cool lighting and software features stood out, but performance was seriously lacking. The next Nothing Phone 2 looks to change that formula and compete more directly with serious flagship phones. 

The first Nothing Phone also launched in limited markets, without US availability. Even though Nothing offered the phone to the US in a beta program, local carriers were hesitant to sing its praises without proper local testing. This year, we expect the Nothing Phone 2 will launch more widely, and Pei has hinted that the US market will be a top priority for the company. 

Cut to the chase

• What is it? Nothing's sequel to its design stand-out, now with more power
• When is it out? Later in 2023, probably Q3 but could be sooner
• How much does it cost? The last 1 was cheap, but this one is more powerful, so...

Nothing Phone 2: release date and price

The first Nothing Phone 1 arrived in July, 2022, and we expect the sequel will take a bow some time after the first anniversary, and probably later in the year. Leaks suggest a Q2/Q3 timeframe for this year, per the Indian local phone market site 91Mobiles, and with the aggressive new components we're hearing about, we'd think a later date is a safer bet. 

The original Nothing Phone 1 was available for £399 / €469 / AU$749 when it launched, with no US availability. The phone was briefly available under a so-called 'beta' program in the States, and you could buy the model with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage for $299. The company's site shows no models are currently available to US customers, however. 

Nothing CEO Carl Pei has said that not only will the Nothing Phone 2 launch in the US, he expects the US market will be a priority for this upcoming phone. What does that mean? It means support for more US 5G bands than the Nothing Phone 1, hopefully, because the original phone didn't work properly on every US network. 

We don't have specific specs for the next Nothing Phone, but we're hearing 12GB of RAM and 256GB of storage are likely, at least in one configuration. Many premium-bargain phone makers are consolidating the model variations, so hopefully every Nothing Phone 2 will come with plenty of RAM and storage. 

Nothing Phone 2

• 256GB/12GB = Price TBD

Nothing Phone 2: design and display

The biggest mystery about the Nothing Phone 2 should be the design, because the design of the Nothing Phone 1 and its unique design features were the standout reason to buy the phone. We don't know if Nothing will keep the same sort of lighting features, evolve into something more advanced, or try something entirely new. 

Rumors suggest that the next Nothing Phone will get a slightly larger display, up to 6.67 inches from the original 6.55-inch screen. If the resolution doesn't also increase, that would mean the display will be slightly less sharp, but it shouldn't be noticeable. We're also hearing the Phone 2 will refresh at 120Hz, like the original Nothing. 

Otherwise we don't know if there will be significant new design improvements. The original Nothing Phone 1 was only IP53 water resistant, which is good for a light splash but not a heavy downpour. It used Gorilla Glass 5, which was Corning's best glass in 2016. Phones today need to be much more durable all around. 

In any case, rumors of the new design will also give us an idea of the phone's expected launch and availability. We generally see near-final phone design around three months or so before launch, and the fact we haven't gotten any good hints yet could mean that we have much longer to wait in 2023. 

Nothing Phone 2: camera and battery

One of the earliest leaks we heard about the upcoming Nothing Phone 2 suggested that it would have a new camera lens and sensor, in addition to the two 50MP cameras on the Nothing Phone 1. The next phone should get a third camera at the same resolution, though we don't know anything more about its capabilities. 

The Nothing Phone 1 had a wide and an ultrawide camera, so it would make sense for a successor to get some level of zoom photography. Even a 3X zoom would be welcome, both for longer reach and better portrait shots. We also haven't heard if the sensors themselves will get an upgrade for the next generation. 

What sensor Nothing chooses for its new addition could make a dramatic difference. In our Nothing Phone 1 review, we noticed that the wide camera, which apparently uses a common Sony sensor, performed much better than the ultrawide camera. The latter packs the same 50MP, but on a much smaller sensor, so those pixels collect less light. 

In other words, the Nothing Phone 2 could use better sensors on the secondary cameras, not just more sensors. 

The selfie camera is rumored to double in resolution, from the 16MP shots on the Nothing Phone 1 to a new 32MP sensor for the Phone 2. The original phone situated that selfie camera in the upper left corner of the display. We're not sure where the new selfie cam will find itself. 

For the battery, a bigger display means more room for a bigger battery, and we're hearing the modest screen increase will also bring a modest battery boost. The cell should step up from 4,500 mAh to 4,700 mAh, a marginal increase. 

Thankfully, we're hearing that Nothing could boost its charging prowess, and the new phone could double the wattage to a 67W wired charging rate. That should provide a full charge in less than thirty minutes, if Nothing Phone 2 charges at a comparable rate to competitors. 

Nothing Phone 2: specs and features

While the original Nothing Phone 1 was all about design, delivering middling performance with a low price tag to match, the Nothing Phone 2 will get an upgrade. Qualcomm executives recently dropped blatant hints that the Nothing sequel will get 2022's best Snapdragon, the Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1. 

If you're worried that the Nothing Phone 2 won't stand up against 2023 flagships with the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, remember that powerhouse phones like the OnePlus 10T and the Galaxy Z Fold 4 premiered with Qualcomm's updates Gen 1. It will provide a serious boost over the Nothing Phone 1's Snapdragon 778 mid-range chipset. 

Otherwise, little is known about the upcoming Nothing Phone 2 and what it can do. We can be sure it will run the Nothing OS on top of Android, likely Android 13, as the timing suggests the phone will launch before developers would have a chance to test and upgrade Google's next Android iteration. 

The primary feature on the Nothing Phone 1 is the LED array on the back of the phone, which can be lit in a variety of patterns to display specific notifications, show your battery and charging levels, or provide a light for the camera. It would be nice to see Nothing take this a step further, and it would be a shame if the signature LED lighting were abandoned for a next generation. 

If you hate having to wait for your phone to charge up, Xiaomi might be the brand for you. In a newly released demo, the Chinese phone maker has shown one of its phones being juiced from zero to full charge in under five minutes.

At MWC 2023 – the big mobile tech expo happening in Barcelona – we’ve been introduced to a slew of new phone gadgets. OnePlus has shown off a mobile liquid cooling system, Motorola and Bullit are bringing satellite phone capabilities to (almost) every smartphone, and now Xiaomi has demonstrated the awesome capabilities of 300W charging.

In a new video, Xiamoi has reclaimed its crown of having the fastest phone charging tech by showing a modified Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus being fully charged in barely any time at all via a new 300W charger. It reached 25% in one minute and 15 seconds, 50% in two minutes and 12 seconds, and 100% in four minutes 54 seconds.

Now, as you might have picked up on, there are a few caveats to this feat. The modifications to the phone include the fact that its maximum battery capacity is smaller than it would be normally – reduced to 4,100mAh from the usual 5,000mAh capacity. So it may charge up faster, but it won’t last as long. What’s more, if the device doesn’t have proper heat control, 300W charging could cause damage to the battery, further impacting its maximum capacity.

Another thing to note is that the charger’s power source was able to output 280-290W fairly consistently throughout 90% of the charging process. Most mains sockets should have this covered, though if you’re on public transport, using a battery pack, or relying on a source that can’t achieve this rate then you might not be able to recharge your mobile quite as quickly.

Lastly, not only is the modified phone not on sale but currently, there’s no word on if Xiaomi’s 300W charger will be available to the public any time soon. So while it can theoretically offer you lightning-fast charging speeds, in reality, you may be stuck with just 120W (which isn't too shabby in fairness).

That said, with Xiaomi having now proved that this feat of charging is possible, it likely won’t be too long before we see 300W charging become available in smartphones we can actually buy. We’ll just have to wait and see; but from the looks of things, the days of waiting for ages for our phones to recharge are almost over.

The Internet has recently been awash with frightening stories of how thieves could gain access to all of the deepest, darkest secrets that you keep on your iPhone, just by knowing your PIN number.

Simply by knowing your login PIN (and getting hold of your iPhone), it's possible for anyone to change your Apple ID, locking you out of all other Apple devices, and even get unwanted access to your bank accounts and social networks. 

Worryingly, experts have now found that the same is true of Android devices, which are equally at risk of such data theft.

Android PIN theft

On an Android device, users can navigate to Google > Manage your Google Account > Security > Password in the system Settings app. From there, they can click ‘Forgot password’ and use an option to use the phone’s screen lock code to change their Google account password.

Google’s software developers have made this possible because your phone is seen as your own, and when successfully logged in, it assumes you’re the user.

While useful on those occasions that you do forget your password, it doesn’t take into account thieves who know - or are able to figure out - your PIN.

9To5Google explained that this has been most commonly witnessed among iPhone users, presumably because they hold a higher resale value compared to initial cost, helping thieves to pocket some extra cash.

Regardless, the problem is no less severe among Android users who, like iPhone users, can have all of their otherwise unprotected data accessed and leaked. 

Even protected data is at risk, assuming your passwords are stored in a password manager that can be accessed during an attack.

While it’s possible to prevent password-changing capabilities via PIN with Advanced Protection enabled, for many users, this is unrealistic as it requires a pair of physical security keys and some technical knowledge.

Customers worldwide are urging Google and Apple to consider this option more carefully but in the meantime, they can protect their data by limiting the types of apps that can be accessed via the phone’s login method, and carefully considering how they manage their passwords.

• Protect your device with the best firewalls and best endpoint protection

OnePlus has had a busy time at MWC 2023, showing off a OnePlus 11 Concept phone, letting us deliver a hands-on OnePlus Pad review, and revealing a OnePlus 45W Liquid Cooler. But the company might have saved the best for last.

In a panel hosted by TechRadar’s Senior Phones Editor Alex Walker-Todd, we learned from Kinder Liu, President and COO of OnePlus, that the company is building its first foldable phone, and plans to launch the device before the end of 2023.

Specifically, this OnePlus foldable is set to land in the second half of the year, so sometime between July and December.

Speaking about the phone, Liu said: “Our first foldable phone will have the signature OnePlus fast and smooth experience. It must be a flagship phone that doesn’t settle because of its folding form, in terms of industrial design, mechanical technology, and other aspects. We want to launch a device that aims to be at the pinnacle experience of today’s foldable market.”

So it sounds like this will be a no-compromise phone, and will probably also therefore be very expensive. That said, most OnePlus phones – including the OnePlus 11 – are slightly cheaper than a lot of their rivals, so there’s some hope that the same might be true of the company’s first foldable.

OnePlus hasn’t revealed anything else about this phone yet, but it has said that more information will be revealed in the coming months. This is a company that tends to drip-feed information ahead of launches though, so we may well learn most of the details before the OnePlus foldable is fully unveiled.

Analysis: it could be similar to the Oppo Find N2

While OnePlus hasn’t said more about its foldable phone, there are some clues as to the form it might take.

For one thing, we’ve heard rumors of a OnePlus foldable for a while, and the more recent ones suggested that it might be based on the Oppo Find N, which was only available in China.

OnePlus is a subsidiary of Oppo, so that’s certainly a possibility; although since we heard these leaks, the Oppo Find N2 launched, so basing the OnePlus foldable on the newer phone seems more likely.

The Oppo Find N2 is also only available in China (though the Oppo Find N2 Flip has launched more widely) so in most of the world it wouldn’t be a competitor to a OnePlus device.

This is just speculation though, so don’t be surprised if the OnePlus foldable is something completely different; but for reference, the Oppo Find N2 has a 7.1-inch 1792 x 1920 foldable display with a 120Hz refresh rate, a 5.54-inch 1080 x 2120 cover screen with a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 4,520mAh battery with 67W charging.

It also has a Snapdragon 8 Plus Gen 1 chipset, up to 16GB of RAM, up to 512GB of storage, and a triple-lens camera with a 50MP wide snapper, a 48MP ultrawide, and a 32MP telephoto with 2x optical zoom. That’s an impressive assortment of specs, so if the OnePlus foldable is based on this then it could have a great shot at ranking among the best foldable phones.

The iPhone SE 4 lives...maybe. In a recent Twitter thread, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that the tech giant has restarted development on the iPhone SE 4 – two months after it was reportedly canceled.

The reason the project was axed in the first place, according to Kuo’s post on Medium, was because Apple wanted its mid-range device to house its first in-house 5G baseband chip so the company wouldn’t have to rely on Qualcomm. However, the hardware just wasn’t “up to par with Qualcomm’s [tech]” so the whole thing got scrapped back in early January. But now it appears Apple has a solution. Instead of making everything from scratch, the iPhone SE 4 will now reportedly be a modified version of the 6.1-inch iPhone 14.

Kuo claims the device will come equipped with the aforementioned “baseband chip produced by a 4nm process”; however, it will only support sub-6GHz 5G and not the faster mmWave spectrum, just like the previous model. The biggest change as Kuo points out is the phone will sport an “OLED display instead of an LCD”. Ross Young, another reputable industry analyst, claims the screen will be provided by Chinese manufacturer BOE Technology. Mass production, assuming development goes smoothly, will begin sometime in the first half of 2024.  

Apple's future plans

The rest of the Twitter thread hints at Apple’s future endeavors. He goes on to say it’s still up in the air whether or not the inevitable iPhone 16 line will utilize the new chipset. Apparently, the company is dealing with some “technical obstacles [relating] to mmWave and satellite communications.” But if it manages to pull it off, Kuo predicts the gulf between Apple and Qualcomm will grow as the latter’s hardware will no longer be necessary. He even speculates, that if mass production goes well, we could see iPads and Apple Watches ditching Qualcomm chipsets in favor of the baseband one.

And that’s pretty much all that can be gleaned from the thread as it directly pertains to the iPhone SE 4 or Apple's plans. It’s unknown just how much of the iPhone 14’s features, like Emergency SOS via Satellite, or hardware will be present in the upcoming phone. Price also remains a mystery. For the sake of comparison, the iPhone SE 3 launched back in March 2022 with a starting price tag of $429 in the United States.

If you’re in the market for a new phone, be sure to check out TechRadar’s latest round-up of the best iPhone deals before the month ends. 

The iPhone SE 4 lives...maybe. In a recent Twitter thread, reputable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo stated that the tech giant has restarted development on the iPhone SE 4 – two months after it was reportedly canceled.

The reason the project was axed in the first place, according to Kuo’s post on Medium, was because Apple wanted its mid-range device to house its first in-house 5G baseband chip so the company wouldn’t have to rely on Qualcomm. However, the hardware just wasn’t “up to par with Qualcomm’s [tech]” so the whole thing got scrapped back in early January. But now it appears Apple has a solution. Instead of making everything from scratch, the iPhone SE 4 will now reportedly be a modified version of the 6.1-inch iPhone 14.

Kuo claims the device will come equipped with the aforementioned “baseband chip produced by a 4nm process”; however, it will only support sub-6GHz 5G and not the faster mmWave spectrum, just like the previous model. The biggest change as Kuo points out is the phone will sport an “OLED display instead of an LCD”. Ross Young, another reputable industry analyst, claims the screen will be provided by Chinese manufacturer BOE Technology. Mass production, assuming development goes smoothly, will begin sometime in the first half of 2024.  

Apple's future plans

The rest of the Twitter thread hints at Apple’s future endeavors. He goes on to say it’s still up in the air whether or not the inevitable iPhone 16 line will utilize the new chipset. Apparently, the company is dealing with some “technical obstacles [relating] to mmWave and satellite communications.” But if it manages to pull it off, Kuo predicts the gulf between Apple and Qualcomm will grow as the latter’s hardware will no longer be necessary. He even speculates, that if mass production goes well, we could see iPads and Apple Watches ditching Qualcomm chipsets in favor of the baseband one.

And that’s pretty much all that can be gleaned from the thread as it directly pertains to the iPhone SE 4 or Apple's plans. It’s unknown just how much of the iPhone 14’s features, like Emergency SOS via Satellite, or hardware will be present in the upcoming phone. Price also remains a mystery. For the sake of comparison, the iPhone SE 3 launched back in March 2022 with a starting price tag of $429 in the United States.

If you’re in the market for a new phone, be sure to check out TechRadar’s latest round-up of the best iPhone deals before the month ends. 

Sitting in on a Q&A session fronted by several members of Oppo's senior product and strategy teams on day one of Mobile World Congress this year, we were treated to illuminating insight on the company's current approach to the foldable market and why it feels the time isn't right for such technology to trickle down to the mid-range space.

Although we've had the ability to fork over cash for foldables for about three years, the materials, engineering and hardware that go into such devices still render them notably more expensive than similarly-specced alternatives that don't have to bend at the waist.

A week prior to MWC 2023, Oppo unleashed its first foldable clamshell on the world, the Oppo Find N2 Flip. Despite being a great value for a folding smartphone (at £849 in the UK), it still prices-out plenty of users that would otherwise welcome the convenience of a compact foldable in their pocket.

When asked whether there was space for fold or flip style phones with a mid-range price point, Oppo's Vice President for Overseas Sales and Service, Billy Zhang, had a lot to say in response.

Speaking via a translator, Zhang explained, "Now, when we talk about a product like  [a mid-range foldable], we need to think about whether it can really deliver a good experience, because in order to try to hit the mid-range price band, if we sacrifice things like SoC [the chipset] or imaging, then that would not be good. Because, if we cut corners with the SoC, we will not be able to maximize the computing power of the imaging as well."

Zhang continued, "As the shipments of foldable products increases, then definitely, there will be more room for costs-down – from a supply chain perspective, but this process will take time."

You'd think that was all she wrote; Zhang confirmed that cutting corners to bring such a device to market would be detrimental to the user and until shipments increase, costs aren't likely to come down.

It was evident that Zhang wasn't done; he was eager to expand on the potential and viability of mid-range foldables.

"I'd just like to share more comments regarding the cost-down of flip phones," he continued. "Some initial ideas could be the removal of the cover screen, cutting corners with the SoC, cutting corners with the camera. 

"But when we talk about the flip phone, if we remove the cover screen, that definitely is not a good experience, because the cover screen is important to bring you more convenience to check quick notifications and stuff like that. Or if you cut corners in the SoC, that will have an impact as well."

"In about six month's time or maybe a longer time, there might be these kind of flip phones available in the market, but they may cut corners – like using plastic in their frames or removing the cover screen – but definitely, that's not a good experience for us; that's not something we [Oppo] want to do. If competitors want to do it, just let them do it. User experience is our first consideration."

Affordable foldables, but at what cost?

Based on Zhang's statements, it's unlikely that we'll see a foldable with a significantly lower price tag anytime soon.

Oppo wants to seem uncompromising in its approach to product development and its message is that the user experience comes first; an aspect of any device that's guaranteed to suffer if you start hacking off fundamental interaction methods (like a cover display) or features.

Zhang did, however, leave the door open for other manufacturers to make the tough call on what needs to be cut in order to bring a familiar foldable experience to the mid-range market. The question then is, who's first?

Check out our rundown of the best foldables and you can find out more about the Oppo Find N2 series while you're at it.

Snapchat has become the first social media giant to build a ChatGPT-powered chatbot into its app, with the messaging platform calling its new feature 'My AI'.

According to Snap, the new chatbot is running the latest version of OpenAI's GPT technology (its GPT-3.5 model) and is an "experimental feature" for paying Snapchat Plus subscribers (a service that costs $3.99 / £3.99 / AU$5.99 a month).

So what can it do? Given the many recent examples of Microsoft's ChatGPT-powered Bing search engine going off the rails, Snap has wisely puts some guardrails in place by training it to "avoid biased, incorrect, harmful, or misleading information". It's also mainly designed help organize your social life and boost your Snapchat game.

Some examples of things that My AI can help with include planning your hiking trip, recommending birthday present ideas, suggesting dinner recipes and, for fans of Japanese verse, "writing a haiku about cheese for your cheddar-obsessed pal". That all certainly sounds a bit more family-friendly than watching Bing have an existential crisis.

Still, Snap is also bracing itself for errors and has already apologized in advance for My AI's own clangers. It says that "My AI is prone to hallucination and can be tricked into saying just about anything", which sounds worrying. Snap also tells users to "please be aware of its many deficiencies and sorry in advance" for its potential mistakes.

Unlike Bing's ChatGPT-powered chatbot, My AI is customizable – you can give it a name and also customize the wallpaper for your chat sessions. But, despite this cuddly exterior, the AI helper is likely to go very wrong – with Snap stating that you can press and hold on any message to submit feedback and help guide it towards better behaviour.

Analysis: A taste of social chatbots to come

The arrival of a ChatGPT-powered helper on Snapchat isn't quite as earth-shattering as an equivalent feature would be on the likes of Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, or TikTok – after all, Snapchat is only tenth on the list of social media sites in terms of global active users.

But it does give us an interesting glimpse of how ChatGPT (or an equivalent chatbot technology) could be baked into some of the world's most popular apps. Imagine, for example, an equivalent sidekick in Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp groups. Meta did recently announce its own "state-of-the-art AI large language model called LLaMA", so that could well be coming.

The arrival of chatbots in social media and messaging apps does also raise privacy issues. Snap is keen to stress that "all conversations with My AI will be stored and may be reviewed to improve the product experience", and you shouldn't "share any secrets with My AI" or "rely on it for advice".

Those are all big disclaimers that show where we are with AI chatbots – while they're fun sidekicks that could work well in the likes of Snapchat, they're also far from the all-knowing sages they purport to be.

Early on February 27, we brought you our hands-on OnePlus Pad review and a close-up look at the OnePlus 11 Concept; after spending some time with both ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show, taking place in Barcelona.

Now that the doors on MWC have officially opened, however, we were also fortunate to come across another 'cool' OnePlus gadget that – like the OnePlus Pad – should be coming to market very soon.

While we've seen liquid cooling on desktop PCs and even the occasional laptop (like Asus' GX700, which was first introduced way back at IFA 2015), we've never seen a dedicated liquid cooling system for a smartphone like this before.

Although OnePlus' 11 Concept is the company's showcase of integrated liquid cooling, there's no time frame on when such technology will make it into a consumer-ready device. That said, on the OnePlus booth at Mobile World Congress, we were introduced to the OnePlus 45W Liquid Cooler – an external cooling unit with a specialized reservoir and phone grip that can attach to almost any smartphone and suck heat away from a hard-working chipset in an instant.

The unit itself is a TEC (a semiconductor-based Thermo Electric Cooler), a water-based system with a tube (in OnePlus' signature red, of course) leading to what it calls The Clip. This sprung phone grip weighs just 75 grams and measures 51mm wide, in order to remain unobtrusive when in use, while what's thought to be a ceramic pad on the inside of The Clip allows for rapid heat transfer.

As well as holding the reservoir and chilling the water, when pressed, a single button on top of the unit switches between four cooling levels, which also effects the system's loudness too.

Who wants liquid cooling on a smartphone?

OnePlus says that its OnePlus 45W Liquid Cooler is able to cool a device by up to an impressive 20°C / 36°F, which would make a huge difference when running intensive games, shooting high-resolution video for extended periods of time or taxing the phone's silicon in other ways.

A quick real-world test revealed that The Clip will just about handle a Google Pixel 7 Pro (without a case), when carefully slid in, top-down, so any phone that measures 76.6mm or narrower should be able to benefit from the the cooler's chilling properties, and that's perhaps the big hook here.

While some of the best gaming phones – such as Asus' ROG Phone 6D Ultimate - come with dedicated integrated and external cooling systems, OnePlus' solution is device agnostic. While there's no doubt the company would love you to use it with their latest flagship (check out our OnePlus 11 5G review, for more on that), the ability to apply this next level cooling to any smartphone that fits is perhaps its biggest strength.

Note: Not long after OnePlus showed off its cooler, sister company Oppo showed off the similarly-styled external Oppo 45w Liquid Cooler, which delivers the same experience but replaces The Clip with a magnetically detachable wireless charging cooling plate.

There's a good chance that your next Android phone will support Qualcomm's two-way satellite text messaging service, as the chip maker has announced support from six major phone makers.

Qualcomm's Snapdragon Satellite service is designed to let you text your contacts when you're off-grid in remote locations that don't have network coverage. And we've just learned that Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi are all on board to develop phones that support it.

A notable absentee from that list is the world's biggest Android phone brand, Samsung. That's because Samsung has recently announced its own network modem that will allow two-way communication between phones and satellites. The Samsung Galaxy S23 was expected to support Qualcomm's Snapdragon satellite tech, but it was curiously missing from that phone.

The reason for that omission appears to be that the race is now on to offer Android's equivalent of the iPhone's Emergency SOS feature. Unlike Apple's system, Qualcomm's tech uses the Iridium satellite network, and promises to be useful for more than just an emergencies on hiking trips – Qualcomm is suggesting that it can also be used for "recreation" in remote areas, and for getting in touch with family and friends when you have no signal.

It isn't yet clear when we'll see the first phones that support Qualcomm Snapdragon Satellite, but it shouldn't be too long – Qualcomm says it'll land on 5G devices with Snapdragon 8 or Snapdragon 4 chips, which means it'll initially be restricted to premium and mid-tier phones.

Interestingly, Qualcomm also said that Snapdragon Satellite is coming to "other device categories in compute, automotive and IoT segments", which means we can expect to see support for it in future laptops, cars and more, too. 

Analysis: Lift-off for satellite text messaging

Satellite messaging has become one of the hottest themes of this week's MWC 2023 show (which you can follow in our MWC 2023 live blog). And this Qualcomm announcement shows it'll be one of the big features in your next Android phone – even if Samsung appears to be taking its own route.

Motorola had already stolen Qualcomm's thunder last week by announcing the Motorola Defy 2, a rugged Android phone that delivers two-way satellite messaging using a different service called Bullitt Satellite Messenger. It also announced the Defy Satellite Link (pictured above), a Bluetooth fob that delivers the service to older Android phones and iPhones, too.

But while Qualcomm and Bullitt's satellite messaging services broadly promise the same service – two-way messaging in remote areas – they're based on different networks and work in different ways. While Qualcomm is promising that Snapdragon Satellite will "offer truly global coverage from pole to pole" (as long as you can see the open sky), Bullitt's satellite coverage is a bit more limited.

Qualcomm's service will also integrate with an Android phone's SMS text messaging, rather than requiring a separate app. But what we don't yet know is how much Snapdragon Satellite will cost. Bullitt Satellite Messenger gives us a ballpark figure, though: $4.99/£4.99 per month (around AU$9) for the ability to send 30 two-way messages, plus access to its SOS assistance service.

Both Qualcomm and Bullitt's services are more versatile than Apple's Emergency SOS, and we're expecting to see the first Snapdragon Satellite Android phones land later this year. While satellite text messaging remains a relatively niche feature right now, It'll be interesting to see how both Apple and Samsung respond.

When OnePlus teased its OnePlus 11 Concept ahead of MWC 2023 earlier this month, we were quick to speculate that the mysterious device looked more like a gaming PC than a phone. 

Well, as it turns out, that assessment wasn’t too far wrong. Having now handled the OnePlus 11 Concept for ourselves at the annual Barcelona trade show, we can confidently say that this phone is indeed the most gaming PC-like handset we’ve ever seen. But hold the applause, because we also know that the OnePlus 11 Concept definitely won’t be earning a spot on our list of the best gaming phones any time soon. 

Unfortunately, the OnePlus 11 Concept is just that: a concept. In essence, it’s a prototype version of the OnePlus 11 (you can read our thoughts on that phone in our OnePlus 11 review) that’s intended to demonstrate how gaming PC-style liquid cooling technology can be applied to future OnePlus smartphones – which is certainly a neat idea, albeit one in the early stages of development. 

That said, the OnePlus 11 Concept does operate as an actual phone. The models we were able to handle at MWC looked and felt like actual devices we might purchase, complete with scrollable screens and working operating systems, which is an achievement in itself on OnePlus’ part.

Active CryoFlux is the suitably futuristic name OnePlus has given to the active cooling technology at work inside the OnePlus 11 Concept, and the company’s description of how this system operates is even more Doctor Who-esque. 

Per OnePlus: “Active CryoFlux features an industrial-grade piezoelectric ceramic micropump at its core, connected to pipelines sandwiched between an upper and lower diaphragm. The micropump takes up an area less than 0.2 cm-squared, enabling cooling liquid to circulate around the pipelines without significantly increasing the OnePlus 11 Concept’s weight and thickness.

“The clear back delivers a mesmerizing view of the Active CryoFlux pipelines at work. The rear cover also features a magnetron-spluttering coating where metal and alloy are deposited in tiny amounts onto the case using an electric field.”

Piezoelectric ceramic micropump? Magnetron-spluttering coating? In truth, we’re not entirely sure what all of this means – but it sounds cool, and that’s good enough for us to take notice. 

In terms of the practical benefits of Active CryoFlux, OnePlus says the system has, during laboratory tests, been shown to be capable of bringing down a phone’s temperature while gaming by up to 2.1°C, improving the tested game’s frame rate by 3-4 frames. 

Active CryoFlux was also shown to reduce the tested phone’s temperature by 1.6°C during charging, shaving 30-45 seconds from its overall charging time. 

Sure, those might read like negligible improvements on paper, but if active cooling technology can be proven to equal or better the cooling capabilities of weighty smartphone fans, then we’re all for it. 

Besides, what sort of person doesn’t want a luminous, “glacial” zigzag running down the back of their phone? Count us in, OnePlus. 

While most of the gadget world kicks off the New Year with the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, for the phone industry there is Mobile World Congress (MWC): a huge mobile technology-focused event in Barcelona. We're on the ground in Spain covering the latest phone launches and forward-looking technology news, with the spotlight this year on flashy new devices from the likes of Honor, Xiaomi and OnePlus.

We've already seen the newest phones from Xiaomi: the Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro, plus the rebadged Xiaomi 13 Lite. These phones made a big splash in Xiaomi's home market of China, and now that they're going global. We've gotten a hands-on look at some of them (check out our hands-on Xiaomi 13 review, as well as our hands-on Xiaomi 13 Pro review for more). 

There's news from OnePlus, too. The brand officially unveiled its OnePlus 11 Concept phone to the world on Sunday, and we were also able to get some hands-on time with the company's first tablet – the OnePlus Pad (check out our hands-on OnePlus Pad review for our initial impressions of the device). 

Elsewhere, we're expecting announcements from almost every major phone maker that isn't Samsung – which launched its flagship Galaxy S23 series earlier this month – or Apple (because, well, Apple). Honor and Oppo both have events and keynote sessions here at the show, so we'll definitely be hearing more from those brands too. 

We're also on the lookout for any new surprises. We know that Bullitt Group has its satellite-capable Motorola Defy at the show, along with its first rollable smartphone concept, too. We'll be keeping tabs on any new mobile phones with an eye on the sky. 

Keep checking back through the week as we update our Mobile World Congress Live Blog continually. We'll have all the news from Spain and the entire mobile world. 

Welcome to Barcelona, mobile fans! We are on the ground at Mobile World Congress in Spain, the largest mobile technology trade show. We expect plenty of news, and Xiaomi has already kicked things off with a big global announcement. 

The Chinese company will finally be bringing its lauded Xiaomi 13 and Xiaomi 13 Pro to global markets. That one inch camera sensor and Leica-branded lens on the Xiaomi 13 Pro will be available in the UK and plenty of markets beyond, though unfortunately it won't find its way to US soil. 

We've gotten hands on with both of Xiaomi's new phones,  as well as the rebadged Xiaomi 13 Lite, a bargain model also getting a global launch. We'll have a more detailed Xiaomi 13 review soon, so keep checking back. 

Will Xiaomi's big sensor challenge the Galaxy S23 Ultra? The new Xiaomi 13 Pro features the same one inch camera sensor found on the Xiaomi 12S Ultra, the Sony IMX 989 sensor module. That phone was good enough that one of our writers called it the best camera phone he'd ever used. 

While Samsung's latest ultra-premium phone far outclasses the Xiaomi 13 Pro in megapixel count, the size of the sensor matters more than the number of pixels. Samsung's sensor measures around 3/4 of an inch diagonally. The Sony sensor on Xiaomi's new phone is one inch, the same size as many professional DSLR cameras. 

Of course, photography is complicated and the sensor is only one part of the equation. Both phones also benefit from the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform, which includes Qualcomm's image signal processor. 

We'll need to spend quality time with Xiaomi's new 13 Pro before we declare it our favorite camera, but it certainly packs the right specs to take on the champion, and we're please to see it more widely available than Xiaomi's previous camera great. 

Xiaomi's new phones aren't the first big Mobile World Congress launch we've seen. I got a chance to preview satellite messaging on a Motorola Defy prototype earlier this year, and now Motorola and Bullitt Group have announced the Motorola Defy 2, as well as the Motorola Defy Satellite Link. 

Both the rugged, water proof Defy 2 as well as the satellite link can send messages via geostationary satellite. Unlike the iPhone 14 family of devices, which can use satellites for emergency messaging and SOS, the Moto Defy 2 and the satellite link are good to go for boring, mundane messaging that doesn't require a helicopter rescue. 

The Defy Satellite Link is launching in the US and UK for $99 / £99, while the Motorola Defy 2 will sell for $599 / £549. The satellite messaging will be free for a period, then cost $4.99/€4.99 for 30 messages per month via satellite.  

One phone we're expecting to see soon is the OnePlus 11 Concept phone. OnePlus told us last month that it would have a Concept device here at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and it has since posted a preview on its web site showing what seems to be the back of the phone. 

The image looks like the sort of liquid cooling we'd expect on a gaming PC, so we think OnePlus might have its sites on some serious gaming cred with the new concept device. With its Concept title, it's not clear whether this will be a OnePlus phone you can actually buy, or just a technology demonstration. We're hoping to get hands-on with the new phone soon. 

OnePlus also teased a OnePlus Pad tablet, and we're expecting to see the company's first iPad competitor here at the MWC show. We'll have hands-on details and a full look as soon as we get to spend time with the new devices. 

We've spent a bit of quality time with Xiaomi's new camera phone in our Xiaomi 13 Pro review, but Xiaomi's entry-level model is no slouch, either. While only the Pro model gets the big one inch camera sensor, both phones benefit from Leica tuning.

We'll have to spend more quality time shooting photos with each phone to determine just how much they benefit from the preeminent  camera maker, but we've seen mixed results with these partnerships in the past. 

The recent OnePlus 11 features a partnership with Hasselblad, but that deal seems to cover color tuning and processing. With Leica, it seems that Xiaomi has also gotten help designing the lenses and components of the camera, which could make a difference. 

We knew that Bullitt Group would have a new Motorola Defy with satellite capabilities, but we were surprised to see the Motorola Defy Satellite Link. This accessory connects to your phone via Bluetooth and allows you to send text messages to anyone, using a satellite connection. 

It relies on a messaging app from Bullitt Group to decide if you need to use the satellite or not. When you send a message to someone who doesn't have the app installed, the first message they get will be a link telling them to go download. Then they can communicate with you, no matter where you are. 

I wish there didn't need to be an app middleman, but nonetheless this is the first real consumer-friendly satellite messaging device that we've seen. It's available on the upcoming Motorola Defy 2 smartphone, as well as the intriguing new Satellite Link device. 

You may ask why Samsung, the biggest phone maker in the world, isn't at Mobile World Congress, the biggest mobile trade show. Of course they are, we just don't expect to see any new products this week. Samsung used to launch Galaxy S phones at MWC, then moved to its own event to ensure it could keep all of the headlines for itself. 

The mega-brand still keeps a presence in Barcelona, as the show is about mobile network technology, mobile components, as well as finished phone products, and Samsung is involved in every part of the mobile industry, from start to finish. We'll be catching up with Samsung this week to make sure we don't miss any surprise announcements from the brand. 

As for the other big name in phones, Apple has never bothered with major trade shows outside of its own events. The original iPhone was actually announced around CES, but not in Las Vegas at the official CES trade show. It was at an event in California. We don't expect any Apple news this week, unless there is some rumor or leak to keep attention fresh. 

Good morning, mobile fans! Axel here, phones writer at TechRadar. I'm on the ground at MWC Barcelona, ready to bring you the latest and greatest announcements to emerge from this year's mobile trade show.

We're kicking our Monday off with a keynote session from Honor, where we're expecting to hear more about the burgeoning company's next flagship, the Honor Magic 5 Pro, as well as its second-ever foldable device, the Honor Magic Vs (which you can read more about in our hands-on Honor Magic Vs review). 

Honor's keynote event is scheduled to begin at 1:30pm our time (7:30am ET / 4:30am PT / 2:30pm GMT, which is 1:30am on Tuesday in Australia). You can follow along here, or tune in for yourself via the link on Honor's website (or both!). 

And away we go!

Honor CEO George Zhao kicks off by announcing the brand's shift away from technology-centric thinking to human-centric thinking: in other words, Honor wants to make products that actually help people, rather than develop technology for the sake of developing technology. Let's hope this new philosophy translates into the Honor Magic 5 Pro and Honor Magic Vs...  

Here's our first official look at the Honor Magic 5 Pro and its triple-camera setup. Zhao says the phone's rear snappers have been designed with the first image of a black hole in mind (three black spots etc.), and arranged in an equilateral triangle pattern that simplifies the brand's famous 'Eye of Muse' shape.

The Honor Magic 5 Pro will be available in five distinct colors: Glacier Blue, Meadow Green, Coral Purple, Hot Orange, Classic Black (Hot Orange gets the biggest cheer).

Okay, this is interesting. 

In keeping with the brand's new human-centric design philosophy, the Honor Magic 5 Pro's 2160Hz (!) display is certified circadian-friendly, which essentially means it's not too taxing on the eyes. By mimicking the dynamic dimming of natural light, the Honor Magic 5 Pro reduces eye strain by 18% (compared to other premium smartphones), giving you 30 minutes more sleep, supposedly.

It's worth noting that Zhao is making *lots* of comparisons to the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra here. The Honor Magic 5 Pro boasts better low-light photography, dynamic range, color accuracy, and picture detail than Samsung's newest flagship, he says. 

On cameras, the Honor Magic 5 Pro packs a 50MP wide lens, a 50MP telephoto lens, a 50MP ultra wide lens, and a 12MP ultra wide lens on the front. The key differences, though, come from the Magic 5 Pro's various special modes. One of them is AI motion-sensing capture, which allows you to snap impressive stills from motion-heavy movements like dancing, jumping or the shuffling of a deck of cards.

Some more impressive specs for you. The Honor Magic 5 Pro gets a Snapdraon 8 Gen 2 chipset, IP68 water and dust resistance, a 6.81-inch LTPO Quad-Curved Floating Display, and a 5100mAh5 battery that supposedly yields over 12 hours of battery life with heavy usage (for comparison, that's more than the S23 Ultra and iPhone 14 Pro Max can manage). 

Here are the Honor Magic 5 Pro's key specs in full. 

As expected, there's a standard Honor Magic 5 on the way, too. With this phone, you're still getting a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, a triple-rear camera setup (with a 54MP main lens and AI motion-sensing), a 2160Hz Super HDR display and a 5100mAh battery with 66W fast charging. 

Before Honor wraps up, here's a note on the brand's second-ever foldable, the Honor Magic Vs.

We've already spent a bit of time with this device (head over to our hands-on Honor Magic Vs review for our first impressions), but this is the first time we're hearing about the foldable phone's European price: €1599. Yikes.

Honor has shared base European pricing for the Honor Magic 5 and Honor Magic 5 Pro, too (€899 and €1199, respectively) – mercifully, that's a little more respectable. 

As Honor's keynote comes to an end, let's turn our attention to OnePlus for a moment. 

Yesterday, the mobile manufacturer properly unveiled the OnePlus Pad, having debuted the device alongside the global launch of the OnePlus 11 earlier in February. Head over to our hands-on OnePlus Pad review for our first impressions of OnePlus' debut slate, which we described as a "bold-looking tablet with premium specs."

We also got hands-on with the OnePlus 11 Concept, a prototype version of the OnePlus 11 that’s intended to demonstrate how gaming PC-style liquid cooling technology can be applied to future OnePlus smartphones – which is certainly a neat idea, albeit one in the early stages of development. 

That said, the Concept did operate as an actual phone in our testing session. The models we were able to handle at MWC looked and felt like actual devices we might purchase, complete with scrollable screens and working operating systems, which is an achievement in itself on OnePlus’ part.

Yesterday we talked about satellite messaging with Motorola's surprising new Motorola Defy Satellite Link. We've finally gotten word from Qualcomm about its  satellite connectivity, with plenty of partners involved. 

Qualcomm says that it will use Iridium's satellite constellation, and phone makers including Honor, Motorola, Nothing, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi will use Qualcomm satellite networking in upcoming phones. 

That accounts for every major Qualcomm chipset buyer except for Samsung, which recently announced its own non-terrestrial network plans. Google has kept quiet on satellite plans, and it uses a chipset of its own design, not a Snapdragon. 

Apple has a satellite messaging service for SOS emergencies, but Qualcomm's plan will be more consumer friendly, offering messaging and eventually data services to everyone, regardless of any imminent level of danger. 

Google is keeping things fresh at MWC, and it has announced a bunch of useful updates coming to Android phones. We've got improvements to Google Keep widgets, as well as new features coming to Gboard that will let you mix more emojis in the Emoji Kitchen. 

We use Google Meet a lot for video meetings, so we're also please to hear that Google Meet will offer noise cancellation to more Android devices. No more excuses about the neighbor mowing the lawn right next to your office window. 

There will also be enhancements to Google Chrome across Android devices that improve its zoom functionality. We've got all the details about the features coming in the next Android 13 update. 

Besides the wild new OnePlus 11 Concept phone, OnePlus also showed off its upcoming tablet, the OnePlus Pad. Using the same green hue and glossy design aesthetic as the OnePlus 11, the OnePlus Pad is a unique first step into the tablet market for the affordable-premium brand. 

Of course, the biggest question will be the price, but the OnePlus Pad seems to follow OnePlus patterns and could come in at a bargain. The display is big and sharp, packing even more pixels per inch than the best iPads. The processor is a bit last-year, a MediaTek Dimensity 9000, so it won't top even the best OnePlus phones. It should still perform admirably. 

We don't know when the tablet will finally be available or how much it will cost, but we'll keep hounding our OnePlus friends for more details and keep you updated with all the latest news. 

The phone market is very competitive, and phone makers are always looking for unique features that other manufacturers haven't dreamt up. This year's Honor Magic 5 Pro uses a display with a uniquely fast dimming capability, though the way the feature is described can be a bit confusing. 

Honor says the Magic 5 Pro has a 2160Hz PWM dimming cycle rate. That's not the same as the display's refresh rate, not by a long shot. PWM dimming refers to the technology for controlling the brightness levels and dimming an LED light. Honor is using increased dimming rates to create a more natural transition between light and dark screens. 

The company claims this could help with sleep. In fact, it claims users could get up to a half hour more sleep per night. That would be a significant improvement, and we hope it is backed up by science. We will have a deeper look at the new Magic 5 Pro and the foldable Honor Magic Vs coming soon. 

Forget about folding screens, the next big thing will be screens that roll. Or perhaps unroll, depending on how you want to use it. We got a chance to check out a new 'rollable technology' concept laptop from Lenovo, and it is seriously wild. 

The Lenovo laptop starts with a rather tall display, but then it gets taller and taller, reaching a height that equals double the screen space you'd find on a normal 16:9 laptop display. 

Our Computing Editor, Christian Guyton, was skeptical, but you definitely need to see the Lenovo rollable concept to believe what the screen is capable of doing. Perhaps this will evolve into the future of mobile devices. 

So far, MWC 2023 in Barcelona is shaping up to be a camera shootout between some of the biggest manufacturers in China, Xiaomi and Honor. The Xiaomi 13 Pro features a huge, one inch camera sensor. The Honor Magic 5 Pro features a large sensor with a wide f/1.6 aperture, along with a number of camera enhancements. 

Of course, both companies are taking aim squarely at Samsung, which launched its Galaxy S23 Ultra earlier this month, and has put that flagship on shelves already. We've got our full Galaxy S23 Ultra review live, and we're looking forward to spending time with the new phones for comparison. 

Will more megapixels win? Or the bigger sensor on the Xiaomi 13 Pro? Or the wide aperture lens on the Honor Magic 5 Pro? Whichever phone comes out on top, it's an exciting time to be shooting mobile photography. 

One of the other themes of MWC so far has been global availability. Some phones that have only been available in limited markets, especially Chinese exclusives, are now being launched across the globe. 

The Xiaomi 13 Pro and Xiaomi 13, as well as the Xiaomi 13 Lite, were all launched in China last year. We weren't sure if they would ever reach our hands, but Xiaomi plans on much wider distribution, including the UK. Sadly, US readers (including me, your faithful US Mobiles Editor), won't be able to get these phones easily. 

The Honor Magic Vs is a thin foldable that is also getting a global launch, after a much-lauded introduction in Honor's home market of China. Once again, we're not expecting US availability, but Honor says this phone will also be available in the UK, read to take on Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 5 when it presumably arrives later this year. 

The budget-friendly brand TCL has announced a number of new products for the MWC 2023 crowd, starting with the aggressively consonant-heavy TCL NXTPAPER 11. The 11-inch tablet has a 2K screen resolution and uses TCL's own display technology. The company says the new tablet is much brighter than previous versions. 

The new TCL tablet can handle the company's own T-pen stylus (touché Samsung S Pen), and it has a special coating to make it feel like a pen on paper. This seems to be a very important feature to companies that make stylus devices; we see it repeated every time a new device is launched. 

The new tablet will be making a global debut, and TCL gives us US pricing at $249, which makes it a fairly cheap device for such a large display. There is an even cheaper Tab 11 without TCL's NXTPAPER 2.0 technology, so presumably a display that is less sharp and bright, for only $179, with a connected version available as well. 

Ever think, "I wish I could add liquid cooling to my phone." No? It doesn't matter, OnePlus and Oppo bot have a solution. Although the OnePlus 11 Concept that we saw yesterday shows what a phone with integrated liquid cooling might look like, both brands also had variations on an external liquid cooling solution, that's actually set to go on sale later this year.

While we only saw Oppo's solution during a presentation from the company, we went hands-on with the OnePlus 45W Liquid Cooler, which uses TEC (a semiconductor-based Thermo Electric Cooler) technology, to pump chilled water through a specialized phone grip cooling the back of your phone.

It might seem a little extreme, but with the promise of a temperature reduction of up to 20°C / 36°F, the company's solution could add hours to high-intensity gaming sessions, or other intensive tasks.

We don't yet know a price or release date for the cooler but, as mentioned earlier, it's a lot more tangible compared to the OnePlus 11 Concept and you should actually be able to buy one before the year is out.

We saw a fair few foldables on the show floor in Barcelona but they remain big-ticket items, at the top of each manufacturer's range. During our time on Oppo's booth, we spoke to President for Overseas Sales and Service, Billy Zhang on the likelihood of creating a more affordable foldable experience and whether we'd likely see one anytime soon.

"When we talk about the flip phone, if we remove the cover screen, that definitely is not a good experience, because the cover screen is important to bring you more convenience to check quick notifications and stuff like that. Or if you cut corners in the SoC, that will have an impact as well," Zhang explained.

"In about six month's time or maybe a longer time, there might be these kind of flip phones available in the market, but they may cut corners – like using plastic in their frames or removing the cover screen – but definitely, that's not a good experience for us; that's not something we [Oppo] want to do. If competitors want to do it, just let them do it. User experience is our first consideration."

So, in a nutshell, those are the kinds of compromises to expect if you're holding out hope for a more budget-friendly folding phone in the near future, and it's clear that we'll be unlikely to get such an offering from Oppo anytime soon.

Not interested in foldables? No matter, Motorola had a rollable concept to show off on the show floor, paying homage to the once-popular Motorola Rizr form factor.

The twist here is that the company is using the same flexible OLED display technology you'd find on the best foldables out there – including the Motorola Razr 2022 – to create a device with a display that expands vertically (when held in portrait) from a 5-inch 15:9 device, to a 6.5-inch 22:9 device at the double-press of a button on the side.

It's not just a one-trick pony, however. The display will automatically expand if you turn the phone sideways to watch a video or go to compose a message or email and want to bring up the keyboard. When closed down, the excess display is still useful too, wrapping around to the back of the phone, making notifications glanceable or as a rear-facing viewfinder when using the main camera.

As you'll not at the start of this post, for now this is just a concept device, and it's clear from our hands-on time with it that the exposed display would be too fragile and the expanding mechanism be too noisy and complicated to slot inside a market-ready phone, but it's still exciting to see where the company's head is at, with regards to new form-factors and what the future of the smartphone lineup might look like.

Leaks around the iPhone 15 are arriving thick and fast at the moment, with the latest imagery reveal focusing on the most expensive iPhone 15 Pro Max model – and there are a few changes from the current model to talk about.

These renderings are courtesy of well-known tipster Ice Universe, and we get a look at the iPhone 15 Pro Max from just about every angle possible. The images are apparently based on schematic information that Apple has given to its supply chain partners.

Intriguingly, the same leak refers to the "iPhone 15 Pro Max (or iPhone 15 Ultra)" – we had previously thought that the iPhone 15 Ultra might be a completely separate model, but the implication here is that it will be rebranded Pro Max.

Camera bumps

There's not a huge amount of change in the design from the iPhone 14 Pro Max, though the chassis is more curved than it has been before. The height and the width are said to be slightly less on the 2023 model, while the thickness has gone up a little. We're talking fractions of millimeters here though.

Those fractions apply to the rear camera bump as well, it would seem, with the bump on the iPhone 15 Pro Max set to be a touch shallower than on its predecessor. It seems the camera bump will be slightly different on all the iPhones this time around.

You can see these images are showing the expected switch from Lightning to USB-C for the data and charging port, and there are gaps for the power and volume buttons – perhaps because Apple is using solid-state haptic buttons this year.

Analysis: a leaky time for Apple

In the last few days alone we've seen plenty of information about the upcoming iPhone 15 range, something that we imagine Apple boss Tim Cook isn't all that happy about. We've seen unofficial renders for both the iPhone 15 Pro and the iPhone 15 Plus, for example.

On top of that, we've seen real life pictures of the new USB-C port, and rumors of a brand new dark red color that could be available as an iPhone 15 Pro special edition. And those are just the leaks from the last week or so.

That has to be a worry for a company that plays its cards as close to its chest as Apple does, and it feels as though we're seeing more leaks than normal this time around. These phones aren't expected to get a full unveiling for another seven months.

It shows how tricky it is to keep anything under wraps these days, especially when a host of partners and suppliers are involved too – leaks can come from any one of them, and it's difficult for Apple to keep control over every link in the iPhone chain.

• The Galaxy S23 isn't the coolest iPhone 15 competitor we could see this year

Mobile World Congress (MWC) is back, promising a slew of big launches across the phones space including new handsets, new technologies and more.  

It's the biggest mobile tech show of the year, when major players from all across the industry get together to show off products, make deals, and check out some of the innovations that will be making their way to consumer devices over the next 12 months.

In recent years, we've seen fewer smartphone launches at MWC – these now tend to be at separate events, including Samsung Unpacked – but there will still be a lot of news and announcements coming out of the event across several days.

We'll be on the ground at MWC as always, and will be bringing you all the big news as it happens. Ahead of the official start of the event, here are the most exciting launches to look out for.

When is MWC 2023?

MWC 2023 runs from Monday, February 27 to Thursday, March 2 – though expect most of the big announcements to happen towards the start of the week, rather than the end. It takes place in Barcelona, Spain, with a wide range of exhibitors in attendance, and plenty of conferences and meetings happening across the course of the event.

What to expect at MWC 2023

Just about everyone who's anyone in mobile tech is going to be in attendance at MWC 2023: even if companies aren't launching new products, they'll certainly be showing off existing ones (like the Oppo Find N2 Flip, for instance).

We've already had a few hints and rumors about what to expect at this year's Mobile World Congress, and these are some of the areas where we're anticipating that there will be plenty of news and new gadgets to pore over.

Phones, foldables, and rollables

As we've already mentioned, we don't get many phone unveilings at MWC these days – though there were a smattering of launches at MWC 2022. Launches we do know about are the OnePlus 11 Concept, an international expansion for Honor's folding Magic Vs phone (above), and global availability for the Xiaomi 13 (plus maybe one or two other Xiaomi surprises).

We'll also sure to get demos of the latest folding and rolling screen technology ready to be deployed in the phones of the future. Expect to see various screens and prototypes shown off at MWC 2023, with improvements in terms of resolution, clarity, and durability – particularly from the Chinese manufacturers such as Xiaomi, Oppo, and Honor.

It continues to get easier and cheaper to make folding phone screens, which means more models are on the way, and phone makers can get more creative when it comes to designs and form factors. As for screens that extend by rolling, we know that multiple manufacturers including Samsung are interested in this sort of tech.

AI, apps, and satellite tech

It's difficult to get away from artificial intelligence at the moment – ChatGPT, anyone? – and this is undoubtedly going to spill over into MWC 2023. Expect to see plenty of AI demos running on smartphones, as we've already seen from Qualcomm's Stable Diffusion test in the Galaxy S23, and news about how much better handsets are going to get in this regard in the not-too-distant future.

Apple steers clear of Mobile World Congress now – though that wasn't always the case – but Google usually makes an appearance to promote Android and support its partners. We won't get any major Android news, but there might be one or two software updates or new apps mentioned; plenty of app makers and developers are going to be in attendance at MWC 2023.

Speaking of Apple, the satellite tech that it has added to the iPhone 14 will most probably see a response from the mobile companies who are at MWC this year. Satellite connectivity and satellite messaging are likely to be on the agenda, giving us an idea of how we might be communicating without cell signal or Wi-Fi on the phones of the future.

6G and networking

There's a lot that goes on at Mobile World Congress that isn't terribly exciting to humble consumers – supply chain deals, infrastructure upgrades and so on – but what this means at our end is hopefully cheaper tech and faster speeds. We haven't heard much about 6G just yet, but that might be about to change at MWC 2023.

You might be thinking that the 5G speeds that you're getting on your phone – if you're getting them at all – aren't good enough yet for us to even think about 6G right now, but this is part of what MWC 2023 is about: previewing future tech. We wouldn't be surprised if we hear news of some 6G testing and theoretical upload and download rates.

Don't panic, 5G fans, because there'll be plenty in the way of news and updates about the existing technology too, whether that's in terms of expanding coverage, better connection speeds for phones, or cheaper internal components that can maintain a high-speed link without using up quite so much battery life.

VR and the metaverse

Virtual reality headsets count as mobile tech, and you'll notice that MWC tech roundups are often accompanied by shots of people wearing weird and wonderful boxes on their heads. Just about all of the big names in VR and AR are going to be at MWC, even though there might not be many major new product unveilings.

Mobile World Congress is often a time for smaller tech companies to shine, and that could well be the case when it comes to realities virtual, augmented, and mixed. Look out for innovative new gadgets from manufacturers that aren't so well known, as well as improvements in the underlying hardware technologies.

There are plenty of metaverse-related talks and discussions happening at MWC 2023 – so even if consumers aren't completely sold on the idea at the moment, those who work in the mobile industry are still keen to push it. As always, we'll pick out the news that's actually newsworthy to share with you.