Situated in Barcelona, the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 saw Chinese tech companies such as Lenovo and Tecno presenting their latest products from February 26 to 29.
Why it matters: The Mobile World Congress is one of the largest gatherings in the mobile technology sector, attracting industry leaders, professionals, and enthusiasts from around the world. Chinese tech companies often use the event as an opportunity to showcase their new innovations, products, and technologies.
Details: Below are some of the most compelling new products spotlighted at the four-day exhibition by Lenovo and Tecno, two of the main Chinese firms in attendance.
- Chinese PC giant Lenovo and American electronics manufacturer Motorola co-showcased a concept wrap phone with a flexible screen that users can bend to wear on their wrist. The prototype phone features AI scene recognition capability, which adjusts screen size, recommends applications based on different scenarios and phone bending, and supports automatic phone wallpaper changes according to the user’s outfits.
- Lenovo also introduced the ThinkBook Transparent Display Laptop Concept, the world’s first laptop with a 17.3-inch Micro-LED transparent display. The device features a borderless screen, transparent keyboard area, and a seemingly floating touchpad design. By utilizing AI technology, transparent screens can integrate physical objects with digital information, allowing devices to naturally blend into their surroundings. The display provides a transparency of up to 55% when its pixels are turned off and set to black. As the pixels light up, the transparency gradually decreases and the display appears as an opaque white surface with a peak brightness of 1,000 nits.
- Chinese phone brand Tecno, a subsidiary of Transsion, unveiled an AI-enhanced quadruped robot dog, the Dynamic 1. The dog is inspired by the German shepherd and is able to climb stairs, bow, and extend its paw for handshakes, similar to a real dog. With four microphones and AI algorithms in its head, the robot dog recognizes audio commands for user interaction akin to traditional pets. Tecno envisions its utility in entertainment, assistance, education, and training, declaring it the ideal companion of the future.
- The Tecno Dynamic 1 features an 8-core ARM CPU powering its AI system, HyperSense Fusion, which corrects its movements during operation. It also includes an Intel RealSense S430 depth camera and dual optical infrared sensors for obstacle recognition and fall recovery.
Context: MWC 2024 hosted around 2,400 exhibitors and 1,100 speakers, with nearly 300 Chinese companies in attendance, according to Chinese state media Xinhua News Agency.
- Themed around Future First, this year’s MWC focused on the integration of AI across devices and networks, advances in 5G and 6G technologies, and the improvement of connectivity. GSMA, the event organizer, anticipated about 95,000 attendees from various parts of the globe at the Barcelona venue this year.