The TechCrunch team is in Barcelona this week to bring you all the action happening in Mobile Phone World Congress 2024. You already know what we're expecting, so sit back, relax, and stay tuned all week as we bring you the MWC products, announcements, and startup news you need to know.
So far, we've seen some big announcements from companies, including new Android features from Google, Lenovo's new rollable laptop and phone concept, and Xiaomi's robotic dog. As MWC continues, here's how you can follow our team's coverage.
Tuesday February 27
Move wireless television
Move MiniTV
Mike Butcher sat down with Displace founder and CEO Balaji Krishna, who talked about the company's 55-inch Display Flex product. It's a $3,000 “wireless” 4K OLED TV that sticks to walls without a traditional stand. It was launched in January at CES. Krishna says more versions of the screen and new features are coming. One we can talk about now is a “Display Mini” which will be a smaller 27-inch television designed for a kitchen or bathroom space. Krishna also hinted at a future feature based on an “ai-powered shopping engine” that will allow consumers to purchase products from ads and a contactless payment reader.
Motorola's rollable phone concept
Image credits:
What is the maximum size of a device you will wear on your wrist? If your preferred answer is “bigger is better,” Lenovo has something for you. The company has designed what it calls a “rollable phone concept” for Motorola that folds around your wrist. The key word is “concept,” because there is no evidence that it can be turned into a product. Anyway, it's fun to watch.
Monday February 26
Doublepoint's updated WowMouse touch gesture
DoublePoint WowMouse App. Image credits: double point
Android smartwatch users can now have their own version of Doublepoint's WowMouse touch and gesture control app. Pinch!
Microsoft ai Access Principles
Image credits: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto / Getty Images
Brad Smith, president and vice president of Microsoft, today announced a framework called “ai Access Principles,” which is an 11-point plan that Smith said will “govern how we operate our ai data center infrastructure and other assets.” of ai around the world. world.” Although the implication here is that Microsoft is open to dialogue and conversation with stakeholders, ironically, Smith broke the news in a keynote speech, with no room for follow-up questions.
Xiaomi's first electric car
Image credits: Brian Heater
Xiaomi EV's first product, the highly anticipated Xiaomi SU7, is short on details. What we do know is that it is a “full-size, high-performance green technology sedan” that has plans to arrive in China sometime next year. In addition to design, Xiaomi has developed the five main technologies of electric vehicles: E-Motor, CTB integrated battery, Xiaomi Die Casting, Xiaomi Pilot autonomous driving and Smart Cabin. And, as mentioned above, it will have the “HyperOS” operating system.
Samsung's first smart ring
Image credits: Brian Heater
Diamonds may be a girl's best friend, but if you're a girl who can't sleep, Samsung's new Galaxy Ring may become your new favorite. Some of the features include built-in sensors to measure heart rate, movement, and breathing to create a cross-section of the user's health and sleep patterns. Questions about pricing and battery life remain unanswered for now.
Extended battery life for OnePlus
Image credits: OnePlus
OnePlus' upcoming Watch 2 promises a staggering 100 hours “in full smart mode.” This statement comes after the company spent three years on its battery technology. Brian Heater spoke to Tuomas Lampén, head of strategy at OnePlus Europe, about why it took the company so long and how it was able to squeeze 100 hours out of the new watch.
Last week, Brian reported that “the battery is precisely the kind of thing OnePlus needs to lean on,” given that its first-generation product had only about 25 hours of battery life. And that was with the GPS turned off.
Xiaomi's CyberDog
Image credits: Brian Heater
After years of reporting on Xiaomi's CyberDog, Brian Heater finally got to see the robotic dog up close at MWC. He could see the little dog crawling and dancing a little, which he wrote reminded him of “a scaled-down version of the familiar Boston Dynamics robot.” Since Brian's story in 2021, Xiaomi has made some changes to his dog, including a more realistic version of a head to replace the previous, flatter one. CyberDog 2 can currently be purchased online for $3,000, almost double the $1,600 price of its predecessor.
The Lenovo Laptop Concept
Image credits: Brian Heater
If you've always wanted to look at the back of your desk while you work, Lenovo's new transparent laptop will certainly bring you that joy. That is, if it ever makes it to production. It looks like a standard laptop with a few exceptions: the screen has a transparent panel and both it and the keyboard part remind us of an augmented reality experience, meaning that the graphics are superimposed on whatever is behind it . For now, Lenovo is enjoying showing off its creativity.
Google brings ai to new features
Today, Google rolled out ai to more of its services, including a new set of features for phones, cars, and wearables. These use Gemini to create messages, ai-generated image captions, summarize texts via ai for Android Auto, along with access to passes on Wear OS. Additionally, Google Messages will get a feature that lets you access Gemini in the app. The feature is currently in beta and only supports English. The mobile giant is also launching some accessibility-related features. One is the Lookout app, which helps the visually impaired with things like food and document labels and will now generate ai-powered captions for images that have missing or inaccurate captions or alt text.
Also at MWC, DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis spoke on a panel with Wired's Steven Levy to discuss Google's ability to “reboot” the ability of its multimodal generative ai tool, Gemini, to render people . The ability to respond to human imaging requests should be available again in the “coming weeks,” he said. Natasha Lomas reports that “Google suspended the Gemini capability last week after users pointed out that the tool was producing historically incongruous images, such as depicting America's Founding Fathers as a diverse group of people, rather than just men. whites.”
A table lamp to improve your mood
Image credits: Brian Heater
Seaborough, a Dutch company, introduced small devices designed to replace large phototherapy lamps that mimic the sun's impact on serotonin production in the brain. One sits next to the computer and the other clips above are displayed, looking a lot like an external webcam. Both plug into the USB port for power. You'll have to wait a bit, as the lamp is still in proof-of-concept mode.
Infinix wants to put the back of its phone to work
Image credits: Brian Heater
Infinix E-Color Shift improves on the e-ink display work pioneered by YotaPhone years ago. What's new here is the addition of color and what Brian Heater describes as “a fun aesthetic addition to the part of your device that's almost always covered by a case, your hand, or face down on a table.”
