Major new smartphones set to be unveiled at Mobile World Congress

Updated

The first major smartphones of 2016 are set to be announced today as the Mobile World Congress (MWC) begins in Barcelona.

LG, Huawei and Samsung all hold press events ahead of the doors of the technology show opening to the public on Monday, with new flagship devices likely to be announced by all three firms.

LG is preparing to unveil the G5, its flagship smartphone. The Korean firm has already been mentioning the device on social media, confirming it will come with an "always-on" screen and revealing a smart case for it.

More details will be announced at its press conference on Sunday afternoon.

Fellow Korean manufacturer Samsung is expected to announce the next generation of its Galaxy S handset - expected to be the S7 - which should follow the all-metal design Samsung introduced in the S6 last year.

The MWC has become a key smartphone event in the technology calendar, with hundreds of accessories shown off for the first time alongside the new devices, as well as future technologies being broadly discussed.

This year is expected to see discussion on 5G internet - the next generation of wireless data for phones which will bring faster internet speeds to mobile devices - which could arrive by 2017.

Around 90,000 people are expected at the four-day technology show, which runs until Thursday.

Chinese firm Huawei is also due to announce a series of new products, with reports suggesting it could unveil a new laptop and smartwatch as well as a successor to their P8 smartphone.

Though it is not holding a press conference, Taiwanese technology giant HTC is also due to make an announcement.

The firm's first virtual reality headset, the HTC Vive, is due to go on sale in April and more details could also be shared on the upcoming launch.

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