MWC 2024: All the pieces introduced up to now, together with a ‘rollable’ Motorola idea telephone

The TechCrunch crew is in Barcelona this week to convey you all of the motion happening at Mobile World Congress 2024. You already know what we’re expecting, so sit again, chill out and keep tuned all through the week as we convey you the merchandise, bulletins and startup information from MWC that it’s good to know.

To this point, we’ve seen some huge bulletins from firms, together with new Android options from Google, Lenovo’s new laptop computer idea and rollable telephone idea and Xiaomi’s robotic canine. As MWC progresses, here’s how you can follow along with our team’s coverage.

Tuesday, February 27

Displace wi-fi tv

Displace MiniTV

Mike Butcher caught up with Displace founder and CEO Balaji Krishna, who mentioned the corporate’s 55-inch Show Flex product. It’s a a “wireless” $3,000 4K OLED TV  which sticks to partitions and not using a conventional mounting. It was launched in January at CES. Krishna says extra variations of the display, and new options, are coming. One we will discuss now about is a “Display Mini” that might be a smaller 27-inch TV and designed for a kitchen or lavatory house. Krishna additionally hinted at future function based mostly on an “AI-powered shopping engine” letting shoppers buy merchandise from advertisements, and a contactless cost reader.

Motorola’s rollable idea telephone

Picture Credit:

What’s the utmost measurement of a tool that you’ll put on in your wrist? If “bigger is better” is your go-to reply, Lenovo has one thing for you. The corporate has designed what it’s calling a “rollable concept phone” for Motorola that folds round your wrist. Key phrase being “concept,” as a result of there isn’t a proof this might change into a product. Regardless, it’s enjoyable to see.

Monday, February 26

Doublepoint’s up to date WowMouse gesture-touch

DoublePoint WowMouse app. Picture Credit: Doublepoint

Android smartwatch customers can now have their very own model of Doublepoint’s WowMouse gesture-touch management app. Pinch away!

Microsoft’s AI Entry Rules

Picture Credit: Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto / Getty Pictures

Brad Smith, the president and vice chair of Microsoft, introduced a framework in the present day referred to as “AI Access Principles,” which is an 11-point plan that Smith mentioned will “govern how we will operate our AI datacenter infrastructure and other important AI assets around the world.” Though the implication right here is that Microsoft is open to dialogue and dialog with stakeholders, mockingly, Smith delivered the information in a keynote speech, with no scope for follow-up questions.

Xiaomi’s first electrical automobile

Picture Credit: Brian Heater

Xiaomi EV’s first product — the extremely anticipated Xiaomi SU7 — is mild on particulars. We do know that it’s a “full-size high-performance eco-technology sedan” with plans to reach in China in some unspecified time in the future subsequent yr. Along with design, Xiaomi has developed the 5 core EV applied sciences: E-Motor, CTB Built-in Battery, Xiaomi Die Casting, Xiaomi Pilot Autonomous Driving, and Good Cabin. And, as mentioned before, it’ll have the “HyperOS” working system.

Samsung’s first good ring

Picture Credit: Brian Heater

Diamonds could also be a woman’s finest pal, however for those who’re a woman who can’t sleep, Samsung’s new Galaxy Ring could change into your new favourite. A few of the options embrace on-board sensors to measure coronary heart price, motion and respiratory to create a cross part of the wearer’s well being and sleep patterns. Questions round pricing and battery life stay unanswered for now.

Prolonged battery life for OnePlus

Picture Credit: OnePlus

OnePlus’ upcoming Watch 2 is promising a jaw-dropping 100 hours “in full Smart Mode.” This declare comes after the corporate spent three years on its battery know-how. Brian Heater spoke with Tuomas Lampén, OnePlus Europe’s head of technique, about why the company took that long and the way it was capable of squeeze 100 hours out of the brand new watch.

Final week, Brian reported that “battery is precisely the sort of thing OnePlus needs to lean into,” provided that its first-generation product had solely about 25 hours of battery life. And that was with the GPS turned off.

Xiaomi’s CyberDog

Picture Credit: Brian Heater

After years of reporting on Xiaomi’s CyberDog, Brian Heater was lastly capable of see the robotic canine up shut at MWC. He acquired to see the little canine’s dressage shuffle and do some dance, which he wrote reminded him “of a scaled down version of Boston Dynamics’ familiar robot.” Since Brian’s story in 2021, Xiaomi has made some modifications to its canine, together with a extra reasonable model of a head to interchange the earlier flatter one. CyberDog 2 can at present be bought on-line for $3,000 — that’s almost double the $1,600 value level of its predecessor.

Lenovo’s laptop computer idea

Picture Credit: Brian Heater

When you’ve all the time needed to look in the back of your desk whereas working, Lenovo’s new transparent laptop will definitely provide you with that pleasure. That’s, if it ever makes it to manufacturing. It seems like your customary laptop computer with a number of exceptions — the display has a clear pane, and it and the keyboard half remind us of an augmented actuality expertise, that means the graphics are overlaid on no matter is behind it. For now, Lenovo enjoys displaying off its creativity.

Google brings AI to new options

In the present day, Google rolled out AI into extra of its providers, together with a brand new set of options for telephones, vehicles and wearables. These are utilizing Gemini to craft messages, AI-generated captions for pictures, summarizing texts by way of AI for Android Auto, together with entry to passes on Put on OS. As well as, Google Messages will get a function that permits you to entry Gemini within the app. The function is at present in beta and solely helps English. The cellular large can be launching some accessibility-related options as nicely. One is the Lookout app, which helps visually impaired people with things like food labels and documents and will now generate AI-powered captions for pictures which have lacking or inaccurate captions or alt textual content.

Additionally at MWC, DeepMind founder Demis Hassabis spoke on a panel with Wired’s Steven Levy to speak about Google being able to “unpause” the power of its multimodal generative AI software, Gemini, to depict folks. The aptitude to reply to prompts for pictures of people ought to be again on-line within the “next few weeks,” he mentioned. Natasha Lomas reviews that “Google suspended the Gemini capability last week after users pointed out the tool was producing historically incongruous images, such as depicting the U.S. Founding Fathers as a diverse group of people, rather than only white men.”

A desktop lamp to enhance your temper

Picture Credit: Brian Heater

Seaborough, a Dutch firm, showcased small units designed to interchange giant light therapy lamps that mimic the solar’s affect on the manufacturing of serotonin within the mind. One sits subsequent to the pc and the opposite clips above show, wanting quite a bit like an exterior webcam. Each plug into the USB port for energy. You’ll have to attend a bit, although, because the lamp remains to be in proof-of-concept mode.

Infinix desires to place the again of your telephone to work

Picture Credit: Brian Heater

The Infinix E-Color Shift improves upon the e-ink display work began by YotaPhone years in the past. What’s new right here is the addition of colour and what Brian Heater describes as “a fun aesthetic addition to the part of your device that is nearly always covered by a case, your hand or otherwise facedown on a table.”