It’s the final day of Mobile World Congress, and we’ve been having some fun out on the show floor, and Barcelona itself — illustrating that although there’s plenty of work to be done, we’ve also taken some time to relax and enjoy what both MWC and the city have to offer.
Lots of companies used virtual reality for promotion at their booths at the show, including SK Telecom, but it was Samsung putting on the most spectacular display. Thousands queued over the course of the show for the chance to be flung around on these theme park-style VR rides, but we sought out a cool VR demo by ARWorks that combined an HTC Vive with an EEG, so you can control virtual objects with your mind. The gaming potential of such tech is really exciting.
Google took over an area outside the MWC show floor, filling the space with an Android garden of fun, with everything from ice sculptures to Android-themed iced drinks. The purpose of the space is to demonstrate Google’s most recent products, including Google Assistant, Duo, and Google Music; but we could also create our own Android avatars and Android Wear watch faces.
We took two of our favorite smartphones announced at MWC out into the city for a camera shootout. We pitted the Huawei P10 against the LG G6, trying out the various special modes and features that make these two phones so special, and we chose to visit the beautiful Plaça Espanya to do so. Interestingly, both have their own strengths as camera phones, and which one you prefer may depend on what you like to take pictures of.
That’s it for MWC 2017. It has been an exciting show, with some really interesting new smartphones announced, several of which highlight major trends we’re going to see a lot more of over the coming months. Stick around until the end of the video to see a glimpse of some amazing future tech (that may or may not be real).
Two new highly requested iCloud plugins just got added to ChatGPT, giving people who rely on Apple’s Mail and Calendar services a way to search emails, check appointments, and manage their schedules directly through the chatbot.
The integration is rolling out to all ChatGPT plans, including the free tier. You can access it on the web, desktop, and iOS.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.
Samsung’s scandal over its Game Optimizing Service, or GOS, has returned with a bill attached. South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission has tentatively fined the company 20.1 billion won, or about $15.1 million, over gaming claims made for the Galaxy S21, Galaxy S22, and Tab S8.
The regulator says Samsung promoted the devices as gaming powerhouses without disclosing that GOS placed preset CPU and GPU limits on certain demanding games. Samsung disputes that conclusion, calling GOS a legitimate way to manage heat.