MWC 2016 day zero recap: HP Elite x3, LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7, and more

Mobile World Congress officially begins tomorrow; however, many companies have announced their big news today.

From the most powerful Windows phone in history to a modular Android flagship, Neowin has you covered. Here's a recap of what we're dubbing "day zero" of Mobile World Congress 2016.

HP Elite x3

Fans of Microsoft's mobile platform rejoiced today, as HP finally unveiled the long rumored HP Elite x3.

To be clear, the HP Elite x3 is certainly the most powerful Windows phone that the general public can see, powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 chipset. The new flagship device also packs a 5.96" 1440p AMOLED display, 4 GB RAM, and 64 GB internal storage with microSD expansion.

The camera is 8 MP in the front and 16 MP in the rear. It supports Windows Hello, but unlike Microsoft's flagship Lumia 950 series, it supports both an iris scanner and a fingerprint reader.

It's even water and dust resistant and it's all powered by a massive 4150 mAh battery. If it's not obvious, the USB C port supports Continuum.

Looking at HP's entry into the Windows 10 Mobile market, it's hard to imagine a feature that HP didn't pack into the device. If you're a Windows phone fan, you're probably drooling right now. It's what fans wanted the Lumia 950 to be. It's the Surface Phone that they've been dreaming of.

There's just one problem. The HP Elite x3 is designed for the enterprise. It's not going to be sold at your local Best Buy or your local carrier.

At the current time, rumors are that Microsoft will sell the device in their Microsoft Stores; however, HP is focusing on selling this phone in volume to businesses. Of course, if HP sees that there's demand for a more consumer friendly version of the device, there's no reason that they can't make it happen.

Desk Dock and Mobile Extender

HP isn't just delivering a handset in the Elite x3. They've created an ecosystem of accessories as well.

In some ways, the Desk Dock is similar to the Microsoft Display Dock. It serves as a hub, serving up two USB A ports, an Ethernet port, a USB C port, and a DisplayPort. Oddly enough, there is no HDMI port.

The Mobile Extender serves as a laptop for Continuum. It uses a 12.5" full HD display, has speakers, a trackpad, and a keyboard. It includes three USB C ports, a stereo headphone jack, and a Micro HDMI out port.

The Mobile Extender is similar to an IndieGogo campaign that we've seen recently, the NexDock.

Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge

Samsung had their semi-yearly Galaxy Unpacked event today, announcing the Galaxy S7, S7 Edge, and the Gear 360, a 360 degree camera.

Samsung changed up their models a bit this year. Last year, they introduced a Galaxy S6 and a Galaxy S6 Edge at the Spring Galaxy Unpacked, which were both the same size. The Summer Galaxy Unpacked event brought a Galaxy S6 Edge+, a larger model of the S6 Edge.

With the Galaxy S7, they've made the Edge model into the larger model, giving the Galaxy S7 a 5.1" display and the Edge model a 5.5" display. Both use Samsung's trademark 1440p Super AMOLED displays.

The rear camera is 12 MP, a lower resolution than last year's 16 MP Galaxy S6 or Note 5 cameras. Samsung makes up for this with larger pixels, which should produce low light images with less noise. The rear camera also has an f/1.7 aperture, which is unheard of in a smart phone camera.

The firm started off the event by pointing out that they listen to their customers. They proved this by using "powerful innovation" to reintroduce the microSD slot, which was notably missing from last year's flagships.

Samsung plans to ship its duo of new flagships in mid-March.

LG G5

Samsung and HP weren't the only ones to announce powerful new handsets today. LG launched the G5 as well.

The G5 is powered by Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 820 chipset, something that LG fans are likely to rejoice in. While LG has been using a 1440p display since the G3, it's likely that the Adreno 530 GPU that comes with the Snapdragon 820 will finally be able to power a display with such a resolution without any problems.

Of course, the big news around the LG G5 is the "Magic Slot", which allows the handset to be modular. Our own Andy Weir got to try out some of these modules. You can check that out in our hands on with the LG G5.

LG also announced a list of "Friends" as part of the LG Playground ecosystem.

• LG 360 VR

• LG 360 CAM

• LG Rolling Bot

• LG Tone PlatinumTM

• H3 by B&O PLAY

• LG Smart Controller

• LG Friends Manager

The LG G5 also boasts a metal body, something that's new to LG's flagship line. Here are the full specs:

LG plans to have the G5 in stores by early April.

HTC

HTC announced quite a bit today. The firm finally announced pricing for their Vive VR headset, which will be $799. Preorders begin on February 29 and the devices will ship in April.

The firm also announced four new smart phones, ranging from the low end to the mid tier. These include the Desire 530, 630, 825, and One X9.

The HTC One X9 was announced for China back in December but today, HTC announced that it will be coming to North Asia and EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa) markets starting at the end of February.

The HTC Desire 530, 630, and 825 are said to be inspired by urban street wear and promise to bridge the gap between fashion and consumer electronics. The Desire 530 sits on the low end with a Snapdragon 210 chipset while the 630 and 825 sit on the lower mid tier with a Snapdragon 400.

HTC packed them all with 5 MP front cameras, saying that in our lifetimes, we will take 25,000 selfies, so imaging quality needs to hit the mark. The two higher end models use HTC's BoomSound and will be bundled with Hi-Res Audio headsets.

The HTC Desire 530, 630, and 825 will begin rolling out to retailers and HTC.com beginning in March.

Huawei MateBook

Huawei announced the MateBook today, a 2-in-1 Windows 10 PC. The MateBook is a tablet that uses Intel's sixth generation Core m-series chipsets, allowing for a fanless design.

The device comes in at just 640 grams. To put that in perspective, that's 12 grams lighter than a fourth generation Wi-Fi only iPad. Since the Core m-series chipsets are so efficient, Huawei is promising nine hours of battery life for work or Internet browsing and 29 hours of music playback.

The firm is also selling a keyboard case, a pen, and a dock as separate accessories for the device. The MateBook will come in configurations with Core m3, m5, and m7.

Lenovo

Lenovo had their fair share of announcements today as well. They announced their new TAB3 line of tablets, coming in 7, 8, and 10 inch sizes. They also announced a pair of Android smart phones, the VIBE K5 and the VIBE K5 Plus. Of course, they also announced some laptops as well.

Here are the specs for the new TAB3 tablets:

The TAB3 devices will go on sale this June with the following pricing: $129 for the TAB3 7, $99 and $149 for the Wi-Fi only and LTE models of the TAB3 8, respectively, and $149, $249, and $299 for the Wi-Fi only, 2 GB RAM with LTE, and 3 GB RAM with LTE models, respectively.

The new Lenovo handsets look interesting as well. With all metal bodies, the Vibe K5 and K5 Plus are on the lower mid tier to mid tier.

Here are the specs for the Lenovo VIBE K5 and K5 Plus:

The Lenovo VIBE K5 and K5 Plus will be available for $129 and $149, respectively. They will be available in March in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Middle-East and Africa.

Finally, Lenovo introduced a number of laptops and hybrids today, including the ideapad MIIX 310, YOGA 710 11-inch, and YOGA 710 14-inch.

Lenovo ideapad MIIX 310

• Processor: Intel Atom X58300 CPU

• Graphics: Integrated Intel

• OS: Microsoft Windows 10

• Memory: Up to 4GB DDR3L

• Storage: Up to 64GB eMMC storage

• Connectivity: WLAN: 802.11 B/G/N with Bluetooth 4.0

• Ports: Micro HDMI, Micro SD, Audio Combo Jack, Micro USB 2.0, USB 2.0 (on keyboard)

• Design Color: Platinum Silver

• Dimension: Tablet: 9.2mm, Keyboard: 9mm

• Weight: Tablet: 580g, Keyboard: 520g

Lenovo YOGA 710 11-inch

• Processor: Up to 6th gen Intel Core m5

• Graphics: Integrated Intel

• OS: Windows 10 Home

• Memory: Up to 8GB LP-DDR3

• Storage: Up to 256GB SSD

• Connectivity: WLAN: 1x1 or 2x2 A/C WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1

• Ports: 1x always-on USB 3.0, Micro-HDMI, audio combo jack

• Design Color: Platinum Silver, Ebony Black

• Dimension: 14.9mm Thin

• Weight: 1.04kg

Lenovo YOGA 710 14-inch

• Processor: Up to 6th gen Intel Core i7

• Graphics: Optional next gen NVIDIA GeForce GFX

• OS: Windows 10

• Memory: Up to 8GB DDR4

• Storage: Up to 256GB SSD

• Connectivity: WLAN: 2x2 A/C WiFi and Bluetooth 4.1

• Ports: 1x always-on USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.0, Micro-HDMI, 4in1 SD Card Reader (MMC, SDHC, SDXC and SD), audio jack

• Design Color: Platinum Silver, Ebony Black

• Dimension: 17.3mm Thin

• Weight: 1.6kg

It's normal for companies to launch products in Barcelona the day before Mobile World Congress did. Last year, HTC announced the One M9 and Samsung announced the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge.

We're calling this day zero. Make sure to check back in at Neowin for the latest news from Mobile World Congress. After all, it hasn't even started yet.

What do you think of the announcements today? What are you most excited about? Let us know in the comments!