Updated: MWC 2015: news and reviews from the biggest phone show of the year

MWC 2015: All the latest news

We're not sure about you, but we've not found time to catch a breath at MWC 2015.

MWC is the show that produces the goods when it comes to mobiles (and more recently wearables), and this year hasn't left us disappointed. With the show well under way, most of the major launches have taken place. But it isn't quite over: we're still scurrying the floor to continue bringing you the low-down on the new products we haven't played with yet.

To see what's happened so far, check out our brand-by-brand guide to find out everything that's happened and we've seen at Barcelona so far...

Samsung launches Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge smartphones

The Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge are finally here...

Samsung couldn't resist teasing the Galaxy S6 in the lead up to MWC, and now the Korean company's latest flagship is official. It comes rocking a QHD 577ppi display - the sharpest on the market - and a super bright mode that comes on when outside.

Under the hood, Samsung has opted to take a chance on its own Exynos 7420 (instead of a Snapdragon variant) and it appears to have paid off. Early benchmarks show that the Galaxy S6 tops the multi-core tablet with a score of 4,547, compared to the HTC One M9's 3,959. Safe to say it's a real powerhouse.

The Samsung Galaxy S6 launched alongside the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge, which arrives with similar specs and a dual-curved display. Read: Samsung Galaxy S6 storms the benchmarks

HTC unwraps the HTC One M9

Arrives in a full-metal jacket...

Not only has HTC revealed the expected HTC One M9, complete with its dazzling design and 20MP snapper, but it also rolled out the HTC Grip, its debut wearable. As the rumours had suggested, the Grip is all about fitness, and we've already taken it for a spin. But that wasn't the biggest news of all - oh no. As a nice surprise, HTC announced it has partnered with Valve for a high-end virtual reality headset called the HTC Vive. You might expect this to be a mobile affair, but the Vive is eschewing the smartphone in the name of high-powered VR, and we can't wait to wrap one around our faces. Read: HTC One M9 vs HTC One M8

Microsoft launches the Lumia 640 and Lumia 640 XL, Windows Phone 10 flagships are coming

Windows Phone 8.1 handsets will get Windows 10 later in the year

Microsoft has two new handsets in its Lumia range - the Lumia 640 and the Lumia 640 XL. While the mid-range handsets won't come with Windows 10 out of the box, Stephen Elop noted that the Windows Phone 8.1 devices will be fully upgradable to the new OS later in the year. Microsoft has confirmed that several flagship Windows 10 phones are on the way, but it wants to wait until the new OS is ready and polished before bringing them out into the light later this year.

We've gone hands on with the next version of Microsoft's Windows Phone OS, and it shows real promise. Windows Phone 10 sports a fantastic new design that goes big on translucent effects in contast to the 2D tiles of old. Additionally, Microsoft has built notifications into the UI and made welcome tweaks to the way apps are presented and accessed using swipes. All good stuff, but will it be enough to sway non-Windows Phone users away from iOS and Android? Read: Windows 10 flagship phone on the way, says Microsoft

Sony unveils the Xperia Z4 tablet

PS4 in the bath? We're sold...

Does Apple's iPad have a new serious competitor? That appears to be the case following the launch of Sony's Xperia Z4 Tablet, which has the workings of a tablet that could give both Apple and Microsoft a reason to be concerned. The 10.1-inch tablet barely troubles the scales at 396 grams and measures just 6.1mm. The waterproof tablet's Remote Play feature means you can play on Sony's console in the bath too. Promising stuff indeed. Read: Sony's Xperia Z5 Tablet should intimidate Apple, annoy Microsoft

Huawei outs Talkband fitness trackers and Y635 smartphone

A headset that doubles up as a necklace

Huawei kicked things off with a handful of new devices, including the second generation of its fitness wearable, the Huawei Talkband B2. It also announced what is quite possibly the most beautiful Android Wear smartwatch yet. If you're more interested in tech that's bonkers rather than beautiful (or perhaps both), the Huawei Talkband N1 has been outed in the form of an innovative bluetooth headset that doubles up as a hippie necklace when not in use. Cool, man. However it wasn't just about the wearables, as we got our hands on the new Huawei Y635 smartphone. It's cheap and cheerful, with a good spec to cost ratio. Read: Huawei's new fitness band can transform into a Bluetooth headset

BlackBerry unwraps the Leap smartphone

Gunning for young professionals

BlackBerry has unveiled a new smartphone called the Leap. It comes with a 5-inch edge-to-edge display and an impressive 2,800mAh battery, 2GB of RAM and BlackBerry 10.3.1 OS. Shortly after unveiling the Leak, BlackBerry confirmed that the company will release three more handsets in 2015 - one of which will arrive as a curved slider phone.

ZTE unveils the Blade S6 smartphone

A slice of budget smartphone action

BMicrosoft's mid-range Lumias aside, many of the devices unveiled at MWC 2015 have been high-end heavyweights, which makes the emergence of the ZTE's Blade S6, a budget phone with impressive internals, somewhat refreshing. On paper, anyway - the spec sheet shows that the Blade 6 would be handy in a scrap thanks to its 64-bit CPU, 2GB of RAM and leggy 3,000 mAh battery. However, as noted by TechRadar Global Editor-In-Chief Patrick Goss, the Blade S6 suffers from lacklustre build quality that doesn't lend it the premium touch that it deserves. It's not unattractive, but like your favourite celebrities in 4K, its looks deteriorate the closer you get to it.

Nokia unveils the Lollipop-powered N1

An Android tablet to fall in love with

Speaking of Android, TechRadar Phones and Tablets deputy editor John McCann thinks he's fell in love with the Nokia N1, a Lollipop-powered Android tablet that bears more than a passing resemblence to the iPad Mini. As noted in our hands-on review, it uses the new USB Type-C connector and weighs a featherlight 318 grams. There's no guarantee it will head to markets beyond China, but here's hoping it does.

Qualcomm announces Snapdragon 820 processor

A CPU that's clever in more ways than one

Qualcomm has used MWC 2015 to announce the successor to its Snapdragon 810 CPU. Coming in the second half the year, the snappily-named Snapdragon 820 could feature in the Galaxy Note 5 and is said to give mobile devices new levels of intelligence and personalization.

MWC 2015: What was expected pre-show

MWC is quite possibly the biggest yearly event in the mobile world. At MWC 2014 for example we saw the Samsung Galaxy S5, Sony Xperia Z2 and a plethora of other smartphones, tablets and smartwatches.

MWC 2015 is expected to be every bit as big and there are plenty of rumblings of what might be on show. It's still only the press day, and we've already seen the launch of big-name handsets including the HTC One M9, Samsung Galaxy S6 and Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge in Barcelona.

They are showstoppers on their own, but there are lots of other things going on in the mobile world too. Here's what we know so far.

Sony

It's looking increasing unlikely that we'll be seeing the Sony Xperia Z4 at MWC 2015, with multiple rumors now pointing to a launch later in the year.

That's further supported by reports from Xperia Blog that Sony won't have a formal press conference at MWC.

• Sony Xperia Z4 release date, news and rumors

Sony will have a booth at the show and we're bound to see something from the company.

For one thing we're due an update to the 10.1-inch Xperia Z2 Tablet, plus there's a chance we'll see another Android Wear smartwatch to join the SmartWatch 3 in Sony's ranks, and there's always the possibility of some new mid-range handsets.

LG

Another possible flagship? Well, no. Not by the looks of it. Like Sony, it appears LG will hold the launch of its LG G4 until later in the year, avoiding the flurry of announcements which will be made in Barcelona.

Last year the LG G3 was launched at its own unique event in London, and with a potentially crowded line up of new devices at MWC it makes sense for the Korean firm to do its own thing afterwards.

• LG G4 release date, news and rumors

LG has already launched three Android Wear smartwatches, and we got our hands on the LG G Watch Urbane and G Watch Urbane LTE in Barecelona. We'd say LG probably won't roll out another at the show - but we're not ruling it out completely.

Microsoft

Last year Nokia caused a storm at MWC by launching handsets running a heavily modified version of Google's Android operating system.

The sad news is Nokia is unlikely to be at MWC 2015, and if it is its presence will be much, much smaller. On a positive note Microsoft will be taking over what was the Nokia booth, exuding all things Lumia and Windows Phone.

In fact it's doing one better, because as well as having a booth Microsoft has also announced a press conference for March 2.

There's not a huge amount of news regarding exactly what will be on show, but it's been a while since the flagship Nokia Lumia 930 was launched, so it's about time for a new hero for the Windows Phone brand.

Talk about a successor to the 41MP Nokia Lumia 1020 refuses to die down, so we'll be on the lookout for another powerful cameraphone too. Then again there are also reports that Microsoft won't bring out any major new hardware until later in the year.

So what will the press conference be about? Our guess is more Windows 10 for phones information, coupled perhaps with some mid-range or low-end handset announcements.

We're also hearing mutterings that Microsoft may be readying a new wearable which could be shown off in Barcelona.

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