So what happened at this year’s Mobile World Congress?

The short answer would be: a lot. But for the benefit of those who were not able to keep up with the tons of news and announcements that transpired during the last few days, here is what they need to know …

Galaxy S9 devices

As far as flagship unveilings go, Samsung pretty much owned the 2018 edition of the annual Mobile World Congress event. And it did help that other big name Android phone makers (like Huawei and LG) chose not to debut their high profile devices at the world’s biggest tech conference for mobile technology. Much has already been written about the Galaxy S9 and the Galaxy S9 Plus models, but know that this year’s versions have once again introduced some important upgrades. Of course, there are those who would argue that the specs and features are not that mind blowing, but there is no doubt about it, the Galaxy S9 were the stars of of MWC 2018, and no one else came close.

Nokia’s newest toys

To its credit, HMD Global might have attracted some major attention (despite the Galaxy S9 devices hogging all the limelight) by introducing some new Android powered Nokia branded devices, and of course, the revival of another classic -- the Nokia 8110. The next generation Nokia smartphones continues to expand with new additions: the Nokia 8 Sirocco, the Nokia 7 Plus, an upgraded version of last year’s Nokia 6, and the Nokia 1. But we suspect the banana Nokia 8110 will cause the most buzz in the next few days.

Sony smartphones

Sony updates its Xperia XZ lineup of devices with the debut of new flagships -- the Xperia XZ2 and the Xperia XZ2 Compact. The Xperia XZ2 is considered the first ever smartphone that is capable of recording 4K HDR videos.

The curious case of LG’s new smartphone release strategy

Nope, LG did not announce a new flagship at the MWC 2018. But the South Korean tech giant did showcase its new V30S ThinQ phablet, which is basically an upgraded version of last year’s V30 that comes with some cool artificial intelligence features.

Huawei

Like LG, Huawei did not unveil a new smartphone, but it did announce new MediaPad M5 tablets (read about them here).

ZTE

ZTE is making a contribution to the bezel-less movement by announcing the new Blade V phablet, plus a slightly smaller version called the Blade V9 Vita. The Chinese phone maker also took the opportunity to launch the Tempo Go, which is the first ever Android Oreo Go powered smartphone in the United States mobile market.

Vivo

Vivo continues to build on its ground breaking in-display fingerprint scanning technology by showcasing the APEX FullView concept smartphone. This device basically allows users to unlock the handset by touching their finger anywhere in the bottom half of the phone’s display.

Asus

Asus has already gained momentum with the release of its family of ZenFone devices. Well, that family continues to grow with the addition of the ZenFone 5 series of phones, which include the ZenFone 5, the ZenFone 5Z, and the ZenFone 5 Lite.