Report: Huawei P20 & LG V30+‘α’ Won’t Debut at MWC Due to the Samsung Galaxy S9

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Mobile World Congress is a major mobile industry convention that takes place in Barcelona in February every year, and it’s become a popular place for smartphone manufacturers to unveil brand-new devices to the world. In the past, Samsung, LG, Sony, Huawei, and others have taken the wraps off new smartphones there, but a report suggests it’ll be different this year. According to ETNews, LG and Huawei’s rumored flagships — V30+‘α’ and the P20, respectively — won’t launch at MWC this year because of Samsung’s plans to launch the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+.

LG hasn’t had it easy in recent years as its mobile division has struggled to turn a profit. As a result, the company recently announced it would no longer launch new flagship smartphones on a yearly basis, and it would instead seek to extend the lifespan of current devices by releasing additional variants of them. It was previously believed that that one of these new variants would the “V30+‘α’”, a high-end spinoff of the LG V30, and that it might launch at MWC 2018.

Huawei, for its part, was expected to announce new P series smartphones at MWC 2018. An alleged roadmap of the company’s 2018 plans showed the next phone in Huawei’s lineup would be released sometime in Q2 of 2018, and recently leaked schematics revealed what it appears to be planning. According to ETNews, the company might push back the unveiling until sometime in April.

It looks like Samsung is holding strong with its Galaxy S9 launch commitments for MWC 2018. The phone, which was originally rumored to be shown at CES 2018, was confirmed for MWC in early January, when company executives told members of the press that it would unveil the Galaxy S9 to the world at Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona.

Samsung typically saves a few surprises for major smartphone launch events. If you have thoughts on what they might be, let us know in the comments.