Everything you need to know about MWC 2016, from show dates and attendees to the likely big announcements
This year's Mobile World Congress takes place in Barcelona from February 22 through to February 25.
MWC invariably proves to be the biggest mobile phone exhibition of the year, and you can bet that 2016's show will be no different. As always, many of the world's leading smartphone manufacturers will be announcing and showcasing brand new flagship hardware at and around the event.
With that in mind, let's take a look at what MWC 2016 has in store for us. What follows is a summary of some of the more interesting rumours circulating the internet.
BlackBerry
Who would have thought that BlackBerry would still be relevant to anyone but business types in early 2016? That it is (albeit only just) has to be attributed to the relative success of the BlackBerry Priv.
BlackBerry's bold jump to Android was first teased at MWC 2015, so we wouldn't be surprised to see something interesting from the Canadian company at this year's show.
The company has plans to launch another Android-based phone in 2016, and with the expectations of a Priv price-cut around the time of MWC 2016, we wouldn't be shocked to see something there.
Whether that new Android device will be an Android-powered Passport, has has been rumoured, or a mid-range Priv alternative, as CEO John Chen hinted at late last year, we'll have to wait and see.
HP
Yes, that's right. HP could well be returning to the smartphone market it abandoned in 2011. Which is good news for a couple of reasons.
For one thing, it's good to have an established manufacturer back in the game. For another, we're not expecting anything major from Microsoft at MWC 2016, and HP's new phone is rumoured to be a Windows 10 device.
Right at the end of 2015, a German website claimed to have learned that the HP Falcon would be a 5.8-inch Windows 10 phablet with a QHD display and a Snapdragon 820 CPU.
At the time the Falcon was still said to be in testing at HP, and no decision had been made as to whether the handset would be released. However, an MWC 2016 was apparently being considered.
HTC
2015 was not a good year for HTC. While critical goodwill for the HTC One M7 and HTC One M8 in previous years had offered glimpses of a recovery amidst a general decline, the HTC One M9 (pictured) was seen as a bad miscalculation.
Launched at MWC 2015, many felt the M9 to be a lazy, phoned-in effort and an attempt to effectively re-sell the (admittedly splendid) One M8 to us. It also had a CPU that had a nasty habit of overheating and underperforming.
Now with a new CEO (co-founder Cher Wang), the company is once again attempting to return to profitability with high quality products (and a nod or two in Apple's direction). Which makes its MWC 2016 showing all the more important.
We haven't heard too much about the follow-up to the One M9, but there have been claims that HTC is done with the 'One M' nomenclature. Suggested names for the would-be HTC One M10 are the 'HTC Performance' and the 'HTC O2.'
Other reports claim that the new HTC flagship phone will run on a Snapdragon 820 processor, which is no great leap - almost every flagship phone released in early 2016 will run on the chip.
However the new HTC phone performs, it had better look good - and different.
Huawei
Huawei's 2015 was almost the polar opposite of HTC's. Not only did the Chinese manufacturer become the third biggest smartphone maker in the world, but it was also picked to launch Google's flagship Android phone in the Nexus 6P.
The 6P turned out to be arguably the best Android phone on the market, but Huawei also released a couple of fine own-branded phones in the shape of the Huawei Mate S and the Huawei Mate 8.
We'll hopefully see what comes next in that sequence at MWC 2016. Rumour has it that the Huawei P9 will make an appearance at the show, with a roadmap leak pointing to a March release for the phone.
We're not sure on specs just yet, but a dual-camera set-up has been suggested, as has a QHD display. We might well see one of Huawei's own Kirin 950 CPUs powering it, which will make a change from all the Qualcomm chips.
LG
LG had an interesting 2015, with the fine-but-not-amazing LG G4 somewhat overshadowed by Samsung's flashier efforts early in the year. The Korean company saved its own dramatic design overhaul for the end of the year in the LG V10.
It's worth mentioning that LG doesn't traditionally announce its flagship phones at MWC. Last year's LG G4 came along at the end of April.
However, there have been suggestions that the company is looking to bring forward the launch to match its great rival, Samsung.
As for the LG G5's specs, you can probably put money on a Snapdragon 820 CPU and a QHD display of around 5.5-inches in size. Another leak late last year suggested than the LG G5 might have a massively improved 20-megapixel camera with a custom Sony-built sensor.
Another possibility for MWC is the LG G Flex 3. The LG G Flex 2 was launched at CES 2015, but a follow-up to LG's curious 'tweener device didn't appear at this year's show. Could it appear at MWC instead?
Samsung
Samsung always announces its new flagship smartphone at MWC. Given that it remains the biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world, that's quite a big deal.
Last year saw the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S6 just prior to the show at a special Unpacked event (pictured above), and we're expecting similar treatment for the Samsung Galaxy S7.
From what we can tell, the Galaxy S7 will look rather similar to the Samsung Galaxy S6, though it could see a return to the water and dust-proof status of previous devices. Given the bold design-led reinvention Samsung underwent with its last phone, it's easy to see why the company would want to stick with it for another year. After all, if it works for Apple...
Speaking of which, it's also claimed that the S7 will come in two sizes from the off. So, the Samsung Galaxy S7 Plus could also make a showing, as well as a possible Galaxy S7 Edge.
We're expecting all the usual improvements in terms of power, though it seems Samsung is lining up an off-the-shelf Snapdragon 820 rather than its own Exynos solution this time around.
Sony
The pace of Sony's flagship phone releases has been astonishing in recent years, but that hasn't translated to the sales turn-around the company was hoping for.
Still, the quality has been good, and the fast turn-around has allowed Sony to get ahead on some key features - such as the Sony Xperia Z5's 4k display.
MWC 2016 could see another innovative new phone, though it won't be a flagship. The Sony Xperia C6 is reported to be a mid-range 5.5-inch Full HD phone with a striking edge-to-edge display.
