Nubia, Realme, Vivo: new Chinese phones we would’ve seen at MWC – what the plans are now

Smaller Chinese brands have had to change tack regarding the launch of phones like the Nubia Red Magic 5G and Realme X50 5G

Big players like Huawei and Xiaomi have also had to switch things up, with some big events being moved from Barcelona to Madrid

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This year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was cancelled due to the coronavirus outbreak, throwing a spanner in the works for many phone brands that had planned to use it as a launch event for new models. Photo: DPA

Published: 3:00pm, 19 Feb 2020Updated: 3:05pm, 19 Feb 2020

It was supposed to be their breakout moment on the global consumer tech stage. But the relatively late cancellation of this year’s Mobile World Congress – originally scheduled to take place in Barcelona from February 24 to 27 – due to the coronavirus outbreak has left in tatters the plans of smaller Chinese phone brands on tight budgets.

ZTE sub-brand Nubia has traditionally used the Barcelona trade show to tease unfinished concept devices, but this year the brand was apparently ready with an actual phone, the Red Magic 5G.

In teaser images shared by brand president Ni Fei, the Red Magic 5G sports a jaw-dropping 144Hz display – more than double the refresh rate of current iPhones, and a chunk higher than the 120Hz screens of the Samsung Galaxy S20 and Oppo Find X2.

Alas, with the cancellation of MWC, Nubia has lost its chance at grabbing the spotlight. If history is any indication, it is unlikely Nubia will hold an international event for the phone, so instead of making its debut in front of a global audience, the Red Magic 5G is likely to launch in China instead.

A teaser image Nubia shared to China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo showing the Red Magic 5G will have a 144Hz display. Image: Nubia

Oppo sub-brand Realme is keeping its launch plans in Spain, and will be doing an online-only launch beamed out from Madrid that the media can view on the web. The brand is expected to announce the global version of its X50 5G handset.