14 DAY TRIAL // The Mobile World Congress is probably the biggest tech event of the year, which is why many smartphone makers choose to announce their premium products at the conference in February. It’s the best opportunity to get a glimpse at technology advancements which will shape up the industry in the months to come.
However, it seems that some companies will skip this year's event. According to TechCrunch, Xiaomi won’t be attending the MWC 2017, which starts on February 27 and ends on March 2 in Barcelona.
This is quite surprising, considering that the company was rumored to announce at least two new smartphones during MWC. Still, it could unveil the Mi 6 and Mi MIX EVO next month, just not on the stage in Barcelona.
Last year, Xiaomi announced the Mi 5 during MWC, as part of a live-streamed press conference. The year before, Xiaomi’s former VP, Hugo Barra, held an interview on stage and explained some aspects behind the Xiaomi brand and business.
Xiaomi’s former VP joined Facebook
Hugo Barra announced a few days ago that it was leaving the company after having worked there for 3.5 years. Barra said that Xiaomi is in a good place, after expanding globally and reaching an impressive number of markets.
He also said that he made the decision out of the desire to be closer to home and return to Silicon Valley. Today, he has announced that he will join Facebook as VP of virtual reality to lead the team at Oculus. Hugo Barra has mentioned that he’ll be resuming the position in a couple of months.
Xiaomi reps recently said that the company had expanded too fast and was now entering a transitional period to slow down some of its expansion. It would be interesting to see what the company’s long-term plans are, but in the short term, it will announce the Mi 6 and Mi MIX EVO soon.