LG’s feeling playful, sends its MWC 2016 event details out early

LG will hold a special event on February 21 in Barcelona, and outside of the cryptic image you see here, is staying very quiet about what it’ll announce. The date and city is significant: It’s one day before Mobile World Congress 2016 opens its doors, a show where we’re expecting a great many major mobile announcements, given the lack of such events at CES 2016.

The teaser image shows a brightly decorated toy box with a handle on the side, suggesting if you wind it up, it’ll either play a tune, or a jack-in-the-box will suddenly spring up. The only words say that “Play begins,” on the afternoon of the event, giving absolutely nothing away.

Only the mid-range K7 and K10 smartphones were revealed by LG in Las Vegas, with the company preferring to concentrate on its impressive Signature collection of hardware during the press conference. That’s all set to change at MWC, where mobile is the focus; but what will we see?

It’s hard to say. The only rumours surrounding LG’s mobile division at the moment are based on the G5, a phone that’ll almost inevitably arrive, but not necessarily at MWC. The LG G4 is less than a year old, having been announced in May 2015. However, it has technically been superseded by the LG V10 already, which incorporates an even more capable camera and a stronger processor. This could mean the G5 will be revealed a little before the G4’s first anniversary.

Alternatively, this could be for something completely new. LG’s highlighting of the word Play suggests it may be gaming orientated, but dedicated mobile game devices are relatively niche, so could LG have a VR system similar to Samsung’s Gear VR up its sleeve? We won’t know for sure until February 21, but we’ll keep you updated with any rumours in the meantime.