Annual tech event MWC brings us loads of product launches - we saw 20 new smartphones debut over the course of this year's week-long event - but when the dust settles, we can take a step back and use the show to chart trends in the smartphone industry.
MWC 2022 is the same, and it exemplified a big change in the cheap phone market that we've been noticing for a while - and that we hope to see more of in the future.
This is the rise of a certain type of camera sensor, which could mean big things for camera phones in the future, especially in bringing great photography power to low-end phones.
It's not about the number
Lots of the smartphone camera world revolves around chasing trends.
After Xiaomi debuted the first 108MP camera phone in the Mi Note 10 , manufacturers began tripping over themselves to try and offer the same spec in their affordable phones. We've seen Realme, Motorola and Pocophone all do this, and Xiaomi has done it a lot too.
This high-megapixel race isn't new, and we saw it previously with 48MP and 64MP cameras. And it makes sense - on paper, a camera with 108 million pixels sounds far better than one with 12 million, like an iPhone. It's an easy selling point.
This doesn't sit well with the realities of camera hardware though - the number of pixels is only one factor in camera capability, and it's arguably not as important as the size of said pixels.
The size of a pixel is important as it impacts how much light a sensor collects - this in turn affects the brightness, or vibrancy, of a picture. So a 108MP sensor with a small pixel size will often take worse pictures than a 12MP sensor that's larger overall.
Sure, a high-res picture will be sharper, but unless you're importing the snap onto something with a high-res monitor, or are cropping in on it, this doesn't really matter.
So when lots of budget phone makers were competing to offer 48MP, 64MP, 108MP camera phones, and were putting that figure front-and-center on the marketing materials, it didn't necessarily mean pictures taken on them were better.
(Of course, this is an oversimplification of the smartphone market - camera hardware wasn't the only thing that was changing over time, and improvements in software and lenses did mean pictures were getting better. It's just that the sensor changes weren't as pivotal in this change as manufacturers would suggest).
But then something changed - numbers started going down, not up.
50 is the magic number
The first major smartphone to use a 50MP lens was the Huawei P40 in early 2020 - Huawei has always done something a little different for its camera hardware, often to great effect, but it still was curious to see a phone launch with a main sensor outside the usual 12MP/48MP/64MP/108MP barrage.
But while Huawei does lots of novel things that other companies don't emulate, it wasn't the case this time. We started seeing more companies using 50MP sensors: the Oppo Find X3 Pro , then the OnePlus 9 Pro , used bespoke 50MP sensors made by Sony.
Samsung, another prevalent sensor manufacturer, got in on the action, making 50MP sensors for the Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra , Google Pixel 6 and Samsung Galaxy S22 .
These were all top-tier smartphones, with high prices and great camera power, and fittingly these sensors eschewed unnecessarily-high pixel counts for larger pixel sizes, and it paid off.
But then something strange happened: we started seeing mid-range, and then affordable, smartphones come out with 50MP snappers. Lots of members of the Moto G family, certain Oppo Reno devices, the Realme 9 Pro family and select Redmi devices all started cropping up with this camera resolution.
Now, these weren't all using the same sensors as the top-end flagships (though some actually were), and it was generally sensors with a lower pixel size too. But the move was clear: 108MP was out, 50MP was in. And that shift could spell great things for the budget phone camera market.
Cheap phones going forward
The TCL 30 series at MWC marked the latest cheap phones to launch with 50MP cameras, though they weren't the only devices at the show with this hardware, as the newest devices from Honor, Realme and OnePlus all had them too. Of the 20 new mobiles from the show, 10 of them had 50MP sensors.
It's something we're expecting to see more of in the coming months too - clearly 50MP is the new trend in smartphones, including budget ones.
That's great for affordable mobiles. The race for high-res cameras was an interesting battleground, but not one that particularly benefitted consumers, and if companies have given up trying to beat each others' specs lists, they can look to the actual quality of the cameras.
Now the race is not about pixel count, but pixel size, and this is a factor that affects photography much more. Cheap phone brands might start advertising sensor size or pixel size over resolution.
We're starting to see the fruits of this competition - while premium phones have offered great night photography for a few years already, recently, we've seen budget phones go the same way, with large 50MP sensors allowing affordable handsets to take great snaps in low-light conditions.
This writer was hit by this fact when testing the Realme 9 Pro Plus , which took staggeringly good photos at night given its price. And the more we looked beyond that, the more we saw low-cost devices offering versatile low-light photography.
Looking forward
Not all budget phones are going to use 50MP cameras - they might be great for photography, but that's not the priority of all manufacturers. In an interview with Poco ( read another article from the talks, about 4G phones, here ) it told TechRadar that its new phones avoided using 50MP sensors simply because they were relatively pricey components.
Some phone makers focus on performance over photography, and those brands won't adopt 50MP sensors.
Even 50MP may not stay the norm forever. Brands might realize what Apple has been saying the whole time - 12MP cameras are fine if the sensors are big enough. We might even see a shift back to where we all started, at the lower-res side of the spectrum.
It's impossible to say for sure, but the end of the high-megapixel-race does hint at a better future for budget camera phones.
Kia reveals its all-in EV plan, including the tech-laden EV9 and two pickups (yes, really)
Last year, Kia joined the chorus of other major automakers with its announcement of plans to shift to EVs over the next several years.
The Korean company has built a few EV models over the last few model years, and the new Kia EV6 just landed with great reviews. Now, Kia is saying it is accelerating plans to develop new electric cars, which will include a rapid release roadmap starting next year.
Kia says it will release two new EVs a year starting in 2023, and notes it will build a full line of 14 EVs by 2027. This statement marks a more ambitious plan for the Korean automaker, as it initially stated a goal of 11 EV models by 2026.
Though it's just a small statement buried in the Kia press release, a big piece of news is that Kia will build two electric pickup trucks in the coming years, with an entry-level model slated for emerging markets.
But first, the Kia EV9
The Kia EV6 is now hitting the streets and the new EV9 SUV isn't far off. The latter vehicle will debut in 2023, and will bring over-the-air updates to a Kia for the first time, as well as feature-on-demand services that will allow customers to purchase additional functionality for their vehicles.
Kia says the EV9 will also be its first vehicle equipped with an advanced driving system that offers limited autonomous driving capabilities.
It'll be stuffed to the rafters with tech as well, with features including an ultra-wide display up-front, a 'digital tiger face' grille and something it's calling 'Smart Glass' to name but a few.
Kia claims the the EV9 will offer an all-electric range of up to 540km (~335 miles), and a sub-six second 0-60mph time.
Kia's big EV play
Kia views the EV9 and EV6 as major drivers of its EV shift. The company's aim is to increase from 160,000 EV sales in 2022 to 807,000 units in 2026 and 1.2 million by 2030. That's a 36 percent increase from the original targets Kia laid out last year.
More than 80 percent of EV sales for the company will come from Korea, North America, Europe, and China, and Kia says it expects 45 percent of sales to come from those regions.
Kia's plans aren't out of line with the rest of the industry, and are in fact more ambitious than many.
The automaker has proven its mettle in the EV game with the EV6, which is surprisingly upscale and sharply styled. It's also competitively priced, especially compared to stalwart EVs like the Tesla Model 3 , and the larger EV9 promises more of the same.
It's never been a better time to be an EV buyer and the situation will only get better as time goes on.
What time is Moon Knight episode 6 released on Disney Plus?
It's nearly time to say goodbye to Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and company.
That's right, the final episode of Marvel Studios' Moon Knight is almost upon us, with the MCU Phase 4 TV show's last entry set to air very soon on Disney Plus . It's been a trippy, surreal, mind-boggling, and horror-infused ride so far, so here's hoping that Moon Knight episode 6 will cap off one of the best MCU productions of recent times.
With that in mind, you'll want to know when Moon Knight's sixth (and potentially final) episode will be released on Disney's streaming service. Below, we'll tell you when the Disney Plus show 's next episode will launch on the platform. We'll also include a full release schedule for every Moon Knight entry, just in case you want a refresher of when each episode was released.
Before you dive in, you may want to take a look at a couple of our other Moon Knight-centric stories. You can read up on how an episode 5 Easter egg officially ties Moon Knight to the wider MCU , or check out our report on why Marvel's TV shows aren't convincing people to sign up to Disney Plus . Once you've read them, feel free to move on to Moon Knight episode 6's release date and time.
When is the release date for Moon Knight episode 6?
Moon Knight episode 6 will be released on Disney Plus on Wednesday, May 4 at 12 AM PT / 3 AM ET / 8 AM BST / 12:30 PM IST / 5PM AEST.
US-based fans may want to stay up into the early hours to catch it as soon as it lands on Disney's streaming service. UK Disney Plus subscribers, though, should have a chance to watch it before they head to school or the office.
Indian viewers can check out Moon Knight episode 6 on their lunchbreak (if you're sneaky, that is), while Australian and New Zealand fans will be able to view it once the working day is over.
Regardless of where you'll be watching Moon Knight's series finale, you'll definitely want to take major precautions over potential spoilers. With this being the show's final episode, there's bound to be some spoilers, nods to Moon Knight's MCU future, and maybe even a post-credits scene.
Our advice? Mute hashtags including #MoonKnight, #MoonKnightspoilers, and #MoonKnightepisode6 on Twitter and company to save yourself any heartache. Alternatively, just stay off social media until you've managed to see it.
What is Moon Knight's final episode run time?
Surprisingly, Moon Knight episode 6 will be the shortest entry in the whole series. Industry insider Amit Chaudhari revealed as much on his personal Twitter account, the VFX artist confirming that Moon Knight's series finale will clock in at just 42 minutes.
That seems like too short a runtime to deliver on the many story threads that Moon Knight has left to cover.
We need to learn about how Marc Spector breaks out of the Egyptian afterlife, frees Khonshu, gets his Moon Knight powers back, and stop Arthur Harrow from releasing Ammit from her tomb. Additionally, we have to find out what role Layla will play in all of this, whether Steven Grant is gone for good, and if Marc's third personality – Jake Lockley – will actually make an appearance. Oh, and if there'll be a post-credits scene that may tease Moon Knight's future in the MCU.
Factoring the show's lengthy credits into the equation – these usually take up six to seven minutes of an episode's runtime – that means there may only be 35 minutes of actual story left to tell. That is, unless Chaudhari's 42-minute runtime confirmation doesn't include the show's credits. Here's hoping for the latter.
How many Moon Knight episodes will be released? Full launch schedule
Here's the full release schedule for Moon Knight, which confirms this is the last entry in the series:
Thankfully, it won't be a long wait for the next batch of Marvel projects to arrive. Doctor Strange 2 launches exclusively in theaters just two days (one if you live in the UK) after Moon Knight ends, the next MCU movie arriving on May 5 or May 6 depending on where you're based worldwide.
Meanwhile, Ms Marvel will make her live-action MCU debut when her Disney Plus series is released on June 8. Add in Thor 4 , She-Hulk , and Black Panther 2 all arriving before the year is out, and there's plenty to look forward to.