Android's pre-emptive strike on the iPhone 8

It's Android's time to shine.

In less than a week, Mobile World Congress (MWC), an annual event that brings together the phone and telecom industries, will kick off in Barcelona, and as is customary, a lot of new Android smartphones will make their debuts.

This year is a little different, though.

After years of iterative upgrades, Apple's iPhone - which, like it or not, is the smartphone that sets the trends in the industry - is widely rumored to receive a revolutionary upgrade.

Its screen will get larger, reports say, covering the phone's entire face.

Buttons, including the iconic home button, may disappear altogether.

The aluminium back cover might be replaced by glass.

And while the "iPhone X" (we still don't know the name; it could also be iPhone 8 or 7S) is still far off - it will likely be announced in the fall - this is when we find out how the Android industrial-complex (which still dominates worldwide market share by a wide margin) is preparing for these changes.

We'll know for sure when MWC begins on Sunday, Feb. 26, but I so have some bad news right off the bat: There won't be a new Samsung flagship in Barcelona this year.

Likely due to the Galaxy Note7 fiasco, Samsung pushed back the launch date for its new phone, the Galaxy S8, which is rumored to be at least as revolutionary as the new iPhone.

The company will have an event on Sunday, but it will probably only launch a tablet, likely the Galaxy Tab S3.

LG G6, the wolf in sheep's clothing

So who's left?

Quite a few players, in fact.

The most interesting reveal will likely be the LG G6, which is rumored to have a large, 18:9 screen and dual 13-megapixel cameras on the back.

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