Phone makers pin hopes on artificial intelligence and 5G as sales go flat

Paris

PHONE makers will seek to entice new buyers with better cameras and bigger screens at the world's biggest mobile fair starting Monday in Spain after a year of flat smartphone sales.

But with no major innovations awaited in handsets, analysts expect the four-day Mobile World Congress in Barcelona to focus on new uses for artificial intelligence (AI) and the looming deployment of super-fast 5G wireless networks.

Smartphone giants Huawei, LG or HTC are not expected to launch a new flagship device at the annual show, so Samsung will have the opportunity to grab th…