The two most talked about smartphones ahead of this year’s Mobile rld Congress sit at opposites sides of the spectrum; the low-end Android-based Nokia X Samsung Electronics’ new flagship model, the Galaxy S5.

The smartphone market has seen phenomenal growth in the last couple of years. But even if worldwide shipments increase, growth rates won’t be as impressive, resulting in even tougher competition.

The fourth quarter highlighted this burgeoning trend, as mobile phone sales in mature regions fell due to weaker dem. ck of compelling hardware innovation in the high-end segment meant consumers didn’t find enough reasons to buy the latest model, according to Anshul Gupta , principal research analyst at Gartner.

so, after nine consecutive quarters of explosive growth, China experienced its first slowdown, according to IDC. Vendors there will also have to increase efforts to convince consumers to upgrade, instead of relying on first-time buyers.

Nokia’s Normy

It is against this backdrop that Mobile rld Congress opens its doors Monday. For Nokia as a hset maker, this year’s trip to Barcelona will be its swan song as its acquisition by Microsoft is scheduled to be approved before the end of h.

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Reports have in the last couple of months said Nokia is planning on using the Android open source code a user interface of its own to reignite the low end of its product portfolio, it seems likely the company will launch its first product early Monday morning local time.

It’s not difficult to underst why Nokia is moving away from the proprietary operating system used on its Asha phones. Forked Android or AOS(Android Open Source oject) devices had a 25 percent market share with 71 million shipped smartphones during the fourth quarter—mainly thanks to China, India adjacent countries, according to ABI Research. That’s more than Apple’s iOS, ndows one BlackBerry put together.

The Nokia X, also known as Normy, is rumored to be powered by a dual-core 1GHz Snapdragon, have a 4-inch screen with a 854 by 480 pixel resolution, a 5-megapixel camera. The device is also expected to have 512MB of RAM 4GB of integrated storage that can be exped using a microSD card slot. Nokia’s most advanced Asha phone, the 503, also has a 5-megapixel camera, but with a low resolution 3-inch screen.

The X will enter a competitive section of the smartphone market. But it isn’t just consumers who will decide its fate—Microsoft will soon own Nokia’s smartphones will have to decide on strategies for the sub-$200 $100 segments. Since analysts expect much of the growth is coming from that segment staying away is not an option.

en Nokia decided on ndows one, getting the cost down was a key part of its strategy. The mia 610 arrived in April 2012 with a $260 price tag without taxes subsidies, followed by the 510 for about $200 in October the same year, then the best-selling 520 for $185 in February last year. But after that, Nokia’s quest to push down the cost of its mia devices stalled.

Close cooperation between chip makers such as Qualcomm tek phone manufacturers laid the groundwork for Android’s low-end success. If Microsoft wants to make ndows one relevant on inexpensive smartphones, the company needs broader support from the chip makers, including reference design programs that include everything manufacturers need to quickly cheaply put out affordable products.

Samsung’s Galaxy S5

Samsung is one company that any chip maker would love to work with. ile Samsung’s smartphone share was up in 2013, it slightly fell by 1.6 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2013, according to Gartner. This was mainly due to a saturated high-end smartphone market in developed regions, it remains critical for Samsung to improve its portfolio at the high end, Gartner said.

The Galaxy S phones have made Samsung successful in that segment the company has hinted that version 5 will be launched Monday evening local time.

Reports say the Galaxy S5 will have a 5.25-inch screen with a 2560 by 1440 pixel resolution a 16-megapixel or 20-megapixel camera with optical imaging stabilization. tential processors include a new in-house Exynos chip or Qualcomm’s recently announced Snapdragon 805 processor, which has four cores running at up to 2.5GHz is expected to be available in commercial devices in the first half of the year.

Samsung can put 4GB of RAM on the S5, thanks to a new chip developed in-house. But 3GB is starting to look like the new stard configuration for high-end smartphones with products like the Galaxy Note 3 Electronics’ G o 2 having that amount.

Design is another important part of Samsung’s next flagship smartphone. The Galaxy S4’s plastic shell wasn’t well liked by reviewers because it made the device feel less premium than competing products such as the HTC One Apple’s iones. The faux leather used on the Galaxy Note 3 is a step in the right direction, but only aluminium can put it on par with the competition.

Samsung Nokia aren’t the only phone makers that will show new devices next week. On Tuesday, ZTE said it will launch the Gr Memo II E, which has a 6-inch screen the Firefox OS-based ZTE Open C. Huawei Technologies has posted a video saying the company will introduce two tablets a smartphone.

has already announced four new phones, which it will show at Mobile rld Congress, including the G o II, which has a 5.9-inch screen Full HD resolution. Sony BlackBerry will also reportedly announce new products.