I’ve been a smart glasses guy for the better part of 5 years — watching them grow through their awkward design phase, as the parallel lines of AR and AI specs start to merge. It’s been a wild ride through the likes of Nreal (now Xreal), Ray-Ban Metas and more.

But now, just as smart glasses were really starting to hit their stylish stride (Even Realities G2 for example), the new Snapdragon Wear Elite chipset may have just moved the idea of what the best AI wearable is from our eyes to our ears.

We’ve been hearing rumors of a pair of AirPods equipped with cameras. I’ve been blown away by Razer’s Project Motoko headset that crams multi-modal AI tech of smart glasses into a pair of cans, and Qualcomm VP Ziad Asghar told me he’s rather excited about this new form factor that the new AI-armed silicon unlocks.

What is Snapdragon Wear Elite?

This announcement (just like many MWC 2026 announcements) got buried under a mountain of Apple March event announcements, but it’s a significant one. While Qualcomm makes a huge stack of chips to bring the best out of particular hardware form factors, Wear Elite is the one that brings all the AI smarts together.

Set to be the brain of a lot of wearables this year (including the next-generation Samsung Galaxy Watch), this re-engineered architecture brings a beasty NPU for speedy on-device AI, while lengthening the stamina with a lower wattage.

It’s the missing link for zippy local AI tasks, and in terms of the kinds of devices it’s primed to be used in, you start to see signs of intent for new product categories. But let me be clear: I bet one of these will not stand up to cultural or fashionable scrutiny.

It won’t be a pin or pendant

The Wear Elite is a bet on AI being the new UI for a lot of day-to-day tasks, but nobody — not even Qualcomm — knows what the device will be.

“To be very open, we don't know what every product looks like,” Asghar commented. “We have an idea what that product needs, but we don't know what that product might look like.”

However, I think we can be pretty confident on what it won’t be: Pendants and pins. Of course, I’ll keep my mind open if we do get something great, but the cautionary tales are clear for the world to see around the Humane AI Pin and Friend Pendant.

“I think the failure of Humane is not necessarily that the product form factor was not right," Asghar said. "I think the execution of it wasn't right in my opinion.” In his mind, the issue was with user experience rather than design, but it’s more than that.

These kinds of devices are all a solution in search of a problem — replacing smartphone usage (something that takes a whole lot of convincing to do). The form factor needs to be right, in that it’s not just an additional “thing” you wear, and that’s exactly what these devices were.

We’ve tried and failed in this field, and while Ziad is right to tell me that the Snapdragon Wear Elite could’ve “fixed” the Humane AI Pin, there’s more fundamental issues here.

It could be glasses? But I fear their time is passing

Such is small windows of cultural power that just as smart glasses are entering their mainstream adoption era, camera-equipped earbuds could be ready to take it all.

“If people don’t want to wear glasses, you could have a camera in each one and now you can pretty much do everything that smart glasses can do,” Asghar said.

Approximately four billion people wear glasses, and to loosely tie another study into this, 19% have admitted to wearing fake glasses purely for fashion at least once. That’s one-in-five (I’m definitely one of them), and the idea of wearing specs for the smart tech when you don’t need to wear glasses has not caught on.

Now compare that to earbuds and headphones. Around 3.8 billion people globally use them for an average of 6-7 hours a day, and there’s no stigma to wearing them when you don’t need them. So to put this same tech into a pair of headphones or earbuds seems like a more logical buying decision for most folks.

And as the smart glasses guy, it hurts me to admit that. I hope I’m wrong, because there’s a lot of amazing things happening in this space.

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I just completed my first Mobile World Congress (MWC), Europe's largest tech show, where I walked 37 miles over five days, all in the name of uncovering the coolest, most innovative health and fitness tech on offer.

And the show didn't disappoint. Below are the seven coolest products I got to demo/checkout live at MWC 2026, including smart contact lenses, kid-friendly robots, disposable sweat trackers, and even a smartphone for your dog.

Looki L1 personal AI wearable

I'm not entirely sold on the concept of personal AI wearables, like the now-defunct Humane AI Pin, but when I stumbled upon the Looki L1 at the Qualcomm booth, I couldn’t help but stop and stare. This funky-looking AI pin is designed to be attached to your shirt or worn around the neck on a lanyard. A small camera and a microphone document/analyze your surroundings, while a voice-activated AI assistant is there at your beckon call to answer any and all burning questions you may have.

Best of all, the Looki L1, which sports one of the latest/greatest Snapdragon chipsets, is actually available for sale right now, and at a price that isn’t ridiculous: $199. You’ll need a dataplan (~$10 a month) to make full use of it, but that’s par for the course. Ultimately, for genuinely making me curious about AI pins again, the Looki L1 earns a spot in my favorite gadgets roundup.

TCL Tbot desktop companion accessory

One of the cuter products I came across at MWC is technically still a concept, but I'm beyond hopeful that TCL will eventually bring the Tbot desktop charging accessory for kids' watches to market.

When one of TCL’s Movietime kids watches is placed on the TCL Tbot for charging, it instantly turns into a friendly robot companion that can pan and tilt its head, make funny faces, answer questions in a kid-friendly manner, read bedtime stories, alert parents to emergencies, encourage good time management skills, and more.

TCL Movietime MT48 smartwatch

TCL also had the brand's latest smartwatch for kids, announced last fall, on show. The Movietime MT48 is a $150 device with specs and features as good or better than the best smartwatches for kids.

The list includes dual-band GPS for precise location tracking with geofencing, 2.5 days of battery, tons of parental controls, an emergency SOS button, a water/dust-proof design, and a decent-enough color display. It's also fairly lightweight with a solid build-quality, and available in a fun array of appealing colors.

Xpanceo next-gen smart contacts

One of the most exciting products I had the chance to learn more about at MWC 2026 is Xpanceo's smart contact lenses. The brand is perhaps the biggest player in the space, with a working prototype promised sometime within the next year.

That prototype will combine a micro-display with continuous blood glucose monitoring. Power and processing come from an over-the-ear companion accessory that looks a little like a big Bluetooth earpiece.

Smart contacts for everyday consumers aren't the brand's only focus, though. Xpanceo is also working on smart lenses that can monitor medicine levels in patients, for more accurate treatment, along with a model that can detect early signs of glaucoma in patients.

Anura vitality measuring app

I first got a taste of Nuralogix's face scan technology, which reveals a wide range of factors about your longevity, vitality, and risk factors for chronic disease, from a 30-second demo at CES 2026 via the Longevity Mirror.

The $899 smart device mounts to your wall and acts as both an ordinary old mirror and a daily health scanner. But what if you don't want to spend $899 for heady wellness tracking and insights? Enter the Anura app.

This dead-simple-to-use app does the same exact thing as the Longevity Mirror using your smartphone, tablet, or computer's onboard camera. I tested it on the show floor using my own iPhone 16 Plus and learned that my mental stress index was about average, while my overall wellness score was slightly higher than the average Joe... nice!

Petphone wearable

The PetPhone sounds like a made-up product, but I assure you that it's real. This minuscule device attaches to your dog or cat’s collar and allows for direct two-way communication between you and your pet via the companion app.

That’s right, I said two-way communication. But, wait, how is your dog or cat able to call you? Pups will need to be trained to jump up and down three times in a row to trigger a call, while cats simply need to jump onto something that is roughly three feet in height to do the same.

You’ll, of course, need a dataplan to make use of the $90 gadget, but come on, there’s no price too steep to be just a few taps away from chatting with your favorite non-human.

Sweanty sweat tracker

The Sweanty sweat tracker has been available for a little while now, but this was my first time getting to demo it in person. Sold in packs of three, these disposable sensors provide valuable insights into just how much sweat you're losing while working out, performing manual labor, or just braving the heat.

The goal is to make users more aware of the H2O and electrolytes they may not actively be replenishing on a day-to-day basis. A simple, informative companion app organizes all your results, which are accompanied by insights and actionable takeaways.

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• These are the 7 coolest wearable tech gadgets I tried at CES 2026
• Forget smart glasses, I saw the future of smart contact lenses — and they're coming sooner than you think
• All the robots I met at MWC 2026, Europe’s largest tech show… so far

I just finished covering my first Mobile World Congress (MWC), Europe’s largest tech show held annually in Barcelona, Spain. As has become tradition when covering such events, I logged my daily step count on my trusty Garmin Instinct 3 all five days of the show.

Did I ultimately cover more ground at MWC 2026 than at CES 2026 in Las Vegas? Did I climb the equivalent height of the Sagrada Familia? Do I regret breaking in a new pair of sneakers? How many ham sandwiches did I consume? Find the exciting answers to all these questions, and more, below.

I walked 37 miles at MWC

1. I covered a similar amount of ground at MWC 2026 vs CES 2026

My Mobile World Coverage step-count logging began on Sunday, a day before the show officially opened, when I journeyed on foot from my hotel in the center of the city to one of the royal palaces (swanky digs for a pre-tech event, I know) about two miles away.

Ultimately, that jaunt set the stage for the rest of my coverage. For the entirety of my time covering MWC for Tom's Guide, I skipped taxis and public transit in favor of my feet. Of course, this also meant a roughly 2-mile walk each day (in the opposite direction) to and from the convention grounds.

When all was said and done, I averaged roughly 7.5 miles of walking a day, including the commute and time spent exploring the show floor. That's about twice as far as I tend to walk on a normal day back home.

Somewhat surprisingly, I covered nearly the same amount of total distance in my five days at MWC compared to my four days covering CES back in early January, 37.38 miles (MWC) vs. 40.42 miles (CES).

My step count totals were also remarkably similar: 67K steps at MWC and 65K steps at CES.

2. I climbed the height of 3.5 Sagrada Familias

I never really thought of Barcelona as a hilly city, especially living in Seattle, WA, where the hills are steep, slippery, and unforgiving. Nevertheless, I did quite a bit of uphill climbing over the course of my five days at MWC 2026.

With a total just shy of 2,000 feet, I ascended the equivalent of 3.5 Sagrada Familia cathedrals (shown in the image above, from 2017) stacked on top of one another.

No doubt, some of this upward trajectory was the result of climbing stairs and escalators, but it also appears I gained a healthy amount of elevation during my daily walk to and from the show, too.

3. The Garmin Instinct 3’s battery life continues to impress

The Garmin Instinct 3 is a battery life GOAT, there's no doubt about it, and even though I opted for the slightly less-long-lasting AMOLED model rather than the Solar-powered one, I had zero concerns about power consumption, despite long days tracking my efforts with full GPS and heart rate data.

On average, the Garmin Instinct 3 burned through about 7% battery for every five hours of tracking. That's impressive. On day two of the show, I wore both the Garmin Instinct 3 and the Apple Watch Ultra 3, and found the latter less reliable on several counts, including battery drain; over roughly five hours, the Ultra 3 used 20% of its battery capacity, nearly three times more than the Garmin.

4. New Balance Fresh Foams are fantastic walking shoes

Breaking in a new pair of sneakers on an important business trip that involves lots of walking is far from an ideal scenario, but occasionally, I like to live dangerously. So, I packed my brand-spanking-new, piggy-bank-shattering New Balance Fresh Foam X Hierro V9 Gore-Tex kicks, having only tried them on once, and hoped for the best.

Fortunately, these puppies broke in like a charm, with zero foot discomfort. To be fair, this isn't my first pair of Fresh Foam X Hierro Gore-Tex trail shoes, but these are built slightly differently than prior models I've worn.

Even a gloomy, rainy day couldn't steal the spring from my step — the Fresh Foam V9 is outrageously bouncy — as the Gore-Tex exterior performed like a champ, keeping my socks and toes dry and cozy.

5. Barcelona is a pleasure to explore on foot...

...unlike Las Vegas. This is probably a no-brainer for anyone who has visited either city. However, it's worth commenting that while Las Vegas may, in fact, be the least pedestrian-friendly place I've ever stepped foot in, Barcelona is the exact opposite.

Each day on my return from MWC, I opted for a slightly different route back to my hotel, and was rewarded with glorious architectural gems, endless candid street scenes, unusual and often comical graffiti, non-stop parades of dogs (and their owners), and the ever-present smell of blooming flowers, which in most cases, overpowered any occasional smells of stale urine.

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The once promising Humane AI Pin turned out to be a bust. The device is officially dead, and HP has claimed all the juiciest assets. So, are AI pins another flash-in-the-pan product category, or are we still simply in the verticals’ infancy?

I just finished covering Mobile World Congress 2026 (MWC), the EU’s biggest tech show, where I saw one of the more promising new ‘personal AI wearables’ to launch since the demise of the lauded Humane AI Pin. Despite it being under glass, the Snapdragon processor-sporting Looki L1 officially gives me hope for the future of AI pins.

Please note, these impressions are subject to change based on, you know, actually testing a working model. That said, here are the five biggest reasons the Looki L1 wearable AI thingamabob is the first wearable AI thingamaboob I’d actually consider… wearing.

Ample AI power thanks to the W5 Gen 2 chip

I came across the Looki L1 under the blinding, daylight-balanced lights of the gargantuan Qualcomm/Snapdragon booth. The device sports the cutting-edge efficient, intelligent Snapdragon W5 Gen 2 chip, built for wearables, which allows for all sorts of heady AI tasks, all without sucking down too much battery.

That said, battery life is rated at 12 hours per charge, which is roughly half the longevity I’d want in such a wearable. Then again, some of the best Apple Watch models in 2026 only last 18 hours per charge, so maybe 12 hours of battery isn’t too shabby for a first-gen product.

Capture photos, video and audio

The lightweight device can be attached to your shirt or worn around the neck with a lanyard. A 12-megapixel Sony camera module adorns the front (plus a microphone), which can be used to capture photos (up to 4K resolution, videos (up to 1080p), and audio.

Captured media can be saved and shared to the cloud or social media using the Looki L1’s companion app. The device can also lean on its AI bonafides to create custom short films based on user-suggested prompts. For example, you might say, ‘Looki, make me a highlight reel showing my favorite moments from the past five years with my dog.’

Voice-activated AI assistance

As you might expect, the Looki L1 supports voice commands and inquiries, with answers backed by a large language AI model like ChatGPT. Ultimately, if the functionality works nearly as well as the Gemini AI voice assistant found on the best Android smartwatches, like the Samsung Galaxy Watch 8 and Pixel Watch 4, I'll be satisfied.

Whimsical design

Thanks to a small but boisterous group of individuals intent on pushing buttons of the general public with their POV recorded antics, wearable cameras are presently seen with a hesitant eye at best, and outright hostility at worst.

The Looki L1 doesn’t try to hide the fact that it’s essentially an oddly shaped wearable camera. That said, I’d argue that the physical aesthetic of the gadget — which, to me, resembles a cartoon cat with its paws outstretched, ready to give you a hug — is anything but sinister/fear-invoking.

It’s available now for $199

One of the best aspects of the Snapdragon-sporting Looki L1 is the simple fact that it's actually for sale via Looki, right now, to anyone who wants one; in three snazzy colors to boot! The cost is a reasonable $199, though you'll need a dataplan to make the most of it. Budget around $10 a month for that.

What do you think, is the Snapdragon Looki L1 something you'd try? What if the first year of data costs were waived with the purchase of the device? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Meet the Tbot from TCL. While still a concept (for now), this brilliant little accessory turns your child’s TCL smartwatch — including the latest Movietime MT48 — into a desktop robot companion while it charges.

I got to check out the TCL Tbot in person at MWC 2026, Europe’s biggest tech show, and I’m seriously enamored by how cute it is. That said, it does much more than keep you (and your child) entertained. Here’s everything you need to know about the TCL Tbot.

‘World’s first’ AI desktop companion for a kids' smartwatch

TCL claims the Tbot is the world’s first AI desktop pal for kids that uses a smartwatch. From my research, this checks out. But what does the Tbot actually do?

The Tbot is an always accessible companion that lives on a desk or table — sort of like a kid-friendly version of Alexa — that can answer questions, engage in child-appropriate chats, alert parents to emergencies, promote good posture, encourage good time management, read bedtime stories, set alarms, and more. That’s a lot of features!

Oh yeah, it charges the watch, too.

Parental permissions and safety are key

Just like TCL’s line of kid-centric Movietime smartwatches, the TCL Tbot offers ample parental controls, allowing you, the caregiver, to choose which features your child has access to (or not) and when.

On the health and safety side, when set upon a user’s bedside, the Tbot monitors sleep quality, reporting any disturbances and/or restlessness, along with overall time spent asleep. It can also automatically contact a parent or guardian if a fall or medical emergency is detected.

Funny faces that follow you

Once your TCL Movietime smartwatch is placed on the Tbot’s magnetic charging dock, the fun begins. The screen instantly switches to a goofy face that periodically changes and follows you around playfully via a rotation mechanism in the base of the accessory.

While this is easily the least important of its features, it's also the only one that brought a big smile to my face, and that's a big selling point, in my book.

It’s just a concept… for now

Ultimately, the TCL Tbot is just a concept for now. However, I’m seriously hopeful TCL will eventually bring it to market. If that happens, I wouldn’t expect it to cost more than $200, given the priciest TCL smartwatch for kids is around $150.

Moreover, I’d love to see an equally adorable version of the Tbot for adults with smartwatches. Bonus points if it works with all the best smartwatch brands.

What do you think, should TCL officially bring the Tbot concept to market? Let me know in the comments below.

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User-friendly, kid-centric smartwatches with parental controls and safety features are increasingly being seen by parents as the favored alternative to smartphones, particularly for pre-teens and younger.

While these devices still require a data plan — usually around $10 a month — they tend to offer better battery life than smartphones, in a lighter, always-with-you package. I just got my hands on the latest entry to the space, TCL’s Movietime MT48 smartwatch for kids, at MWC 2026, Europe’s largest tech show, and it checks all the right boxes, from build quality to battery life, smart features to tracking modes.

Here are the five biggest reasons parents should check out the TCL Movietime MT48 smartwatch for kids if they’re in the market for such a device.

1. Aggressively priced

While the MovieTime MT48 has yet to officially launch in the U.S., it can still be acquired via European markets. I’ve reached out to TCL to inquire about U.S. availability and will update this story when I know more.

The MT48 is on the affordable side, for a smartwatch, roughly $150 for the device itself + monthly data costs (check with your carrier; data plans tend to range from $5 to $15 per month). By comparison, the Fitbit ACE LTE, another popular kids’ smartwatch, starts at $179 (though it often goes on sale).

It’s also a little cheaper than the Pinwheel smartwatch ($159) and a lot more affordable than the Garmin Bounce 2, a $300 kid-friendly smartwatch.

2. Dual-band GPS with geofencing

Not all smartwatch GPS antennas are created equally; some offer better precision and reliability, particularly when the user is indoors. For peace of mind, the TCL Movietime MT48 sports a dual-band GPS antenna (more bands = better) with location data that refreshes every single second.

Like other popular kids’ smartwatches, parents can set up geofenced areas — like their child’s school or home — and receive notifications whenever they arrive at or depart from that location.

3. Ample parental controls

Parental controls go beyond geofencing alerts. Adults can also set whether or not the watch user has access to games, messages, and more. You can additionally monitor usage and even restrict access to certain features during specific time blocks, like the school day.

Parents additionally approve who can contact their child’s TCL Movietime MT48, ensuring no spammy/creepy calls or messages.

4. Dedicated SOS button

One safety feature you won’t necessarily find on other smartwatches for kids is the MT48’s dedicated emergency SOS button. When pressed, it instantly connects the users with their parents' or guardians' phones, while sharing their last logged GPS location.

5. Excellent battery life

The TCL Movietime MT48 smartwatch for kids is rated to last for roughly 2.5 days per charge. That’s better than even the latest Apple Watch Series 11 and a whole lot better than the Fibit Ace LTE, which is rated at just 16 hours per charge.

Meanwhile, in 'standby mode,' the MT48's battery life is good for up to seven days per charge.

6. Solid build quality

With a water resistance rating of two meters and an IP68 rating against dust and moisture, the TCL Movietime MT48 should stand up well to the rigors of everyday life. I wouldn’t wear it swimming, though, but for hand washing, etc., the watch should be good to go.

Despite an impressively lightweight case design, the MT48 definitely struck me as well constructed with responsive buttons and a decent-enough display.

The TCL Movietime MT48 smartwatch for kids is available now in most markets, outside the U.S., for around €130, depending on the retailer.

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• All the robots I met at MWC 2026, Europe’s largest tech show

Europe’s largest tech tradeshow, Mobile World Congress 2026, is winding down, and while my primary focus covering MWC has been on health and fitness tech, I’d be remiss not to share the startling (to me) number of robots I bumped into — several, literally — on the show floor.

Some danced, others did flips, and a few operated in such terrifying, inhuman-like ways that I may never sleep soundly again. That said, here are the most noteworthy robots of Mobile World Congress 2026.

Half-sized dancing robot

This guy first made an appearance during a pre-show event on Sunday. At that time, we met, snapped a selfie, enjoyed some mutual dancing, and that was that.

However, the $27,000 Agibot X2 ‘compact humanoid’ popped up once again at a random booth on Monday, the opening day of the show, and then another time, in a completely different part of the show complex on the second day.

By MWC’s third day, I had no doubt I’d run into my old, pint-sized pal, Agi, and sure enough, I did. However, on our final (I hope) run-in, I decided to give my new robot friend the cold shoulder and avoid its cold, metallic gaze, as I’m starting to think Agi may be secretly following me around…

Backflipping dog robot

Usually, when I think of robot dogs, I picture those scary, Terminator-like Boston Dynamics robots. However, this robot dog, also manufactured by Agibot, was much less intimidating. Well, at least for a little while. When the demo began, the robot at first seemed to mimic an actual dog, inspecting the crowd that had gathered and even jumping on its ‘hind legs’ in a show of excitement.

Then the movements became… aggressive. One backflip led to another, and then another. Suddenly, the cute robot dog seemed more like a licensed martial arts assassin, rather than man’s best digital friend. It was at this point that I made my exit from the demo.

A slightly less impressive mini humanoid

Agibot wasn’t the only brand with dancing robots on display. While on the hunt for my 20th ham sandwich, I couldn’t help but pause outside of Maoiclab’s booth to check out their MagicBot Z1, another half-ish-sized humanoid boasting 50 ‘bio-inspired joints.’

It’s a little less impressive in its dexterity and operational smoothness compared to the Agibot X2 — the arms whipped around at one point with an almost violent force — but still, the thing can bust some certifiably jaw-dropping dance moves.

AI-powered desktop robot for kids

On the more wholesome front, we have TCL’s concept Tbot companion bot for kids. This desktop, AI-powered accessory turns TCL’s line of kid-friendly smartwatches, including the latest Movietime MT48, into a fully interactive, child-safe virtual buddy (it’s also a charger).

The Tbot makes fun faces, answers questions, promotes good posture and time management, all while being anything but intimidating. I mean, seriously, how could you not smile at its cute facial expressions? Of all the robot-like devices I saw at MWC, this one was my favorite.

Beer butler robot

I only saw the beer butler robot from a distance, and while we didn’t get to meet formally, I, for one, am a fan of their style. Brought to you by Agibot, the same brand behind the half-sized human robot and scary dog-bot, the beer bot is part of the brand’s G series of light industrial robots.

Less scary and capable than the aforementioned, notably due to a lack of human/animal-like legs (it does have wheels for mobility), the Agibot G robot might be the ultimate party trick if, of course, you're willing to drop some major cash. That said, I hear Agibot offers a robot rental program.

The Omni hand

Want to feel super uncomfortable? Head to YouTube and pull up a video of THE OMNIHAND in action. While the human-like dexterity and movement of this mechanical appendage is nothing short of amazing, something about a dismembered robot hand seemingly operating on its own, helter-skelter-like, from a stationary platform strikes me as deeply unsettling.

At least there's a seemingly accessible on/off button at the base.

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What do you get when a gaming headset and Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses get a bit busy in the bedroom? You get Razer’s Project Motoko, and after testing them, I’m convinced that this is now so much more than just a headphone/smart glasses mashup.

These debuted at CES 2026 as a prototype that the company promised will be released at some point, at a price that would compete with smart glasses. And at MWC 2026, I got to take another look at them.

Chances are you already know the spec sheet here — a premium pair of cans with two 4K cameras, a Snapdragon chip (that Razer’s not allowed to say what it is, which makes me think it's something new and unannounced), and a promised 36-hour battery life.

But what matters here is this form factor unlocks so much as an AI device, beyond what AI glasses can do. Let me explain.

Mission complete

Given these have the DNA of smart glasses, AI-wise, the use cases on show are your pretty standard affair. Point the dual 12MP cameras at something, ask a question and get answers.

I tested it in a gaming sense (because, Razer) and got rapid feedback on how to use my Minecraft inventory in the silliest way possible.

But then I went further into real-life examples like asking what dishes to avoid on a foreign-language menu based on allergies and asking what to cook with a bunch of ingredients. It honestly felt like going through a game tutorial for life moments.

Responses are fast, with a capture taken and processed within seconds, and the headset is AI model agnostic — open to Gemini, ChatGPT (more like QuitGPT) and more that you can tune to different tasks for a multi-modal experience.

Razer does tout more features coming too, including real-time AI assistance through persistent video, AI-enhanced visual awareness that uses those wide angle cameras to identify details you may miss in your peripheral vision, and even machine learning tools to train robots.

A mass-appeal form factor

The idea of what AI hardware will look like is a question so many companies are trying to answer in so many different ways. One of the most common answers has been smart glasses, but Qualcomm itself (the company behind the chip) finds the idea of camera buds “interesting.”

“If people don’t want to wear glasses, you could have a camera in each one and now you can pretty much do everything that smart glasses can do,” Zaid Asghar, SVP of wearables and personal AI told Tom’s Guide.

Because let’s be honest — glasses aren’t for anyone. Be it from a comfort perspective or a “I don’t want to look like a hipster by wearing glasses I don’t need” side of things, they cause a bigger visual statement than a humble pair of cans.

And that’s why I’m very intrigued by Project Motoko. It changes the dynamic of how you use them from being just something you use every now and then in glasses to something that can be with you at all times.

It’s rare you’ll find me without headphones on my neck or around my head, and chances are you’re the same too. This elevates it to an actually useful AI assistant you’d use on the regular, instead of something you use on vacations to tell you fun facts about buildings.

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Mobile World Congress (MWC) used to just be about phones! But just like CES back in January, it’s basically now also a computing show where you can see a whole lot of new laptops in action.

And a few of the biggest companies on the planet have gone all out to win the hearts and minds of general users, pros and gamers alike with their contributions to the year of the laptop.

Just because the MacBook Neo is hogging the spotlight doesn't mean there aren't any blockbuster announcements happening here. From Lenovo’s zany concepts to machines you can buy today, here are my 5 favorite machines coming out of Barcelona and onto my desk soon.

1. Honor MagicBook Pro 14

Honor is back again with the MagicBook Pro 14, and this time it’s outfitted with Intel Core Ultra Series 3. I’ve always been a massive fan of Honor’s laptops for finding an ideal balance between the three P’s — performance, power efficiency and portability.

This does exactly that for another consecutive year, while also adding in some real premium upgrades here like a gorgeously vivid 3120 x 2080-resolution OLED display at 3:2 aspect ratio, a top-notch feeling keyboard and a weight loss over last year’s model (coming in now at 1.39kg).

And all of this is thrown into a sleek aluminum chassis that’s quite the looker from all angles and easy to stow away in the backpack — along with a stupendously long battery life courtesy of that 92Wh cell inside.

2. Lenovo Legion Go foldable prototype

It started life as a quirky gaming handheld with a folding screen, but once fully unfolded, you can attach that 11.6-inch panel to a keyboard deck to return to your netbook era. I know this is just a concept — a prototype you’ll never be able to buy.

But in that brief moment of going back in time, it made me realize just how much I had started to legitimately miss using something so small. The more compact frame does feel far nicer to carry around, while not giving up on the ergonomics of that keyboard. I just hope that 11-inch laptops make a comeback.

3. Lenovo ThinkBook Modular concept

Part two of the Lenovo trio blends a Framework laptop with an Asus Zenbook Duo to make for an impressively modular prototype that I so hope becomes real soon. Welcome to the ThinkBook Modular concept — a pogo pin-driven dream of versatility that lets you use the system in any way you see fit.

Want a dual-screen experience? Just pop the keyboard deck off and replace it with a second display. Want to present something cool, take the display off, connect it via USB-C and attach a stand to it to show things off. Looking for another USB-C port? Slide that HDMI socket off the side and replace it.

Repairability and ease of upgradeability is becoming more and more crucial in 2026, and Lenovo’s concept shows how exciting this could be.

4. Lenovo Yoga Pro 7a

I was a big fan of the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition at last year’s show, but one thing became a limiting factor — battery life because of the use of a dedicated RTX 50-series GPU inside.

But as I predicted way back in January last year (and have been so vindicated on), integrated graphics have evolved at such a rapid pace and AMD’s Strix Halo is the crown jewel of an example of this.

So what happens when you take that Yoga Pro lineage and mash it with an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ chipset? Simple, you get the Yoga Pro 7a. This is a mighty MacBook Pro competitor with a massive OLED panel, a touchpad that sports stylus support for doodling, and a way better battery life.

5. Tecno Megabook S14

And finally, a shout out to my ultraportables crowd. Getting something uber thin and light is getting very pricey nowadays, but the Tecno MegaBook S14 would beg to differ. It is officially the world’s lightest 14-inch OLED laptop at just 899 grams.

The aluminum body feels premium to the touch with good keyboard/touchpad ergonomics to boot. Power-wise, there is a bit of a compromise with Intel Core Ultra Series 1 silicon, but still good enough for general office productivity and binge watching the night away.

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MWC this year might stand for Modular World Congress. We've already seen Lenovo's modular ThinkBook laptop, and now we have Tecno — a phone maker that's never shy about making wild concept devices — with its own modular smartphone system to show off. While it's only a concept, I got to see it in action on the show floor, and I liked it more than I thought I would.

Modular phones have been tried before, with products like Motorola's Moto Mods or the LG G series phones, culminating in the G8X ThinQ Dual Screen. But with both of those now defunct, it's been some time since we saw someone try their own spin on the formula. Officially titled "Modular Magnetic Interconnection Technology," Tecno's concept claims to be a possible solution to the issue of making phones more capable without making them overly bulky. And it does that by letting users mix and match parts as they see fit.

It all starts with the basic phone. It's a little like an iPhone Air in terms of its slim profile (except even slimmer at 4.9mm /0.19 inches thick) and the big camera bar at the top of the back panel. But see those bronze-colored pads? Those are the magnetic points to which you attach the modular elements. And Tecno sure had a lot of them to show off.

We can start off with the more pedestrian mods, like the external microphone or the speaker (shown above), both of which are common types of peripherals that just happen to be magnetically attachable to the back of the phone.

There's also the option to add an antenna that lets you make local calls, walkie-talkie style - something a few phones like Oppo's Find X9 offer, but still something we already know is practical. But these mods are only the tip of the iceberg.

You can attach a telephoto converter to the camera block to give the single lens optical zoom at your leisure.

Alternatively, you can augment the phone with an action cam with Wi-Fi connectivity, so you can use it separately or attached, including to the display side of the phone for your extreme selfie needs. This mod in particular looks like a natural fit for the lanyard or clip attachments that are also part of the modular suite.

But if that's all inadequate, you can add on a full camera body, with a separate sensor and lens that offers up to 20x optical zoom. The lens comes with a manual focus ring too, although from the way the Tecno stand staffer instructed me to hold it, this one feels like it's a little too much for the magnets to hold on by themselves.

There's no USB-C port, or port of any kind, on this concept - it's wireless charging or nothing. Fortunately, the charger still has the required modular connectors on its top side, so it can join in the stacking fun too.

But maybe you won't need that charger much, since one of the largest add-ons is a battery pack, adding an extra 3,000 mAh of capacity (over half the capacity of a regular large smartphone) in a surprisingly slim body. But if you need to be really, really certain you're not going to run out of battery, you can stack multiple battery packs on top of one another to keep adding more and more capacity.

If you can't decide which to use, you can simply stack all the mods on top of one another to make an extremely capable but monstrous-looking phone. It's kind of heavy, and dropping it would have meant a firework display of plastic, glass and silicon, but wow, you sure feel powerful holding it.

We're used to phones that try to do everything, but in doing so, phones have continued to get larger and heavier. Allowing users to switch in and out to the exact features they need means a more portable default phone experience, plus hopefully better hardware.

But I'm still not confident that this would work in practice - I imagine some of the larger modular attachments would be quite expensive, then there's the question of how you store or transport them all safely. These are all problems that Motorola, LG and the others had to deal with, and that ultimately spelled the end of their modular dreams.

Still, Tecno's system is well thought out in spite of the usual issues with modular tech. And there has been plenty more to see at MWC 2026, including a selection of products we liked so much, we rated them our MWC 2026 Best in Show.

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I've always been a fan of wireless earbuds over wireless headphones, but after trying Soundcore’s freshly-announced Space 2 headphones while out at MWC 2026, I’m well and truly converted.

The mid-tier Space One was a well-respected pair of 'phones, with a spot on our best cheap wireless headphones guide. So their follow-up has to deliver, and there are a number of reasons why the Space 2 do.

The Soundcore Space 2 headphones will be available for $129/£129 from April 21. That's thirty bucks more than the Space One, marking a fairly considerable price hike - not what you want to see for an affordable set of headphones. Fortunately, Soundcore's been doing its best to justify why you're paying extra.

Firstly, they look and feel great, with three available colors. The Linen White and Seafoam Green are natural pastels that are easy on the eyes, while there’s Jet Black for the more discreet. There’s soft leatherette covering the headband and foldable earcups, plus memory foam for added plushness. I found myself squishing them during my briefing — they’re that comfortable. And at just 261g, these cans are very light.

The specs are impressive too. The battery is good for 70 hours of runtime, or 50 hours with ANC, a big upgrade from its predecessor’s respective 55 and 40 hours. That’s plenty of juice for a week of solid use. But when you need to recharge, 5 minutes plugged in is apparently good for four hours of playback.

I’ve been wearing the Space 2 for 6 hours as I write this, and they sound great. The 40mm drivers utilize a silk diaphragm, which translates into better and more responsive sound. No matter what track I chuck at it, the mid and high notes feel rich and crisp, and though pricier rivals deliver a more potent low response, there’s still a surprisingly punchy bass. Plus, there’s LDAC compatibility for high-res audiophiles. ANC is also effective, thanks to four-stage noise-cancelling that can negate the din of loud crowds and office chatter.

Thanks to its all-day comfort, solid sound reproduction, and attractive price tag, I’m a big fan. But we'll have to test the Soundcore Space 2 in full before we give it the full level of acclaim that we gave its predecessor.

To see what else we've seen out in Barcelona, check our MWC 2026 page, or the TG MWC 2026 Best in Show for the top products on offer in the Fira convention center.

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Display tech is a major focus for brands at MWC 2026. Samsung just introduced its new Privacy Display feature on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, while Lenovo has unveiled its expandable Legion Go Fold Concept here on the show floor in Barcelona.

TCL, however, takes a different route compared to most brands. Instead of chasing higher brightness or refresh rates, the company has focused on making displays easier on the eyes with its NXTPAPER tech.

I've personally been interested in NXTPAPER for a while, especially since my screen-on time keeps increasing and doesn't seem to be going down anytime soon. That said, I've never fully considered switching to a TCL phone because the overall hardware and specs didn't quite match up with competitors.

At MWC 2026, TCL has introduced the NXTPAPER 70 Pro, a new smartphone that not only brings the latest version of its eye-friendly display but also comes with hardware that finally feels competitive. It might just be the first TCL phone that makes me seriously consider switching.

The NXTPAPER 70 Pro is available now in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, starting at €299. It isn't currently available in the US, but TCL says it will arrive sometime in April 2026, so the wait should not be too long.

The NXTPAPER 70 Pro features a large 6.9-inch display, which uses the company's NXTPAPER 4.0 tech. The moment you pick up the phone and touch the screen, you immediately feel the difference compared to other smartphones. It doesn't feel like a typical glossy glass panel. Instead, it has a matte surface, using a nano-textured finish that mimics paper.

TCL says the NXTPAPER tech on the 70 Pro reduces eye fatigue by minimizing exposure to blue light, while the textured display also helps cut down glare. It isn't the brightest display I've seen on a smartphone, but it still supports a 120Hz refresh rate, so you don't feel like you are sacrificing much compared to other Android phones.

The real magic sits on the side of the phone. The NXTPAPER 70 Pro includes a dedicated slide key that switches the display into NXTPAPER mode. It's basically a switch to transform your phone into a Kindle or Kobo on demand.

TCL offers three NXTPAPER modes: Max Ink Mode, Ink Paper Mode, and Color Paper Mode. The Color Paper Mode retains some color while applying a softer paper-like finish that is much easier on the eyes. What really impressed me about this mode is that the phone still functions like a "full" Android device with smooth animations and all features available, but with the added comfort of a matte, paper-style display.

The Ink Paper Mode switches the display to a black-and-white interface, while Max Ink Mode essentially transforms the device into an e-reader built for long reading sessions. TCL claims the phone can deliver up to seven days of reading time and up to 26 days on standby in this mode.

What's even more impressive is that you can use the device as a note-taking tool on the go, as it supports TCL's T-Pen stylus. There isn't any slot on the phone to store the stylus, though, so you'd have to carry that separately.

Apart from the paper-like display, the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro seems like a solid mid-range phone as well. It runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 7300 processor and is backed by a sizeable 5,200mAh battery.

There is support for up to 30W wired fast charging, although if you primarily use the phone in NXTPAPER mode, you probably will not need to charge it that often. It comes with 8GB of RAM, and thankfully starts with 256GB of storage on the base variant.

The phone runs on Android 16 out of the box with TCL's own Android skin on top, which I found smooth and fluid to navigate. TCL has also integrated several AI features into its software, like photo editing and text summary/generation tools, plus you get access to Google's Gemini as well.

On the camera side, you get a 50MP primary sensor paired with an 8MP ultra-wide lens and a 32MP front camera for selfies and video calls. We didn't get enough time to properly test the camera during our short hands-on session at the TCL booth, though I'd keep expectations on the lower side in this area, given the budget nature of this phone.

If you're someone who wants to cut down on screen time, or make what screen time you do have better, the TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro could be an excellent choice. But if you'd rather have something a little more eccentric as your next device, then check out the other stuff we've covered during MWC 2026, and what we've nominated MWC 2026 Best in Show.

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Have you ever wanted to play Tetris directly on your eyeball? To be honest, the thought never occurred to me. But after seeing a demo of such a usecase via Xpanceo’s next-gen smart contact lenses at Mobile World Congress 2026, Europe’s biggest tech show, I can’t get the thought out of my mind.

Xpanceo is one of the most notable players in the smart contact lens space — I spoke to the founders last year at length about the future of wearable tech — and the brand isn’t just pursuing one concept or application for the technology, but a whole array of them.

From a consumer point of view, the Xpanceo's device that’s most likely to come to market in the next few years combines on-lens displays with 24/7 blood glucose monitoring, making it both a smart and wellness device in one. Don’t worry, in-eye comfort is also a top priority.

But how will it be powered? For now, Xpanceo is relying on a companion over-the-ear device to provide power via wireless charging to the smart contact lenses. However, a teeny-tiny battery built into the lenses themself will ensure that users can still utilize the basic features, even when companion power isn’t within range.

The companion device will also handle all of the computational processing needed to operate the smart contact lenses.

While a bulky accessory worn along the side of your face to power Xpanceo’s smart contact lenses isn’t ideal, brand reps assure me that the ultimate goal is to make the lenses a stand-alone device that can be worn without much thought (or additional tech), just like normal contacts.

Harvesting a user’s body heat to power smart contact lenses is one possibility; however, such technology is still likely several years away. Solar-powered contact lenses are another option.

In addition to the over-ear power accessory, Xpanceo is also working on a companion power accessory that takes the form of a helmet, which could make it an appealing option for everyone from extreme sports athletes to astronauts (Xpanceo has already partnered with one space agency).

In addition to consumer-oriented smart contact lenses, Xpanceo is also exploring a range of medical-specific use cases, including lenses that can help detect signs of glaucoma early, which could greatly increase a patient’s chances of preserving their vision.

Another concept under active development is a set of smart contact lenses that monitor drug levels in a patient’s system with a level of precision not currently available. This could help, say, cancer doctors, ensure that they're providing just the right amount of treatment to help a patient’s condition without causing unnecessary harm.

Ultimately, with the promise of a working consumer-oriented prototype set for 2027, Xpanceo's smart contact lenses could be in your eyeball before you know it. Which begs the question: Do you really even need a pair of smart glasses?

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I just tested the latest innovation from consumer health tech brand, Nuralogix, on the Mobile World Congress 2026 tradeshow floor. The new Anura app brings all the magic of the brand’s Longevity Mirror — a personal wellness monitoring device that’s designed to be mounted on your bathroom wall — into a basic smartphone app that does the same exact thing using the onboard camera.

When I tested the Longevity Mirror a month and a half ago at CES 2026 in Las Vegas, I was blown away by the level of holistic insights the product could glean from a brief 30-second face scan, including details on my vitals, physical health, mental well-being, metabolic risks, and more. However, the cost, $899, struck me as a tad high for the average consumer (+$100 annually for the subscription).

The Anura app reduces that initial cost barrier; users simply need to pay for the annual subscription to utilize Nuralogix’s age-predicting tech. I just tried the app out using my personal iPhone 16 Plus, and learned a ton in just 30 seconds. Here are the three biggest takeaways.

My heart rate was high, and my breathing rate was low

Just like the Longevity Mirror, the Nuralogix Anura app scans your face to determine how well (or not) you’re aging. However, it’s not looking at the surface but rather just below the skin to analyze your blood flow patterns using a process called Transdermal Optical Imaging.

From this 30-second reading, the Anura app can clue you into loads of wellness insights, including, at its most basic, your current heart rate and breathing rate. In my case, my heart rate was slightly elevated for my age/weight/height (you enter this data before taking a scan), and my breath rate was slightly under the average.

My elevated heart rate was likely the result of darting between booths like a madman just prior to the scan. Meanwhile, in an attempt to hold my face as still as possible for thirty seconds, I’m pretty sure I also inadvertently held my breath too… oops.

My mental stress levels were average

Much to my surprise, the Anura app noted mental stress levels within an average range. While covering massive consumer tech events doesn’t stress me out all that much, the impacts of jet lag and a lack of sleep certainly do.

My journey from Seattle to Barcelona a few days earlier definitely knocked my mental sharpness down a bit. However, it seems a combination of prioritizing sleep since my arrival, hydrating, and getting plenty of daily exercise (I’ve been averaging 5+ miles of walking a day) has largely balanced out all the negative impacts of timezone jumping.

My ‘general wellness score’ was also higher than expected

My ‘general wellness score’ also came out higher than I expected, which certainly made me feel good about the prior night’s decision to go to bed early, rather than dipping out for a cheeky late-night cocktail or two.

Ultimately, the whole point of the Anura app, along with the Longevity Mirror, is not to get a single snapshot of your health, but to continuously monitor it over a length of time to better understand how your lifestyle is impacting important parameters like your vascular capacity, heart rate variability, mental stress, hypertension risks, and more.

That’s an awful lot of insights from such a quick and straightforward process that involves little more than holding still for 30 seconds with your phone pointed at your face. What do you think? Would you give the Anura app a try if Nuralogix made a free demo available? Let me know in the comments below.

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I’m in Barcelona, Spain, reporting on Mobile World Congress, Europe’s largest consumer technology show. With no shortage of ground to cover, for day two of the show, I logged my walking efforts wearing two of the best smartwatch models (and personal favorites of mine), the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Instinct 3.

With the Garmin on my right wrist and the Apple Watch on my left, I made my way to the convention center from my hotel, a roughly two-mile walk. Intent on maximizing my workout for the day, I opted to not only avoid taxis and public transit on my way to and from the show, but also chose the stairs over escalators and solid ground over moving walkways, every chance I got.

With roughly 15,000 steps in the books on day 2 of MWC, here are the five biggest takeaways I gleaned from the data logged by the Apple Watch Ultra 3 versus the Garmin Instinct 3.

Apple Watch Ultra 3 vs Garmin Instinct 3: MWC day 2 results

1. Garmin logged far more distance covered

After about four hours and 45 minutes out and about, I returned to my hotel room, concluded tracking on both devices, and analyzed the results. Much to my surprise, the Garmin Instinct 3 recorded a substantially greater amount of distance (+1.13 miles) covered compared to the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

2. Apple and Garmin recorded nearly the same step count totals

Despite vastly different distance tallies, the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Instinct 3 noted remarkably similar step count totals of roughly 15,000 steps, with just 106 steps separating their calculations. That’s impressive, for sure, but then again, it only adds to my confusion on the distance front.

3. Apple's elevation gain data seems inflated

The area of Barcelona I’m currently operating in is relatively flat, which is why I was somewhat surprised to see that my Apple Watch logged 935 total feet of elevation gain. The Garmin Instinct 3, meanwhile, noted a much more reasonable climb metric of 548 feet. So, why is Apple’s ascent data so high? I’m guessing that the handful of times I had no choice but to take an escalator upwards were a factor.

4. Apple and Garmin measured similar average heart rates and calories burned

Both the Apple Watch Ultra 3 and Garmin Instinct 3 logged roughly the same average heart rate for my day out and about covering the latest tech. The smartwatches also recorded a similar amount of calories burned; however, Garmin noted a considerably higher maximum heart rate than Apple, something I’m at a loss to account for.

5. The Instinct 3 used far less battery than the Ultra 3

I spent just shy of five hours out at MWC on day 2, with both smartwatches running full-steam, logging my location, heart rate, and more. During that period, the Garmin Instinct 3 drained just 6% of its battery compared to 20% for the Apple Watch Ultra 3.

Ultimately, both smartwatches performed well in tracking my journalistic efforts from a step count standpoint while covering day two of Mobile World Congress. However, with what appears to be more accurate ascent and distance data, and far superior power management, I’m leaning toward sticking with the Garmin to track day 3.

Which of these two powerhouse smartwatches do you prefer? Let me know below.

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OLED is already the gold standard for smartphone displays. The brightness, color accuracy and power efficiency over LCD has meant it's rare to find any new phone with something other than OLED. And AMOLED (made by Samsung Display) is basically as good as it gets.

However, AMOLED isn't always easy on the eyes, which is why TCL is combining it with its paper-like display tech to develop a screen that's not only bright and colorful, but doesn't put a strain on your when reading. TCL put this new tech on display at MWC 2026 with the new Nxtpaper AMOLED.

Apart from the boost in brightness, the biggest improvement is the display's anti-glare properties. Anti-reflective displays are becoming more common on tech today, such as the nano-texture screens on the Apple MacBook Pro or iPad Pro.

By contrast, TCL's screen tech tries to match natural light via "circular polarization." This severely reduces glare by effectively rotating the light as it passes through the layers of a display, meaning it can't just shine back out and spoil what the screen's actually trying to show you.

Blue light emission is also something that TCL's been working on. That dastardly part of the spectrum that can cause sleep disruption or even damage to your eyes is a problem smartphone makers have been trying to address for years. TCL claims that Nxtpaper AMOLED can reduce over 97% of blue light emitted by a regular display.

A pillar of Nxtpaper's appeal is its benefits when reading, and just like the existing version, the AMOLED edition can be switched into full greyscale mode. But grey isn't always purely grey, because TCL gives this display adjustable warmth and brightness depending on the time of day and surrounding light conditions. Apparently things can go as dim as 1 nit according to TCL's figures, hopefully avoiding headaches when reading in the dark.

Despite all of these tweaks to the AMOLED formula, TCL promises these displays are still color accurate with full P3 color gamut coverage (read: all the color you'd expect a premium display to offer). The company's also promising the smooth 120Hz refresh rate you'd expect from a new smartphone display, and a peak brightness of 3,200 nits. Considering how easy it was to read these displays while under full-on expo hall lighting, I see no reason to doubt these figures,.

Although the Nxtpaper 70 Pro is on its way to store shelves right now, Nxtpaper AMOLED remains a concept. But it's a concept you can literally see works, and I hope we do see this on actual products in the near future. Or at least at next MWC.

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If last year's Mobile World Congress (MWC) event felt like the entry point for AI, then this year's show confirmed just how much it's ingrained in our devices. As such, part of our challenge with MWC 2026 was to recognize innovations that incorporate AI in truly helpful ways — rather than just having AI for the sake of it, or that go the other direction and ground their innovations in unique hardware.

This includes a smartphone with a "robot" inside, and a pair of smart glasses that can seamlessly project and summarize your notifications for you while also helping you gain more insights into your surroundings.

But what about just really compelling hardware? MWC 2026 had plenty of that, too, from a foldable phone so thin it makes a standard protective case look thick to a concept tablet with a slidable display that can grow from 8 to 12 inches on command.

After meeting with dozens of companies — and hearing about a lot of AI — these are the very best new products at MWC 2026.

Best phone: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra

Samsung showed off the Galaxy S26 series at its own event last week, but since these phones aren't yet on sale, the company's stand here at MWC has been teeming with people wanting to get a first-hand look at the latest Android flagships.

Understandably, it's the Privacy Display that's captured attention the most. It's built-in, can be set to work automatically with any app you like and is precise enough to hide only your notifications. We expect to see a number of other smartphone makers attempt to make their own version very soon.

Of course, Samsung has upgraded plenty besides the display. The S26 Ultra also offers improved main and 5x telephoto cameras to take brighter images, plenty of new AI features to handle edits, task organization and more on your behalf. There's faster charging and a mighty new chipset to power it all. It's as far from an iterative upgrade as you can get.

Our review of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is still in progress, but the innate quality of this phone is easy to see, and that is why it's taken a prize here at our MWC Best in Show awards. — Richard Priday

Best tablet: Honor MagicPad 4

Honor might be grabbing headlines at MWC 2026 for its Magic V6 foldable, but in my opinion, the best product from the brand right now is actually the new MagicPad 4 Android tablet.

At just 4.8mm thick, the MagicPad 4 is not only thinner than Apple's iPad Pro M5 but also the thinnest Android tablet you can buy right now. And despite that slim profile, it doesn't compromise on specs. You get a large 10,100mAh battery inside, along with a bright 12.3-inch OLED display that supports up to a 165Hz refresh rate and slim bezels. It's powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset and comes with up to 512GB of storage.

Of course, you can pair it with a keyboard to turn it into a productivity device on the go, but what really stands out is the built-in app windowing support. Tap the windowing button in the taskbar, and every app you open launches in its own window, similar to a Windows laptop. You can then move them around freely and multitask with ease.

The MagicPad 4 is really one of those devices that makes you appreciate the engineering behind it the moment you pick it up. — Sanuj Bhatia

Best concept: Honor Robot Phone

Honor has been teasing this gimbal-equipped, personality-stuffed phone for a few months already, but we finally got a look at what it could do. And it will make all kinds of users happy.

For the hardware-focused, especially if they're also camera enthusiasts, a phone with a tiny 3-axis gimbal is already a fun idea. And the option to interact with the phone conversationally, with the 200MP camera now acting as the nodding, shaking and dancing head of a pocket AI companion, may entice those of us who are all-in on the current AI moment in tech.

What's more, Honor claims this phone will become an actual purchasable device later this year, with additional features on the way too. We're not sure how much we believe that, but wherever Honor and its Robot Phone go next, we'll be watching with great interest. — Richard Priday

Best gaming product: Lenovo Legion Go Concept

Lenovo’s back at it again with a crazy prototype, and this one takes gaming to the next level by putting four devices in one. This is the Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept, and I so wish it becomes a reality one day, because it’s part handheld, part foldable, part netbook and part tablet.

Beyond its ergonomic controllers, its secret weapon is the foldable POLED panel that can be unfolded from 7.7 inches to a full 11.6 inches for a far bigger gaming canvas. You can put the controllers back on either in landscape or portrait (differing POVs depending on whether the game needs more verticality), or you can stick it on the keyboard deck and feel like you’re back in the netbook era.

This raw versatility is unheard of in gaming handhelds, and something I’d love to see explored more. — Jason England

Best audio product: Soundcore Space 2

The Soundcore Space 2 headphones sound like a dream for those who want decent-quality cans but refuse to drop more than $150 on a pair. Yet they look and feel practically premium, with a clean, foldable design and plush-feeling headband and earcups. The best bit? They can endure up to 70 hours between charges, or 50 hours with ANC.

They feel light and comfy to wear, with a robust seal that doesn’t cook my ears. I found the four-stage ANC effective, negating the collective din of hundreds of chit-chatting people walking by. I fed it my repertoire of test songs, including The Prodigy, Queen, and Fleetwood Mac, and it delivered rich, crisp audio, with enough oomph in the bass. The loudness also holds up well without distortion, until you crank it up to the levels your mother warned you about. — Matt Ng

Best smart home product: Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28

As someone with kids, it’s never long before the kitchen floor gets sticky from cooking mess, spilled juice, or unsanctioned science experiments. Thankfully, the budget-focused Eufy C28 is on hand to help. The all-in-one station offers up to 75 days of hands-free use, during which you’re untethered from draining mucky water tanks, detangling hairs, emptying grotty dustbags, and cleaning filthy mop brushes.

I like the slimline design of this one, and though the finish isn’t as premium as its pricier counterparts, the matte design isn’t a sucker for fingerprints. I’ve had a quick go already, and the 15,000pa suction provides sufficient cleaning power for most debris, while the mopping is solid and doesn’t leave streaky finishes.

Sadly, with no extendable brush or mop, expect to do some manual top-up cleaning along skirting boards, corners, and awkward nooks, but at least this machine takes on the brunt of your floor-cleaning duties. — Matt Ng

Best robotics product: Cambridge Consultants Humanoid Robots

Humanoid robots are fast becoming a reality, but so far all we've seen is demos of movement. Don't get me wrong — that's cool. But a preset pop'n'lock dance routine doesn't necessarily answer the question of "how will this thing help me around the house?"

Cambridge Consultants came to MWC 2026 with the answer: a robot packed with two Nvidia Jetson chips running off Team Green's latest Blackwell GPU. With this loop, it is able to run a 2-billion parameter AI model to act reactively and proactively to complete tasks — thinking 16 steps ahead and taking situational differences into account.

For example, in this box-moving exercise here, we have the common sense to figure out how to lift it and put it down. In the physical AI space, however, it takes huge quantities of compute to establish what the angle of the box is, how much pressure to put on it, what kind of grip it needs, and where to put it at what force. This is able to run all those equations 50 times every second, and it's a real glimpse of what a robotic future could look like. — Jason England

Best innovation: MemoMind One smart glasses

MWC truly turned into the war of the smart glasses, and the MemoMind One really stood out with the right balance of features for them to be the ideal replacement for taking your phone out of your pocket to do the simple tasks. And it does all of that while being rather stylish on your face — actually not looking like smart glasses.

You know that “tech bro” look, right? The one where you’ve obviously got a piece of tech strapped to your face. Smart specs have entered an awkward phase, but the ones are, well, the ones that manage to keep things far more refined. They share a lot of similar features with the Even Realities G2, but take things up a notch with built-in speakers and far more design choices to find the right look for you. — Jason England

Best design: TCL Nxtpaper 70 Pro

While Samsung is proudly showcasing its Privacy Display feature on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, TCL is continuing to double down on eye comfort with its Nxtpaper displays at MWC 2026. The company has introduced its new smartphone, the Nxtpaper 70 Pro, powered by its latest Nxtpaper 4.0 technology.

The Nxtpaper 70 Pro features a large 6.9-inch display with support for up to a 120Hz refresh rate. Thanks to the Nxtpaper technology, it reduces eye fatigue by cutting down glare and minimizing blue light exposure. But what truly stands out is the inclusion of three different Nxtpaper modes.

The Nxtpaper 70 Pro lets you switch between Color Paper Mode, Ink Paper Mode, and Max Ink Mode. Color Paper Mode retains full color while still offering the eye-comfort benefits. Ink Paper Mode converts the display to black and white for a more paper-like experience, while Max Ink Mode transforms the phone into a near e-reader-style device for extended reading sessions.

Beyond the display, the Nxtpaper 70 Pro appears to be a capable smartphone. It offers up to 512GB of storage, a 5200mAh battery, IP68 dust and water resistance, and runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. It isn’t launching in the U.S. right away, but TCL says availability will begin in April 2026. — Sanuj Bhatia

Best security product: Tapo C665G KIT

Looking to upgrade your at-home security? The new Tapo C665G Kit from TP-Link makes a compelling case for being affixed to the outside of your home. Available in two options, with or without a bundled solar panel (45 minutes of sunlight = 24 hours of capture), this weatherproof camera could well be the smartest and most secure consumer security solution in the world.

First, it's compatible with both WiFi and 4G; simply pop in a 4G SIM card and enjoy peace of mind that your security system won't be inaccessible just because your WiFi is out.

Moreover, 4K video quality with subject recognition, night mode, and a built-in spotlight make monitoring your domain a breeze. Plus, the camera automatically tilts and shifts to track subjects using AI, from faces to pets, vehicles, and more. Best of all, all the AI processing is handled on the device, for extra security. — Dan Bracaglia

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Honor's MWC 2026 offerings contain both real devices and futuristic concepts. But as good as the actual launching products like the Magic V6 are, the one that's clearly captured the attention of the tech world is Honor's Robot Phone concept.

On the back of an otherwise regular smartphone, behind a sliding cover, lives a gimbal-mounted 200MP camera, powered by a tiny custom motor. Inspired by the Pixar Lamp (in case you couldn't guess from the way it moves and makes cute oohs and aahs in the trailer), this gimbal is meant to give the phone character and functionality that other smartphones simply can't match.

While Honor isn't letting the public touch the Robot Phone yet (with one of its minders sharply telling off one TG-er who dared to poke the screen), we've watched the demos closely and reviewed the facts carefully. And what we seem to have here is a phone of two halves, each imagining a future for the smartphone in divergent ways.

The Phone

We'll begin with the hardware first, even though Honor is adamant that this device is more than just a smartphone with a big gimbal bolted to the back. Because, for one, it's actually a remarkably small gimbal.

Despite having three axes of movement, a miniature motor ensures the 200MP camera module moves snappily and precisely when required. And there are a lot of potential uses that Honor showed off, such as tracking during recording video calls, super-steady video for when things get hectic, and something Honor calls AI SpinShot. That one lets the gimbal rotate at a set speed to a specific point to create dramatic footage that you would normally need more than just a phone for.

Plus, the camera's been built in collaboration with the cinematography masters at ARRI, which is an impressive partnership for a concept device.

The Robot

To be honest, Honor could have just stopped there - that's more than enough unique functionality to make this concept one worth talking about. But that apparently wasn't enough, which is why this is a Robot Phone rather than a Gimbal Phone or something like that.

The built-in AI functionality lets you have conversations with the phone, and the gimbal will respond.

Honor showed off the phone nodding or shaking its "head" to respond to user questions, and how it can dance along to music, moving quickly or slowly as the beat requires. You can ask questions too, such as how your outfit looks, and the phone will note what you're wearing and give you some encouragement, with a thoughtful head dip and nod from the camera to accompany it.

There's more AI to find with the camera, too. Honor mentioned on stage how the Robot Phone features "AI editing" and" Agentic shooting," but didn't go into detail about what that meant or how it worked.

Honor's presentation also mentioned that the Robot Phone would gain further uses, for both on-desk tasks and out and about, later in the year. So it sounds like Honor plans to keep developing this concept, if not actually turn it into a commercial product you can buy in at least China, if not other countries too.

Which is it first: Robot, or phone?

It's obvious that the Honor Robot Phone is meant to have personality and expressiveness that the average AI-powered phone currently lacks. I don't know if that's something that users want, but I know a few people who are already curious about the gimbal tech that underpins this phone.

For me, I still consider my phone a tool, and I don't need a tool to have a pre-installed character. But perhaps for tech users who have conversations with chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini every day, this is the kind of thing they expect their next phone to have.

Honor seems to have done a clever hedging of its bets with the Robot Phone at MWC 2026. Two ideas about the future in one phone means twice as many chances of making the right call.

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The world is staring at Apple right now — anticipating a low-cost MacBook sporting a phone chip (specifically the A18 Pro) over the more powerful M-series. It’s an interesting pivot, which could be the key to fighting back against the RAM price crisis and making affordable laptops.

Well, there is only one other company who could do the same with its massive selection of chips for devices of all sizes: Qualcomm. Much like Apple silicon, Snapdragon architecture runs the whole gamut from the upcoming X2 lineage for laptops to 8 Elite mobile chips. So how does the company feel about this potentially huge pivot?

In the final few moments before Apple look set to debut its entirely new entry into the MacBook family, I got the chance to put this question to Kedar Kondap, SVP of compute and gaming at Qualcomm.

‘We feel very good’

The response from Qualcomm was simple at first, but it’s when you start to combine it with other things that were said that it starts to click into place — like a chipset sitting perfectly flush on a motherboard.

“From our perspective, there’s nobody better suited in this industry than Qualcomm to be able to address this challenge,” Kondap commented. “We have the same set of chips that are easily accessible on the phone side, as well as on the PC side. Not just that, but we have a pretty good share in tablets.”

“I feel like we’re in a very good position to go drive that, and we’ll see what the industry leads to. This is a moment where it’s going to work to our strength, but we’ll find out.”

When asked about whether Qualcomm sees the merit in using one chip in multiple types of devices over having it clearly defined for a particular category, they kept tight lipped.

“We’re not going to speculate right now, but we’ll see once we see what is out in the market and we can evaluate it.”

Apple ‘screwed that up’ in the beginning

So what will they evaluate? In my eyes, it looks like the focus will be placed on not necessarily the type of chip Apple uses, but what it will do — is the company thinking the same way as Qualcomm about certain things? Because they’re certainly not so worried about the possibility of the A18 Pro.

“It’s a two-year-old chip that has a four-channel memory interface, and we have an eight-channel interface — with stronger CPUs already in the market at the price range that people think Apple is going to be at,” Alex Katouzian, EVP of Mobile, Compute & XR commented. “I think that’s good because those sales [of Arm computers] will start to rise.”

But then, he dipped into the idea of laptop cellular connectivity — something Qualcomm has long vouched for. “One other good thing is the rumor they will put their modem inside that device,” Katouzian continued. “I think Apple screwed that up at the beginning with the iPads…$120 extra was a lot to pay at the time.”

“But ironically, if it comes back and Apple is a proponent of it, that’s a good thing for the market. So overall, good for us, good for non-x86 and also good for cellular connectivity.”

Where do we go?

Something jumped out at me here that got me thinking of two questions: what does Qualcomm’s “position” look like, and how do the laptops of the future operate?

Well, the answer in my mind came with a small reveal internally of sorts. “I’m not saying it’s going to happen, but we have the ability from our perspective to have both X1 and X2 run in parallel,” Kondap commented in response to a question about chip availability looking ahead.

But here’s the thing, I don’t think this is just about availability — this could be a huge affordability play too, while addressing future cellular connection challenges.

Apple’s turning to its phone chips, but as you’ve seen in retail, Qualcomm can hit that same price tag and keep that same higher performance level that you’d see from having more laptop-centric silicon.

It will certainly be interesting to see how this develops over time, as both Qualcomm and Apple speed ahead and really take the fight to x86 with the likes of Intel and AMD.

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In the midst of the world embracing the iPhone 17e, Nothing took over MWC 2026 with a crate containing the upcoming Nothing Phone (4a) that tech reporters rushed to get a glimpse of in glass boxes.

But once the dust settled, I got a chance to go hands-on with the upcoming budget model, and not only should Apple be worried, it changed my entire perspective on cheap phones.

You see, the newly announced 17e is a solid budget iPhone with upgrades where it matters, like doubled storage, a faster chip and MagSafe charging. Then, as I turned on the (4a), I realized just how much room there actually is for strong specs and premium design at a lower price.

Of course, specs haven’t been confirmed yet, so I can only pair what I found out with what the rumor mill is saying, such as the price potentially starting at £349 — a whole £250 less than the iPhone. So with that (potentially) massive price gap noted, let’s see what you get for the money.

Suave looks

I love colors, but Nothing’s usually been all in on white, black or grey for its phones, special editions aside. So to hold this blue slab in my hand was a refreshing change of pace. You’re getting the usual transparent design that gets the geeks going with a (sort of) peek at the internals that look brilliant in these more vibrant hues — especially in pink too!

One small gripe from me would be the Glyph Bar. Nothing’s whole thing has been doing cool light-up stuff on the back so you don’t have to pick your phone up as much, such as unique notification pulses or timers. This smaller light bar can absolutely do that, but in minimizing the tech to this simpler form, it doesn’t feel as flashy.

After you’ve admired the back, we flip the phone over to see an impressively vivid and smooth OLED panel. Reports claim this 6.78-inch panel has a 1260 x 2800-pixel resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate.

And if you’ve tried any Nothing phone in the past, you know what you’re getting software-side. The bold, utilitarian aesthetic of Nothing OS 4 keeps things cool with its trademark dot-matrix font and monochrome color palette that makes the occasional use of color really pop.

But it’s more than just a facelift. They’ve added features people actually asked for, like custom focus spaces with their own notification settings, a “Lock In” mode to keep you on track, and new widgets that put your most-used files and sites right at your fingertips.

Speedy gains

Rumored to sport the Snapdragon 7s Gen 4 alongside up to 12GB of RAM, I felt no slow down or latency when blazing through home screens, opening apps and putting it under a quick burst of stress. It’s clear this is a zippy phone for all your day-to-day work and play.

Of course, we’ll need to get it in the lab for a full benchmarking of other elements like graphics performance, local AI capabilities and battery life. But from our time testing previous Snapdragon 7s phones of the past like the Nothing 3a Pro, I’m expecting decent mid-range speeds and good power efficiency.

Snap happy

In the dark surroundings of the MWC 2026 afterparty I got to test these, I found myself in a good time to really test these shooters in awkward lighting situations.

Reports point to this camera system remaining largely unchanged from last year: a 50MP main camera, 50MP telephoto and an 8MP ultrawide — the main difference being a slightly wider aperture on that zoom lens. And that did show a noticeable uplift in low-light performance when using that 3.5x optical zoom.

Outlook

As my colleague John Velasco said last year, Nothing's a series is “what all budget phones should strive to be like,” and everything is looking like the company’s about to make the same statement again.

The size, screen quality, camera array and attention to design detail here make the iPhone 17e look expensive in comparison. While the Phone (4a)’s upgrades are minor in nature to last year’s model (you shouldn’t upgrade if you are already on the (3a)), signs are pointing to this being the budget phone to beat in 2026.

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There are smart security cameras, and then there’s the new TP-Link Tapo C665G. I just checked out the latest home security solution from TP-Link at Mobile World Congress, Europe’s largest tech show, and it pretty much has every peace-of-mind feature I could dream of… and then some.

Offered in two variations, one with a bundled solar panel and one without, this weatherproof security camera can pan, tilt, track subjects, and much more. Here’s everything you need to know about the new TP-Link Tapo C665G smart security camera.

TP-Link Tapo C665G: Price and availability

There’s no word yet on what the new TP-Link Tapo C665G will cost. However, based on the price of prior solar-powered, outdoor camera bundles from the brand, I would expect it to be on the affordable side (under $200), though you’ll need to shell out a little more for cloud storage (~$35 a year) or rely on a MicroSD for storage. TP-Link reps say the camera should begin shipping in the next few months.

TP-Link Tapo C665G: Key features

While nearly all modern security cameras allow you to check the feed via WiFi, the C665G also supports 4G connectivity. Simply pop in a 4G SIM card (not included) and unlock peace of mind that you’ll be able to check in on your home turf, even when the WiFi is out.

Video quality is 4K, which should provide more than enough detail for most users. The camera also offers a black-and-white night mode, as well as built-in flood lights for enhanced nighttime viewing.

Capture is continuous 24 hours a day and seven days a week. To save battery, the camera records at 1 fps unless a subject is detected, at which point the frame rate jumps to a standard 30 fps capture.

Speaking of subject recognition, the TP-Link Tapo C665G handles all of its AI-powered processing within the device itself, rather than sending it to the cloud. This ensures maximum privacy for your footage.

According to TP-Link, the subject recognition algorithm is smart enough to discern between people, pets, vehicles, and more. It’s also tuned to avoid false motion alarms, like tree branches swaying in the wind.

Battery life is good for up to half a year (assuming ten motion activations a day), but for those wanting to ‘set it and forget it,’ the solar panel bundle is probably the move. Once hooked up, the TP-Link Tapo C665G needs just 45 minutes of sunlight a day for 24 hours of recording power.

While this might be an issue during the winter months in Seattle, Washington, where I live, and the sun doesn’t shine for weeks upon weeks, I imagine that in most other outdoor locations, it’ll be able to garner enough UV to keep on humming all year long.

Meanwhile, an IP65 rating ensures ample protection from the elements, while pan, tilting, and zooming functionality all add to the security camera’s versatility.

Lightweight and mountable with two standard screws, the new TP-Link Tapo C665G is ultimately nothing short of a no-brainer, feature-wise, when it comes to an outdoor smart camera security solution.

TP-Link Tapo C665G: Outlook

TP-Link has been churning out high-performance, well-priced outdoor (and indoor) security cameras for a long time now — the TP-Link Tapo C246D is our current pick for the best outdoor dual camera solution in 2026 — and the TP-Link Tapo C665G is a welcome addition to the brand’s portfolio.

Stay tuned for a full review of the TP-Link Tapo C665G outdoor smart security camera bundle as soon as samples become available. In the meantime, what do you think? Is this a product you’d buy to protect your home, office, or business? Let me know in the comments below.

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• I just tried the world’s first smartphone for pets — and I can’t wait to call my dog

Ring-a-ding-aling. Pick up the line, it’s Fido calling! He misses you and demands tummy rubs.

You’ve heard of pet trackers, like the Fi Smart Collar, but what if your dog or cat could drop you a line to check in for a chat whenever they’re feeling lonely (and Vice versa)? With the PetPhone, a device from the brand uCloudLink, you can do exactly that.

I just got my hands on this light-weight, palm-sized device at Mobile World Congress, Europe’s largest tech show, and I’m obsessed. As a frequent traveler and loving caretaker of a sweet, 18-pound long-haired chihuahua mix named Belvedere — who’s presently 5,000+ miles away — I can’t help but feel like I’m the perfect audience for such a product.

PetPhone: Price and availability

The PetPhone is just $90 and on sale now, but requires a dataplan to use. You can expect to pay around $10 a month for such a plan, depending on your carrier. Color options include pink and green.

PetPhone: Battery life and build quality

The PetPhone offers five days of battery per charge and boasts an IP67 rating against moisture and dirt. It also weighs a reasonable 37 g and should be okay for any pet over roughly 8 pounds, according to the brand.

The front features a small speaker and a light that illuminates whenever you’re calling. You can also manually turn it on if you need to visually locate your pet in the dark. Similarly, you can have the PetPhone generate audio to help locate your pet.

PetPhone: Two-way calling

The PetPhone offers four major functions. The first and primary is two-way calling between pet and owner. Humans can place a call to their four-legged pals any time they like via a quick trip to the companion PetPhone app.

But what if your dog/cat wants to call you? That takes a little more legwork on your end (if you’re a dog owner), as you’ll need to train your pup to do a specific action to initiate a call: jumping up and down three times in a row within six seconds.

For cats, placing a call is a little simpler. Felines simply need to jump from the floor onto a surface roughly three feet or taller to phone their favorite human friend. In addition to the ability to chat with your pet, owners can also set up the PetPhone to play their pet’s favorite music remotely.

PetPhone: Location and activity tracking

Beyond a two-way audio communication platform, the PetPhone also offers global, real-time location tracking for pet owners using a combination of tracking technologies, including GPS, WiFi, and cellular. Similar to other pet trackers, you can set up a geofenced location and receive notifications if/when your pet leaves said area.

The PetPhone is also an activity monitor, logging how much time your pets spend on the move, whether going for a walk, playing, or roaming. It also tracks calories burned and distance covered. The device additionally monitors your pet’s daily movement for the first six weeks it's worn to get a sense of their routine and activity levels. Then, if any sudden drops in exercise are noted, you’ll receive an alert.

PetPhone: Community features

Lastly, there’s a community aspect to the PetPhone that allows your pet to befriend other PetPhone-rocking cats and dogs, with permission from both owners. Doing so unlocks two-way communication from dog-to-dog or cat-to-cat, as well as alerts for when friends are nearby. However, specifics on functionality are limited, as the feature is still in development (not yet public) as of writing.

PetPhone + PetCam

In addition to the PetPhone, UCloudLink also sells the PetCam, a wearable (or stationary mountable) action camera and activity monitor for cats and dogs. Best of all, users can pair their PetPhone and PetCam together for a complete audio and video communication experience.

The PetCam isn’t available yet, but I’m told it should launch in late March or April for around the same cost or a little higher than the PetPhone.

PetPhone: Outlook

While I’m a little skeptical about the social aspect of the PetPhone — do I really want Belvedere calling his pal, Walter the miniature pinscher, whenever he wants? — I’m beyond excited to test out the two-way communication functionality between human and dog. The question is, will Belevedere even recognize my voice without seeing me? I'm not so sure.

But I should know soon, as I'll be getting my hands on a final PetPhone review unit in the next several weeks. Until then, I’m going to work on training my pup to jump three times in a row; wish me luck! Stay tuned for a full review soon.

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The Motorola Razr Fold has made its full debut at MWC 2026, with all the specs now available to peruse. And from what we've seen so far, Samsung and other foldable makers need to take this threat seriously.

We already got a Motorola Razr Fold hands-on at CES, but now the Razr Fold has had more specs confirmed, a European launch date of April 13th and a price: £1,799 or €1,999. With many of the top foldables in the world not available in the U.S., the fact we're getting a new option, and from a company as respected as Moto, could spell a major shake-up in our best foldable phones rankings.

Let's go back to the cost though. Those pricetags are a couple of hundred euros cheaper than the Galaxy Z Fold 7 costs in Europe, but the same U.K. pricing as Samsung's foldable - not the category-upsetting low cost we were hoping Moto might offer, although there is a small chance that U.S. pricing could be more generous.

But let's examine what you get for that price. Moto has equipped the Razr Fold with a 6.6-inch, 165Hz outer display and an 8.1-inch 120Hz inner display. These also hit 6,000 nits of peak brightness, or 6,200 in the case of the inner screen, which in total makes for some astonishing-sounding displays. While I can confirm the screens look great in person, we'll have to get this phone into the lab to see how these actually compare to the competition.

Moto measures the Razr Fold at 4.6mm thin when open, and 9.9mm when shut. This isn't class-leading, but it's still within expectations for a brand-new foldable. What does go beyond is the durability that Moto claims this phone's body has.

To start, the outer screen is clad in the light but tough Gorilla Glass Ceramic 3, the first device to do so. There's also ultra-thin glass and anti-shock film on the inner display to bolster the defenses of the main panel, IP48 and IP49 dust/water resistance ratings, and a promise that the Razr Fold can survive ten years of folding without damage.

Unlike the Galaxy Z Fold 7 or Pixel 10 Pro Fold, the Razr Fold works with a stylus - the Moto Pen Ultra. Although this lives in its own separate holster rather than inside the foldable or in a case, a stylus is still one of the most logical additions you can make to your foldable, and the Moto Pen Ultra feels great to handle thanks to its slim profile, precise drawing abilities and a quick access toolbar for different brushes. There's alslo an eraser and a clipping tool via the integrated button.

The Moto Razr Fold comes with triple 50MP rear cameras (main, ultrawide and 3x telephoto), plus a 32MP outer selfie camera and a 20MP inner selfie camera. If the megapixels alone weren't enough to convince you of these cameras' bonafides, then take solace from the Pantone color tuning, which should in theory make every shot look true to life. I certainly liked the handful of photos I captured on the Razr Fold, but considering we had a 20th-floor view of the gorgeous city of Barcelona, it would have been hard to take a bad shot.

Performance on the Razr Fold will be a particularly interesting point of comparison with other foldable launching this year. Moto picked the Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 to run the show, which is a level down from the 8 Elite Gen 5 we expect most flagship Androids to have this year. While the non-Elite chip should offer decent performance, if may not match up to other foldables we see launching in the coming months.

At least Moto's internal specs are on the level elsewhere. The Razr Fold comes with either 12GB or 16GB RAM and the option of 256GB, 512GB or 1TB of storage. Moto is also promising up to seven years of software updates.

If Moto fulfills that promise in its entirety, it will match Google and Samsung's offering. That's something other Moto phones, even premium ones like the regular Razr 2025, have yet to match up to.

The Razr Fold also gains some points by offering a 6,000 mAh battery, a noticeably larger than the typical foldable phones you can buy today. Moto's also fitted appropriately speedy 80W wired and 50W wireless charging options for when the battery needs refilling.

Moto has stuffed the Razr Fold with AI software features. It comes with Google Gemini, Perplexity or Microsoft Copilot on offer by default, plus there's a bundle of Moto AI tools like "Catch Me Up" notification summaries, and foldable-specific abilities like three-app multitasking. You won't be short of things to try should you buy this phone.

Given how much we like the Galaxy Z Fold 7, it might be hard for the Moto Razr Fold to make it to the top of our best foldable phone rankings. Heck, considering phones like the Honor Magic V6, it might be hard for the Razr Fold to be the best foldable announced at MWC 2026. But it's nonetheless a welcome sight, one that may inspire a bit more competition at the highest end of smartphone design, and give foldable buyers a new, much-needed additional option.

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Wi-Fi 7 is not even fully mainstream (I am still using Wi-Fi 6 routers at home), and yet we are already talking about Wi-Fi 8. Alongside showcasing its new smartwatch chipset at MWC 2026, Qualcomm has also unveiled its Wi-Fi 8 platforms, and I'm genuinely glad the company is focusing not just on peak speeds but also on improving reliability.

Qualcomm is showing off two Wi-Fi 8 solutions at MWC 2026 in Barcelona. The first is the FastConnect 8800 chipset, which will ship in commercial devices like smartphones, laptops, and tablets. Then there are several platforms under the Dragonwing portfolio, which are designed for networking hardware such as routers, gateways, and access points.

Wi-Fi 8 focuses on reliability, not just speed

The FastConnect 8800 is the chipset that will power consumer devices, allowing phones and tablets to take full advantage of Wi-Fi 8 when paired with compatible routers. It's one of the first solutions to move from a 2x2 radio setup to a 4x4 Wi-Fi radio configuration — effectively doubling the antenna count compared to the previous FastConnect 7800.

What this means is (of course) even higher peak speeds of up to 11.6Gbps. I saw a live demo at Qualcomm's booth where the company's prototypes were hitting around 9.1Gbps in real-world conditions.

But what impressed me more was Qualcomm's claim of up to three times the Gigabit wireless range compared to the previous generation. This means devices powered by FastConnect 8800 should be able to maintain higher speeds even when you move away from the router, instead of seeing dramatic drops in performance.

I asked a Qualcomm representative about the impact of having more antennas on battery life, since doubling the antennas could suggest higher power consumption. The executive explained that it would've virtually no impact because FastConnect 8800 can complete the same tasks in half the time. That efficiency should offset the additional hardware, although we will know more once commercial devices launch.

Then there is Dragonwing, which focuses on home networking gear that enables Wi-Fi 8 in the first place. Qualcomm announced several Dragonwing platforms, but the most notable is the Dragonwing NPro A8 Elite. It uses a 5x5 Wi-Fi radio system, and Qualcomm claims it improves throughput by up to 40% at typical distances while also reducing latency and power consumption.

In simple terms, Wi-Fi 8 is not just about achieving extreme peak speeds. Qualcomm is positioning it as a solution for maintaining those speeds in crowded environments with many connected devices.

Current Wi-Fi setups can deliver impressive numbers near the router or when not many devices are connected to a single access point, but performance often drops as you move around the house. Wi-Fi 8 aims to solve that consistency problem.

Launching later in 2026

Wi-Fi 8 is not fully standardized yet, but that will happen soon. Qualcomm says the first commercial Wi-Fi 8 products are expected in late 2026. That said, it'll likely take a few more years before Wi-Fi 8 becomes mainstream across routers, phones, TVs, and laptops.

Still, I'm happy with the direction Qualcomm is taking. Instead of just chasing bigger numbers, Wi-Fi 8 seems focused on delivering fast speeds reliably throughout your home, not just when you are standing next to the router.

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I’m at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, where Qualcomm Technologies just announced the brand’s latest Snapdragon Wear Elite processor for smartwatches, and it’s all about handling complex AI tasks. Here’s what it could mean for your next wearables.

Snapdragon Wear Elite: Now even more AI on your wrist

According to Qualcomm, the latest wearables processor is all about enabling “high-power AI processing directly on the device.” While today’s smartwatches offer impressive AI capabilities, not all of the high-tech processing actually happens on your watch.

For example, the new AI-powered, personalized ‘Workout Buddy’ feature for Apple Watch requires a paired Apple Intelligence-powered smartphone to work.

Coming to your Pixel or Galaxy Watch soon

Of course, Apple doesn’t use Qualcomm processors in the Apple Watch, but Google and Samsung both do. In fact, Qualcomm makes it clear that the latest Snapdragon Wear Elite processor will likely be supported by Pixel Watch and Galaxy Watch devices.

In 2026, Samsung and Google will be a full step ahead of Apple when it comes to on-wrist AI capabilities. While even those with the best Apple Watch models are stuck with a limitedly useful non-AI-powered Siri experience, both the latest and prior-gen Samsung and Google watches support the latter’s outstanding Gemini-powered AI voice assistant.

Another area where Google and Samsung have Apple beat is smartwatch battery life. And the gap is about to get even bigger, potentially. The new Wear Elite processor also promises faster charging times, up to 50% power-ups in ten minutes, and more notably, even better overall power management.

The takeaway

Get ready for the next-generation of Wear OS smartwatches to be supercharged with on-device AI powers that could result in an even better Gemini AI assistant experience, improved health, fitness, stress, and sleep insights, data analysis, and power management.

Furthermore, the new Snapdragon Wear Elite tech could also show up in the next generation of AI pins, which may or may not see the light of day, like those from OpenAI and Apple.

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Smart glasses with display tech are going through a bit of an awkward teen phase — smart, but a bit too big to wear on your face. But there are some subtle options out there.

Chief amongst them are the MemoMind One AI Smart Glasses, which pairs stylish looks with a waveguide display and on-board AI to replace the need to take that phone out of your pocket.

But here’s the thing…I swear I’m seeing double here because from the features to UI elements, these are extremely similar to the Even Realities G2.

The only differences I’ve noticed are that MemoMind packs speakers in the back, and the “Conversate” feature that saved me from almost certain pain when I stopped listening to my fiancée is named “Conversant” here.

That’s not to say it’s a bad thing. Ideas are very regularly shared across gadgets, but the main question at this point is simple: do these bring anything significant to the table to add more value to that $599 price tag for fashionable display glasses? Let’s take a look at what you get here.

More styles — more tech

So the main differences here come with the multiple styles available. The G2 gives you two options — either rounded frames (which do kind of make me look like a “Harry Potter” character) or squared off.

For MemoMind, you’ve got eight distinct styles and interchangeable temple designs. This modularity does make them heavier at around 45g (compared to the G2’s 36g), but this didn’t create any overtly negative pressure on the tops of my ears. Weight still feels pretty evenly distributed between the back and the front.

Then comes the audio — G2 has nothing, and MemoMind packs dual integrated speakers tuned by Harman Kardon, which did a decent job in audio playback in the very loud surroundings of the MWC 2026 convention center. Though it’s worth noting that it does hit the battery life a little harder with the company claiming 16 hours on one charge vs the G2’s two days.

Wider AI access

But to the end user, probably the biggest differentiator is in the choice of AI to use here. Even AI is a proprietary LLM that powers a lot of the G2’s features, and it’s well-built for the job. But MemoMind One supports multiple — a hybrid system that automatically picks the right model for the right job between OpenAI, Azure and Qwen.

It will be interesting to see what the results of these differing strategies will be. Did Even Realities get it right tailor-making something from the ground up for its hardware? Or is the supermarket sweep for the best models the best approach (ask your British mates about that reference)?

More of the same

But outside of that, you’ll find these are both close to identical. Dual-eye monochrome (green) displays with a similar UI (can be customized on the MemoMind One though), a Magnesium/Titanium build, customization for prescription lenses and even that sunglasses lens attachment.

So more of the same but different in its own way too. And it’s exciting to see this level of unobtrusive smart glasses tech start to build — especially as nobody really notices you’re wearing these in particular.

Standby for a review soon!

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Lenovo has been prolific with its handheld efforts in recent years, releasing devices like the Legion Go 2 and Legion Go S. Not to be outdone, the company has now unveiled a truly unique concept that’s bound to turn heads: the Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept.

Unveiled at MWC 2026, the Legion Go Fold Concept is a foldable handheld featuring a POLED panel that expands from 7.7 inches when folded to a full 11.6 inches when unfolded. Pair that with its detachable controllers, and the device supports up to four distinct usage modes, something no other handheld currently offers.

Here are my impressions after brief hands-on time with the Legion Go Fold Concept at a pre-MWC event. Could this be the future of handheld design, or is it too niche? Let’s dive in.

Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept: Design

Design-wise, the Legion Go Fold Concept builds on the original Legion Go’s tablet-like form with attachable controllers, but the big differentiator is the folding display. That single change unlocks four versatile modes for gaming and beyond.

In the handheld configuration, the device feels relatively light. It can get a bit wobbly when fully unfolded to 11.6 inches, but it’s not a deal-breaker. This is something Lenovo would almost certainly refine before any potential release. Being able to fold the screen and detach the controllers also makes it fairly travel-friendly.

As the images hopefully show, none of the best portable gaming handhelds look like this one. However, it still delivers all the core features gamers expect. There’s room for refinement, especially around sturdiness in hand. Overall, it already looks very promising.

Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept: Controllers

The controllers feel and look very similar to the TrueStrike controllers on the Legion Go (and its successors). They feature a familiar button layout, so you’ll feel right at home, plus shoulder triggers with stops, which are a carryover from the Legion Go family.

The right controller also supports FPS Mode by functioning as a vertical mouse. It includes a small built-in touchscreen that doubles as a touchpad, displays performance metrics and settings, and can be assigned as a customizable hotkey. Having that little screen right next to the face buttons and analog stick feels unusual at first, but it’s genuinely cool.

Attaching and reattaching the controllers along the side rails is straightforward: just press and hold the release button, and they slide off. It’s not quite as seamless as the magnetic system on the Nintendo Switch 2, but it works for a concept and clearly something Lenovo could polish further.

Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept: Modes and features

As mentioned, the expandable display enables four distinct modes:

Standard Handheld Mode: The traditional experience with the screen folded (7.7 inches). This is probably the most comfortable for extended play sessions when you don’t need (or have space for) the larger screen.

Vertical Split-Screen Mode: Unfold the device and hold it in portrait orientation, like using a large phone or tablet upright. Perfect for gaming in one window while streaming, following a guide, or multitasking on another. Old-school shmup fans will also love it for vertical shooters like Ikaruga.

Horizon Full-Screen Mode: The full 11.6-inch unfolded display with controllers attached for maximum immersion in landscape. It feels the least rigid of the handheld modes, but the device is light enough that it never feels cumbersome. This is the one I’d use the most.

Expanded Desktop Mode: Use the built-in (and surprisingly sturdy) kickstand to prop the unit on a desk without the controllers. It becomes a mini Windows PC by pairing it with the included wireless keyboard and touchpad, or use the right controller as a mouse for productivity.

Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept: Specs

Since this is a concept device, final specifications aren’t locked in, but Lenovo shared enough details to paint a clear picture of its potential.

The Legion Go Fold Concept is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake) processor, the same chip found in the MSI Claw 8 AI+. Combined with 32GB of RAM and a 48Wh battery, it should deliver solid gaming and productivity performance, especially at the efficient TDPs this platform supports.

You might wonder why it isn’t using Intel’s newer Core Ultra Series 3 (“Panther Lake”) chips. My educated guess: the Lunar Lake silicon has already proven itself in gaming handhelds, and for a concept that may or may not reach production, Lenovo likely didn’t want to commit newer, unproven silicon.

I wasn’t able to play games during my hands-on, but based on the hardware, I expect the Legion Go Fold Concept (if it materializes) to perform at least on par with the MSI Claw 8 AI+. Real-world lab and battery tests would be needed to see exactly how it stacks up.

Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept: Outlook

Most gaming handhelds deliver very similar experiences, so it’s refreshing to see Lenovo think outside the box with the Legion Go Fold Concept. With four modes and strong specs, it could expand what a handheld can be.

Of course, it’s impossible to say whether this concept will ever make it to market. I hope it does, even if only to inspire other manufacturers to get more inventive. Either way, the possibilities are exciting.

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According to Lenovo, the Glasses-free display market is set to triple in size between now and 2032… I’m calling “suspicious” on that, but at least it’s giving me a cool concept to try!

This is the Lenovo Yoga Book Pro 3D concept, and it’s the company’s vision of a portable system primed for 3D creativity — using AI to automate the more user-intensive tasks like rendering and editing.

And after testing it for myself, while I’ve been burned by the 3D hype at the cinema before, I can see how this may be genuinely useful.

Seeing double

This isn’t your average laptop — it’s a workstation for creativity across a third dimension. You’ll find nothing but gorgeous dual PureSight Pro Tandem OLED displays, and the top one packs glasses-free 3D thanks to that camera module up top.

You throw an image from the creation app on the bottom screen with a two-finger swipe, and the internals get to work turning it into a 3D object. And you know what? It’s an impressive effect. I may be a little suspicious that 3D displays are still a thing, but the depth effect is good here as elements pop out of the screen.

And in terms of manipulating the image, you have several options. First, there are physical slider pads you can add to the bottom screen. These small plastic elements are independently set to activate certain features like a color slider, perspective changer and a light source mover.

Second, there are hand gestures. You can go all “Minority Report” on this and resize the image/rotate it with simple flicks of the wrist and multi-hand control. It’s rather cool!

But of course, to do all this 3D object manipulation, you need serious horsepower. That is where the Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU and GeForce RTX 5070 GPU come in. You can definitely hear them under pressure with the fans working overtime, but for something this system-intensive, that’s to be expected.

As the name suggests, this is a concept device. But given this is a modded version of a Yoga Pro, it’s not a stretch to imagine this being in people’s hands if this 3D trend were to pick up.

More Yoga

So Lenovo’s got you in the door with its luxury prototype — what can you actually walk out with? Well, there’s plenty of refreshes. The Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Aura Edition is getting a jump to Intel Core Ultra Series 3, and a price hike too, up to $1,949.

The company also snuck in easily one of the best-feeling mechanical keyboards I’ve ever typed on. The AngryMiao Edition of the Yoga Creative Keyboard has sensationally satisfying tactile key presses, along with a giant knob at the top right for moving playheads in editing software easily. You can pick this up in May at $299.

And the final big one here is Lenovo’s big adoption of AMD Strix Halo in two flavors. There’s the creativity-focused Yoga Pro 7a with a beautiful PureSight Pro OLED panel and a touchpad with Wacom technology for stylus compatibility ($2,099 — launching in August).

And for the gamers, you’ve got the Legion 7a with the Ryzen AI+ Max 392 — moving to integrated graphics allowed the company to create an impressively lightweight system at 1.65kg ($2,299 — launching in July).

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A laptop being repairable, upgradeable or modular in any way has been a running joke for years now. Sure, Framework is doing the thing, and I’m impressed by it. But that always comes with a price premium and older specs to get there.

However, Lenovo’s picking up the bag and taking it seriously with the ThinkBook Modular AI PC Concept — the result of what happens if an Asus ZenBook Duo got busy in the bedroom with a Framework Laptop.

With detachable displays, keyboards and modular I/O, this unlocks a world of versatility that is rare in portable tech like this, and I got to go hands-on with it.

A Zenbook Duo in Framework clothing

You may take a look at this and think “that looks familiar,” and you’d be right. This is giving the ZenBook Duo vibes with its tower of screens, but the real party trick is in its modularity — a “carry small, use big” mentality in Lenovo’s own words.

This starts as a 14-inch base system, but the way you build on top of it is entirely up to you. There’s the dual screen layout as you see above, or you could go more traditional laptop and use the screen to one side like an external monitor.

It really broadens the appeal to be able to go from both what I call the “working hard/hardly working” orientation of productivity on the bottom and binge watching on the top, all the way to a full vertical side panel for typing this story (like I am right now).

However, the real Framework magic comes in when you see those interchangeable I/O ports — using pogo-pin connectors to all join up is a cinch based on whatever connectors you need for the moment.

Modularity, repairability and upgradeability. In a time like this, when we need to preserve our tech’s lifespan, this kind of thinking is more important than ever.

The ThinkBooks you’ll be able to actually buy

This is Lenovo’s bread and butter — lure you into the dealership with a supercar, and you’ll walk out with the sensible station wagon that can do it all. And this year, the ThinkBook and ThinkPad lineups are getting even more thinkier with internal refreshes to the latest silicon.

The ThinkPad T-series systems are all getting better 5MP webcams with HDR, upgrades to either Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3, Snapdragon X2 Elite or AMD’s new Ryzen AI Pro 400 series chipsets, and serviceability at its core (a simpler internal layout to make them much more repairable by you).

For those who want something uber portable, you’ve got that Surface Pro-esque ThinkPad X13 revival with Intel Core Ultra Series 3. And just like the above, Lenovo wasn’t kidding about its price increase warnings: T-series starting at $1,799 and launching sometime this Spring, and the ThinkPad X13 for $1,999 this summer.

Need to expand that field of view? In the spirit of the ThinkBook Modular, Lenovo is launching a $259 ThinkVision M16 in Spring too — a vivid 16:10 panel with a wide 178-degree viewing angle and a decently sharp 1920 x 1200 resolution.

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Foldable phones are still in an arms race. Manufacturers are desperate to prove they can make the biggest screens with the smaller creases, with the most camera tech and most spacious batteries. And Honor is one of the foremost brands at stuffing more and more into its folding phones, especially with its new Magic V6, freshly unveiled at MWC 2026.

Honor's confirmed that Chinese sales are coming this month, but global sales won't come until the second half of the year. So this early reveal is more about Honor calling its shot before other foldable phone makers launch their devices later in the year. How sporting of them.

Take a brief tour with me of the Magic V6's specs and special features, and see if you think a next-gen Galaxy Z Fold, Pixel Fold or even the rumored iPhone Fold stand a chance against this.

Premium looks

We start off strong with the design of the Magic V6. While the alternative black or white versions of this phone sound sophisticated, this red vegan leather edition really stuns. And that's before you admire the gold trim around the edges and the toughened "Super Steel" hinge, with its subtle grid design. If a duke from ages past were to have a foldable, it might be one as luxurious-looking as this one.

But in a similarly historical vein - much like a 19th century phrenologist, all I want to do is get my calipers out and do some measuring. Honor claims that the skinniest version of the Magic V6 measures 8.75mm thick when shut, 4mm thick when open, and tips the scales at a surprisingly light 219 grams. Sadly the non-white versions, like the red one here, aren't quite as thin, but it still feels wonderful to handle.

The screens on the Magic V6 are a 7.95-inch inner display and a 6.52-inch outer one. Both have anti-reflective displays thanks to new silicon nitride layers, a feature Honor's keen to note is used on luxury cars. And like previous Magic V models, you can use a stylus on either screen.

Looking to the inner display, Honor touts a 44% crease depth decrease compared to the Magic V5. It's still there if you're looking for it, but we're way past the point where you're likely to be distracted by it. And that's if you can stand to look at the screen, as an alleged 5,000-nit peak brightness (6,000 nits on the outer one) helps things stay visible.

Cameras are not as big a deal on the Magic V6 as it has been on previous generations, but Honor's still got impressive specs to share. We have 50MP main and ultrawide cameras and a 64MP telephoto camera on the back, and 20MP front cameras for the inner and outer screens.

These are all tuned with the in-house AiMAGE Color Engine, which Honor highlighted in our demo by showing how accurately it could capture the lustre of golden jewellery. Something I know we all struggle with.

But the specs keep getting better from here. Running all the phone's operations is the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, with the Magic V6 being the first foldable to use this chip. Honor offers 16GB RAM and 512GB storage by default, which is just as generous as previous Magic V models have been. Not an easy thing to keep going during RAMageddon.

And to continue the roll of big, impressive numbers, the Magic V6's silicon carbon battery dazzles with its 6,600 mAh capacity, which is the highest in any foldable phone to date. And refuelling comes from 80W wired and 66W wireless charging, assuming you have the right chargers to hand.

Honor's quite proud of the fact the the battery it uses in the Magic V6 is more energy dense than one found in a Tesla. Unfortunately, we don't get the best version globally, as the China version of this phone has over 7,000 mAh of capacity by adding an even denser 32% silicon "Blade Battery." And while I couldn't test the battery life for this review, the Magic V6's inner display apparently lasts for 24 hours on a single charge according to testing by TÜV Rheinland.

Software that even iPhone users will want

Beyond the raw specs, Honor still has more to show off with the Magic V6. It comes with improved multi-tasking with the option to slide across a virtual desktop of apps, arranged to your liking. It's more like OnePlus or Oppo than Samsung, which I am all in favor of.

Gemini cross-app actions are here, and can work with either Google apps or Honor's own. More uniquely, the Magic V6 has an "AI meeting agent," which can apparently summarize your meetings in real time. But Honor also says it can listen out for your name, or other key terms you give it, letting you tune out freely while knowing the Magic V6 will alert you if your boss calls on you to give an update on that project you should have already finished by now.

Then there's all the Apple cross-compatability powers that will be coming via an over-the-air update later in the year. We've seen some of these on other devices from other brands before, like mirroring screens and sending files, but Honor's gone even further.

You can use the Magic V6 as a second screen for your Mac, much like Apple will let you do with an iPad via Sidecar mode. The Magic V6 is also able to access your iWork and iCloud to access files you have stored there. You can also pair AirPods with a similar interface and feature set to using them with an Apple device, and similarly get notifications passed through to an Apple Watch. It all seems designed to attract iPhone users back to Android, but without the additional expense of replacing all your peripherals.

Sadly, the new software and AI tricks, including the iPhone and Mac integration, remains only as a demo you can see at trade shows or in online sizzle reels. We'll let you know how these work at a later date when we get to try them, but going by how Honor and other Chinese companies like Oppo have managed to get their devices through the gate of Apple's walled garden to play with iOS and macOS, I trust that these features work as described. Even if you have to download an app with a long list of required data permissions to make it all happen.

Magic is on its way

Keeping an eye on non-Samsung and Google foldables may seem a pointless exercise if you can't easily buy these devices where you live. But I'd disagree, since the Magic V6 shows just how much more the Galaxy Z Fold and Pixel Pro Fold series can do if users expected it of them.

And even if the iPhone Fold matches up to the incredible device that the rumors have told us about, it will still lack in several areas to Honor's latest and greatest. And may even have worse cross-device collaboration features with Apple's own computers.

I look forward to returning to the Magic V6 later in the year when the final software updates appear and we can give it a full review. But even while I wait, and start to see the rumor mill churn out more and more Z Fold 8 or Pixel 11 Pro Fold rumors, I'll be smiling wryly at the idea that Honor's latest foldable is looming above them, waiting to strike with its wealth of still-superior specs.

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HMD doesn't want anyone to miss out on the AI moment the tech world is having - even if you're still a feature phone kind of person.

At MWC 2026, the company behind Nokia, as well as a stable of its own devices, outlined its plans for the rest of the year, including making "smart feature phones" with a focus on bringing feature phone users, especially older ones, more of the smartphone powers that many of us take for granted. That including payments, video calling and AI features.

Let's start with the money. HMD promotes its digital wallet feature with its ability to quickly and securely transfer money between contacts, or cash them out, focusing on the needs of users who want to send money home to family members who don't want to use a regular smartphone. This will come to India at first, but then to more markets later in 2026.

Then there's video calls. Users of HMD devices will apparently be able to make video calls using a feature phone's front camera just like a smartphone can. This will require both callers to use an Xpress Chat app, but this app also offers text chats and images, according to HMD. It sounds potentially handy for for anyone whose relatives can't or won't set themselves up on popular third-party social apps like WhatsApp.

AI chatbots come to the "dumbphone"

It's HMD's AI assistant talk that has captured my attention - for both good and bad reasons.

Most of what HMD discusses in its announcement are benign, familiar AI features like ordering your phone to make a call or set an alarm. But then there are more chatbot-style features like accessing and changing settings with voice commands — something I imagine a lot of feature phone users will never have seen before unless a more AI-savvy individual's shown it to them.

HMD has also announced a partnership with inTouch, a provider of AI call services for seniors. Together, the two companies plan to trial the ability to quickly access an AI call on HMD devices, with the goal of providing built-in companionship.

I'll admit I'm a little wary of this idea. The basic solution to the growing social isolation of older people requires a degree of in-person connection that someone at the end of a call can't match, and I am unconvinced that an AI companion will be the remedy. But since this is only a pilot plan, it seems that these companies are at least taking an appropriate level of caution in testing.

AI's still a big deal here at the Fira conference center, and in meetings rooms and hotels all around Barcelona, even as companies continue to look for ways to improve the hardware side of mobile. You can check out everything we've seen so far on our MWC 2026 page.

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I don't envy the Xiaomi 17 Ultra making its debut during MWC 2026. It comes hot on the heels of a different brand's ultra flagship, which is no doubt hogging some attention that Xiaomi would otherwise be getting. But fortunately for the 17 Ultra, it's not really playing in the same league as the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Xiaomi's ultra phones are designed to be content creation machines, and with the addition of a variable zoom telephoto camera, the 17 Ultra takes new strides in that area. While I am a bit disappointed that the 17 Ultra doesn't follow from the Xiaomi 17 Pro and its rear display design, its singular obsession with camera hardware arguably justifies leaving it out.

So how good is it? Let me show you.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra is all about cameras

Xiaomi's new ultra phone features a 1-inch 50MP main camera, far larger than a typical smartphone camera. A larger sensor generally means higher quality images, so having a sensor close in size to an actual DSLR camera is obviously a big plus point for the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

There's also a 200MP telephoto with adjustable zoom level, between 3.2 and 4.3x zoom. The Xiaomi 15 Ultra from last year had two zoom cameras to cover the same magnification levels, so combining these two sensors in one is quite a feat of engineering. And since this camera has a huge number of megapixels to play with, Xiaomi offers a max of 17.2x hybrid lossless zoom by cropping in on the hi-res sensor's output.

And if that wasn't versatile enough for you, you can also use the telephoto camera for macro photography - often a better option than the ultrawide camera mode that most other phone makers use for this purpose.

Joining these two headliner cameras are a 50MP ultrawide camera and a 50MP front camera. But these have seen some alteration in a sense too, since the 17 Ultra's whole rig has been tweaked by Leica as part of Xiaomi's partnership with the camera company.

Photo samples

So let's get into some samples taken against the brand new Galaxy S26 Ultra and the faithful iPhone 17 Pro Max.

First, this comparison between the Xiaomi 17 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max, showing a square near Kings Cross. I think the iPhone's overall color balance is better, but the Xiaomi's more interesting, dynamic lighting is fun too.

This Xiaomi vs. Galaxy S26 Ultra comparison is a lot closer. There's perhaps more detail in the Xiaomi's image of this church, but Samsung's typically vivid colors have an appeal too.

At night, back against the iPhone 17 Pro Max, we see how the Xiaomi's large sensor benefits low-light image capture. The glow that the lights cast on the surrounding branches on the right are a detail that the iPhone doesn't really show.

Samsung phones take some of my favorite selfie portraits. The Xiaomi does a decent job of matching what the Galaxy S26 Ultra has produced, except my skin texture is weirdly flat, and it's not cut my glasses out from the background as neatly as the Samsung has.

Using the ultrawide mode of the Xiaomi and iPhone, we see how dark the iPhone's normally strong-performing sensor is compared to the Xiaomi. Perhaps that's more the fault of these metal sculptures I'm using as subjects, but it does to show that Xiaomi's camera performance claims are not hot air.

The Xiaomi 17 Ultra and Galaxy S26 Ultra both effectively have two telephoto cameras. It just happens that the Xiaomi combines its cameras into one. Anyway, zooming in on one of these paparazzi dogs, we can see so much more color in the Xiaomi's image, even if the Samsung still provides a reasonable amount of detail.

It's a shame for the Xiaomi that its 4.3x max optical zoom doesn't match the Samsung's 5x. But even if it can't get in quite as close, the big sensor behind the lens still produces an impressive image.

The iPhone 17 Pro Max's 4x telephoto camera is more on par with what Xiaomi has. Except in the color department, where we see in this zoom shot of the mural atop the Camden council building that there's a lot that the Xiaomi grabs and the iPhone does not.

That goes at 8x too, where both phones have to switch to hybrid zoom. The Xiaomi's image is perhaps sharper than it should be, but it catches the eye a lot more than the iPhone's does.

Lastly, here's a macro shot of some carved letters on a wooden bench. Xiaomi's bringing the color here again, and makes the crevices in the wood much more obvious. But perhaps the Samsung still gives a better impression of the overall detail we're zooming in on.

What else is it capable of?

Let's quickly check out the other highlights of the Xiaomi 17 Ultra's spec sheet. First off, we have its design, which has been lightened and thinned since last year's Xiaomi 15 Ultra despite the upgrades the 17 Ultra has received, to make the lightest Ultra Xiaomi phone yet. This is due in no small part to its fiberglass back and aluminum frame, an unusual combo on any phone, let alone a flagship device.

The 17 Ultra's up for grabs in either Black, White, or the entrancing Starlit Green you see in these images. I would never have thought I'd like the look of a literally glittering phone, but I am quite fond of this one. I'm also fond of the fact that the Xiaomi 17 Ultra's IP68-rated for water and dust resistance. It's good to know that this phone will stay safe even if it takes a dive into the kitchen sink.

The screen, a 6.9-inch OLED panel with 1 - 120Hz and a listed 3,500 nits peak brightness, is probably my favorite feature of the phone aside from the cameras. It's big, super-smooth when needed, and looks great even when just swiping through the menus. That's partly to do with Xiaomi's HyperOS 3 software too, which has some of the cleanest, snappiest animations I've seen on a phone.

Xiaomi went for the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset in the 17 Ultra, an appropriately top-tier chip that offers the best performance you're likely to find on any Android phone this year. It's joined by a spacious 16GB RAM and either a similarly generous 512GB or 1TB storage.

The last highlight is the 6,000 mAh battery, which, thanks to its silicon-carbon construction, meant I could easily get two days of moderate use from the Xiaomi 17 Ultra without charging. The phone supports 90W wired charging and 50W wireless charging, which should fill up the battery rapidly, if you have the correct charger to hand.

Accessories

As this is meant to be a phone for discerning photographers, Xiaomi has created two different peripherals especially for the 17 Ultra. The first of these is the Photography Kit, which is a case that gives the 17 Ultra a camera-like grip for easier handling, plus buttons on the top edge for more convenient photo and video taking.

The second is the Photography Kit Pro. This comes in two parts - the case and the grip. The case is familiar other than the removable camera surround, which you can swap for a rotating one that can be fitted with a standard DSLR filter to give extra texture to your images. The grip adds the same camera buttons as the standard Photography Kit, along with a zoom lever and a built-in battery to give your 17 Ultra some extra survivability.

While it's impressive how much proper camera tech Xiaomi is trying to fit onto its phone, I do wonder who would want to carry these extras around with them on a daily basis. Maybe if the price is right I'd be tempted to add this onto my own hypothetical purchase, but these accessories seem to exist more for the sake of showing off than actual practical need.

Final thoughts

Assuming it's available where you live (if that's Europe, it's possible, if it's North America, it's very unlikely), the Xiaomi 17 Ultra could be a reasonable choice if you want the ultimate camera experience that still fits in a single pocket. But as much as we've focused on the cameras (and deservedly so - they're really good cameras), it's Xiaomi's efforts to improve other elements of the phone that have impressed me more.

Enlarging the battery and slimming the once-bulky design, while also making the display larger and keeping the chipset and RAM up to par, helps give you more than a single reason to consider the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. It's a smart move - if you want to buy a camera, then buy a camera. The Xiaomi 17 Ultra wants to be as much like a real camera as possible, but remembering its core function at the same time should make for an ideal balance.

Let us know if you'd like a full review when we're back from Barcelona. But for now, check out what else we've seen at MWC 2026.

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Mobile World Congress is one of the most exciting events on the tech calendar. Every year, the latest and greatest innovations in computing, mobile and, yes, AI gather together in Barcelona, Spain to reveal what they've been working on.

Just like in previous years, Tom's Guide's editors and videographers will be there on the ground to bring you the latest news direct from the show floor. We also traditionally award our highest honors to the very best tech that catches our eye.

This year, we're doing things a little differently and joining with our sister brands, TechRadar, Android Central and T3 to bring you the 'Best in Show' awards at MWC 2026. With our fellow judges, we'll be celebrating the most groundbreaking products and technologies showcased at the event.

Entries will cost $250 per entry per publication, and all submissions will be reviewed by our seasoned editorial teams, ensuring a fair and thorough expert assessment. The deadline for entries is February 25, 2026.

We may well get in touch to arrange for an on-site demo of your product!

Click here to enter the Tom's Guide Best in Show MWC 2026 Awards!

Of course, we'll be showcasing the eventual winners here in a full article on Tom's Guide, and those that take the crown according to our judges will also get a complimentary trophy presented to them at the show floor this year.

So, if you've got a product at Mobile World Congress this year you're desparate to shout about, we want to hear from you.

You can find all the information you need about how to enter — as well as the usual T&Cs — at our dedicated Best in Show MWC 2026 Awards site here.

See you in Barcelona!

It’s been 4 years since TCL released the first devices with its NXTPaper display technology. And now with the release of NXTPaper 4.0, it’s clear that the company is doubling down on its eye-friendly screens.

Having seen some of the newest NXTPaper devices at MWC 2025, and the advancements 4.0 has to offer, I’m reminded about just how impressive the screens really are.

While TCL didn’t announce any new NXTPaper devices for North America at MWC, CES did reveal that the TCL 60 XE NXTPaper 5G would be coming to the region later this year.

Prices are set to start at $199. Meanwhile the TCL 60 SE NXTPaper 5G will be coming to Europe and the U.K. with prices from £180.

It's not just that TCL’s phones can switch between full color and e-paper modes with the flick of a switch, but also with the fact TCL’s offering a color e-paper option to give users a mix of eye-friendly features without sapping all the color away.

Color e-paper for people who don’t want monochrome screens

Given how we spend almost every waking hour in front of some sort of screen, be it a phone or TV, it makes sense to worry about the impact it’ll have. NXTPaper is TCL’s answer to people with those concerns, offering a display that is easier on the eyes.

These screens filter out blue light, reduce glare from ambient light sources, and allow users to switch to an e-reader-like display that promises the best ocular benefits.

The ink-paper modes, as TCL calls them, are all well and good if you don’t mind staring at a black and white display all day.

It is still a smartphone (or tablet) display, meaning NXTPaper can do a lot of the things a traditional e-ink display would struggle with. But as beneficial as that can be to both your visual health and the phone’s battery life (TCL promises a 50% boost in battery life in the highest Max Ink mode), I would find myself missing color.

NXTPaper 4.0 has 3 distinct ink-paper modes, which can be toggled on and off with the flick of a switch.

• Max Ink is the closest you’ll get to a proper e-reader display, and is built for reading with limited app functionality.
• Ink Paper is a black and white version of your traditional smartphone display,
• Color Ink is half way between Ink Paper and your standard color phone screen.

The display is nowhere near as vibrant as you’d find on a standard OLED phone screen. The colors are washed out, and everything is a lot more muted as a result of Color Paper mode being switched on.

But color is color, and I know I’d be a lot happier using this mode in the long term compared to its monochrome counterparts. Especially if the impact on both my eyes and the device’s battery life is as low as TCL seems to suggest.

Anti-glare screens are underrated

I have my phone resting on my leg as I write this, shaking slightly in the process. Because the screen is off, and the shiny black mirror that smartphones are known for is in full effect, it’s redirecting a stream of light poking through the blinds and straight into my face. Needless to say, it's pretty annoying.

One of the features TCL has emphasized with NXTPaper is the anti-glare feature. In the past this gave NXTPaper phones a very matte and textured feel, and while NXTPaper 4.0 isn’t quite like the smooth glossy glass screens you’ll find on other devices, it’s still significantly more traditional than its predecessors.

Crucially though, it seems to retain all the same qualities of previous NXTPaper iterations in the process.

In my limited time with the phones at MWC 2025, I did notice that the amount of light reflecting off the phone was significantly lower than my own handset: a Pixel 9 Pro.

While some glare could be seen, it was a lot dimmer and harder to see. To the point where I doubt one of these screens would accidentally dazzle me on a bright summer’s day - even in the Barcelona sun.

On top of that the NXTPaper design is supposed to help reduce fingerprint smudges, which is something I know is particularly irritating to spot. Especially when they’re highlighted by bright lighting.

TCL emphasized the effects of all this at the show with a display, featuring a NXTPaper phone as part of a wider image inspired by Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”. In it the NXTPaper display blended into the wider image fairly well, and the only thing that really gives it away is that the phone screen is brighter than the surrounding image - rather than because it’s extra-reflective.

I just wish we could see more work being done to bring similar anti-reflective properties to other phones. TCL's tech is better than the anti-glare coatings that may eventually wear out and interfere with the rest of the screen.

The NXTPaper switch is still the best part

All the benefits of TCL’s paper modes would be rendered more or less moot if they weren’t easy to switch on. The fact that TCL has included a physical switch to switch between standard and e-paper modes means that all the benefits of the technology are a lot easier to access.

Sure, switching between different paper modes is more difficult — and requires a trip to the settings menu. But if there’s a particular paper mode that you would want to use the most, then you can flick back and forth in just a few seconds. Better still, you can watch the whole display transform in front of your eyes.

There’s something incredibly satisfying about flicking that switch and seeing the screen change. TCL’s NXTPaper tablets use a button instead, and frankly, it’s just not the same. Even if the button does offer multiple different options, depending on whether you press it once or hold it down.

Maybe TCL will switch to a button on future generations of NXTPaper phones, much like how Apple swapped the iPhone mute switch out for the Action Button. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as long as you can switch between full color and e-paper modes quickly, but it wouldn’t be the same.

Bottom line

These days, it’s pretty rare to see smartphone technology changing in any meaningful way.

The display is probably the only thing that’s really evolved over an extended period of time, with various upgrades and features happening over the past decade. There's been everything from edge-to-edge displays and hole-punch cameras to higher refresh rates and better brightness.

Aside from maybe the switch to full-screen displays back in 2017, things have changed so gradually that a lot of people probably didn’t even notice. While NXTPaper isn’t exactly new anymore, it’s really great to see interesting displays being used as a unique selling point — especially considering how affordable TCL’s phones are. The fact that TCL seems to be refining NXTPaper each year is just an added bonus.

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Triple-folding devices were definitely a trend at MWC 2025 this week. But the products on show are also proof that we're still a ways from seeing these devices go mainstream.

Phones with all kinds of unusual displays are common sights at big shows like this, with the triple foldable being one of several futuristic-looking ideas. But triple foldables seemed more dominant this year than before, and there’s likely one big reason for that.

The one you can buy

The Huawei Mate XT is the only triple foldable phone you can currently buy. Not coincidentally, it was the only triple-folding device I saw at MWC that I could actually try myself. The phone already launched in China, and was just confirmed for a global release, including Europe, in the coming months.

With Huawei still facing U.S. sanctions, there's no easy way to get Google apps on any Huawei phone. Combined with the difficulty of sourcing one, this isn't likely to take off outside of its home market of China. But the Mate XT is a yardstick by which to judge all other triple foldables, thanks to its solidly-build design.

The one you can see used

Elsewhere at MWC, Tecno was showing off the Phantom Ultimate 2. This was announced late last year, but only as a concept phone rather than one designed to go on sale. That's why it lives under a perspex box apart from when it's being handled gingerly by a staff member.

The Phantom Ultimate 2 looks similar to the Mate XT, folding in the same z-shaped style, but with a more Samsung-style camera block and its own unique wavy back panel pattern.

As with Tecno's Spark Slim super-skinny phone concept, the Phantom Ultimate 2 is a way of showing off the engineering talent of a company that mainly focuses on budget phones for Africa and South America. But Tecno did release its Phantom V Fold regular foldable, so it's not impossible that the Phantom Ultimate 2 could make it to market too.

The ones you can look at only

Samsung had not one but two triple foldable concepts on display — the Flex S and Flex G. The S is another z-style foldable (not to be confused with a Z Fold), while the G has both side panels close over the front of the middle. Both of these were firmly locked away, with not even the staff on hand at MWC having access to them. There's a "no touching" sign on the box, too.

While you can't see these concepts folding — only playing the same sample app functions on a loop — Samsung has already proven itself to be a reliable maker of foldable phones with the Galaxy Z Flip and Galaxy Z Fold series. There have been rumors that the Flex G prototype would be the basis for Samsung's first triple foldable coming later this year, but there's no official sign of that yet. And even if there was, I doubt it would be allowed out of its plastic confinement at this point either.

I should also mention that Samsung had a third triple foldable phone at MWC, but it got removed due to damage from handling by booth visitors. This was similar to the Flex G, with two outer panels folding in over a central one, except arranged vertically, and with the sub-panels having two different sizes for some reason.

The odd ones out

There were more triple foldables hovering around the periphery of MWC too. Infinix announced its ZERO Series Mini Tri-Fold, a triple flip-style phone that can apparently use its hinges to fasten around a backpack strap or bike handlebar for easy hands-free use. But not only is this a non-functional concept, it's seemingly not even built yet, with every image being a manufacturer shot or render.

A more left-of-field take on the concept is the Aurzen Zip folding projector. This isn't a smart device, not offering a touch-screen display anywhere on its body. But it does have two hinges, allowing users to keep the equivalent of an 80-inch display in their pocket with ease, and with wireless connectivity to their other devices for casting video.

My colleague Tom Pritchard got to try the Zip out, and was quite impressed. Although it's currently on Kickstarter for pre-orders, this feels like the most likely of these devices an average person might buy.

Foldable phones haven’t made the regular smartphone redundant, but they’re clearly sticking around for now as a unique premium option for many Android phone makers. And in the name of advancing the format, and pure showing off, triple foldables are the obvious next step.

But while we’ve had foldable phones available for purchase for more than five years now, adapting the design to add another hinge without adding too much additional fragility or mechanical complication. It’s quite the challenge, but one that lots of companies are trying to tackle. Maybe at MWC next year, we will have more, real triple foldables to sample, but for now we can just admire a potential future for phones from behind the glass.

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RedMagic is well known for its fleet of gaming phones, like the RedMagic 9s Pro, but it's now delving into gaming laptops, and it continues by revealing a 16-inch notebook with a 3D display.

Shown off at MWC 2025, I got to check out the RedMagic Gaming Laptop 3D, which delivers a glasses-free 3D effect in PC games thanks to eye-tracking cameras that make it appear like details are popping out from the display.

Placed right above the display, two cameras track eye movement to adjust what's seen on screen, ensuring you get a proper 3D experience. It took some time to get used to, especially when I was looking at the display from an angle. But once it clicked, I got seamless 3D visuals.

With its 4K resolution and 16:10 aspect ratio, the 3D laptop's display offered up great detail and vibrant colors from what I could see. I got to check out some Tomb Raider gameplay, and seeing particle effects like raindrops jump out was a welcome perk.

How will it work in other PC games? Well, no other games were shown during my brief look, but it's sure to work great in other PC titles that support Nvidia 3D Vision or the like (there aren't too many of them, but there are mods also available, according to Steam).

Plus, seeing as it's a gaming laptop, it also comes with gamer-ready specs — even though it's a tad behind the times.

The RedMagic 3D gaming laptop comes with a 14th Gen Intel Core i9 14900HX CPU, an RTX 4070 GPU, 32GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1TB SSD. While RTX 50-series gaming laptops are now out and about, it's worth noting the laptop launched in China back in November 2024.

While there are no current plans for a global launch, RedMagic still has other gaming laptops to offer, including its RedMagic Titan 16 Pro with up to an RTX 4070 that launched in 2024.

3D laptops aren't anything new, with Acer announcing its glasses-free 3D laptop last year and Lenovo recently showing off its 3D laptop concept, but it's exciting to see a gaming-focused 3D laptop. Moreover, seeing RedMagic expand into laptops instead of its usual gaming phones is a welcome sight.

More gaming laptops from RedMagic?

RedMagic only recently entered the gaming laptop space, with its Titan 16 Pro dropping in August last year. Now that it's come out with a 3D laptop made for gamers, it's clear we'll likely see even more from the gaming brand down the line.

With it's current laptops offering up to an RTX 4070, it appears RedMagic is catering to more budget-to-midrange gaming laptops. If this is the case, I wouldn't be surprised if we see refreshes to its lineup in 2025, with RedMagic possibly offering up to RTX 5070 laptops.

Considering the price of the Titan 16 Pro (starting at $1,699 for an RTX 4060) RedMagic would do well to keep budget in mind if it decides to deliver, say, an RTX 5070 model.

While international markets may not see the 3D gaming laptop anytime soon, it shows that RedMagic is at least stepping deeper into its gaming laptops venture, and I'm excited to see what it has in store next. In the meantime, check out the RTX 50-series laptops on our wishlist.

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If you think most phones have looked the same over the last few years, you're not alone. In fact, with the exception of foldable phones, the general slab form factor has barely changed.

The only noticeable design differences between one generation and the next these days is maybe the size of the bezel and the camera bump.

In 2025 phone makers seem to be jumping back on the thickness bandwagon, offering phones that are noticeably skinnier than their flagship counterparts. Samsung is one of the companies attempting that with the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, a phone that is rumored to be just 5.84mm thick.

But having seen the phone on display at MWC 2025, I’m feeling pretty underwhelmed by the design. Here's why.

The Galaxy S25 Edge doesn’t look that special up close

Back when Samsung first teased the Galaxy S25 Edge in January, right at the end of Galaxy Unpacked, it made grand promises about the phone’s design. It’s supposed to be a phone that’s “packed into a form that is sleek, powerful and unlike anything you’ve seen before.”

Shortly thereafter, Samsung revealed the official Galaxy S25 Edge design to attendees, with a display showcasing what the phone will actually look like when it releases. A similar display was also on show at MWC 2025, featuring 14 identical versions visible from just about any angle you can think of.

And to be perfectly honest, I’m not so sure I can see the appeal. Sure, the phone is thin, considerably thinner than my (admittedly rather chunky) Pixel 9 Pro. But it doesn’t look particularly special.

I look at the Galaxy S25 Edge and go “yep, that’s a Samsung Galaxy phone.” with my next thought being “is that actually much thinner than a Galaxy S25?”. It’s difficult to tell when a phone is suspended from the ceiling, and you’re not actually able to hold it or make proper comparisons with other devices.

Really the only interesting thing I can see from that hands-off view is that the phone only has two cameras. I use the term Interesting lightly there, because the number of cameras is hardly a novelty in 2025. But it is rather rare to see a Galaxy phone that doesn’t have three, even if the third lens is a terrible 2MP macro camera or something similar.

S25 Edge isn’t even the thinnest phone at MWC

Chinese phone maker Tecno could be pushing the limits of thinness even further with the 5.75mm Tecno Spark Slim. This is phone that people at MWC, myself included, have been able to get their hands on.

Not only does the Tecno Spark look thinner, seemingly aided by its curved edges, it’s extremely light. It's just 5.07-ounces, and the company claims they actually had to artificially inflate the weight to stop the phone from feeling cheap and toy-like.

Admittedly, there are some problems with the Spark Slim that Samsung could easily outmatch. For starters, Chinese phones don’t have the same level of availability on the global market, especially in the U.S. Plus, as thin and light as this phone is, it’s design is not the best.

The rear camera bar, complete with dual lenses on opposite sides of the phone, looks pretty wonky compared to the neater S25 Edge.

Likewise ,we don’t actually know how the phone will perform compared to flagship devices. The S25 Edge, as best we can tell, should offer an experience similar to the rest of the Galaxy S25 series.

Then again, Apple is rumored to launch the iPhone 17 Air later this year, with a reported thickness of 5.5mm. Apple’s not the kind of company to nerf one of its flagships for the sake of it, and I’d be surprised if the phone wasn’t comparable to the standard iPhone 17.

Needless to say, Samsung’s biggest mobile competitor offering its own ultra-thin flagship does not bode well for the S25 Edge’s prospects.

Bottom line: Galaxy S25 Edge needs some extra oomph

There’s a lot to like about the Galaxy S25 series that’s already on sale. You get strong performance, a great set of cameras and excellent battery life, plus Galaxy AI features. I have no doubt that the Galaxy S25 Edge will offer all this as well — complementing its new design.

But, as it stands, I don’t feel like the Edge’s design will be enough for the Edge to stand alone. Pricing might be a factor, but my feeling is that it’s not going to be cheap — certainly not cheaper than the standard Galaxy S25. That’s what the S25 FE will be for.

And with that in mind, and the rather milquetoast design that Samsung has been showing off, I can’t help but wonder who this phone is going to be marketed at.

Here’s hoping Samsung is only being so coy about the Galaxy S25 Edge because it’s going to have some exclusive or specialist features you can’t get elsewhere. Otherwise, I’m not so sure why anyone should care about it.

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Back at CES, Chinese manufacturer TCL announced a whole host of phones and tablets for sale this year. We knew they would be on the budget end of the spectrum given the company’s general target market, but with current inflationary pressures, it wasn’t clear just how inexpensive ‘cheap’ would be.

It turns out that the full range will be very competitively priced indeed. At MWC in Barcelona, the company has unveiled pricing for its full range of phones and tablets, with prices starting at just €109 (around $115).

TCL NXTPAPER devices

The most interesting device is the TCL NXTPAPER 11 Plus, which will cost €249 (~$262) in Europe, with North American pricing to follow.

“NXTPAPER”, for the uninitiated, is TCL’s more paper-like screen technology, designed to ease eyestrain and make reading more pleasurable.

It feels more like pen-on-paper when paired with a stylus, and can even switch to monochrome for an e-book reader-style experience.

The specs sound impressive for the price. The 11-inch tablet is powered by the MediaTek Helio G100 chipset, backed with either 8GB or 12GB RAM and 256GB of storage. The 8,000mAh battery supports 33W fast charging, too.

It’s not just the tablet that benefits from the NXTPAPER technology. If you want something more portable, then three TCL phones use it too. The cheapest of these is the €189 (~$199) TCL 60 SE NXTPAPER 5G which packs a MediaTek MT6835V processor, 8GB RAM and a 50MP main camera into its 6.78-inch frame.

For €10 more, the regular TCL 60 NXTPAPER improves on this with a MediaTek G92 chipset and a 108MP camera.

While these aren’t listed as coming to the U.S., there’s a North America-exclusive model: the TCL 60 XE NXTPAPER. It costs CA$325 (~$225), but on paper, it’s not clear how it differs to the 60 SE mentioned above. Both have a 6.78-inch FHD+ display, 8GB RAM, 256GB of storage and the MediaTek MT6835V processor, and the 50MP-led camera array sounds the same too.

Even cheaper options

TCL also has a bunch of phones without NXTPAPER, and these are generally even cheaper, though without a U.S. launch on the cards, by the looks of it.

The most affordable is the TCL 605, which is sold for just €109 (~$115). It’s a 6.67-inch HD+ device which packs the MediaTek G81 processor, backed by 4GB RAM and 128GB of internal storage, with a 256GB option available. It has a 50MP rear camera, a 5MP selfie cam and a 5,200mAh battery.

For €10 more, you can get the TCL 60R 5G, which seems very similar, only with the MediaTek Dimensity 6300 chipset, an added depth sensor and the front-facing camera upgraded from 5MP to 8MP.

Jumping to €169 (~$178) can get you either the TCL 60 5G or the TCL 60 SE. Both share the same 6.67-inch screen, a 50MP main camera and an 8MP front-facing one. While the former uses the MediaTek Dimensity 6300, the latter comes with the G81 chipset.

Full availability will likely be confirmed over the next few weeks, along with American pricing where applicable. While the handsets likely won’t compete with the best cheap phones you can buy, if price is the number-one factor, they may well be worth considering.

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Mobile World Congress 2025 has been a bit of a surprise for me compared to previous years. Not only is a folding projector one of my favorite gadgets from the show, I find myself strangely drawn to a pair of hi-tech cycling glasses from BleeqUp. And I don’t even own a bike, let alone partake in any recreational cycling of my own.

BleeqUp Ranger are advertised as “4-in-1” sunglasses, because they offer more than simple eye protection. That’s what makes them smart, after all. Also included in the design is a 16MP video camera, dash cam functionality, AI-powered video editing and built-in speakers.

Yes there's AI, but it's not the main feature

BleeqUp joked about the AI angle, pointing out that almost every product at MWC has some kind of AI integration. But the company said they don’t just want the AI inside these glasses to be a gimmick. The functionality is limited to summarizing and highlighting your video recordings — picking out all the best parts and serving them to you up front.

There’s support for AI assistants too, but like the best headphones and best earbuds, that’s limited to whichever assistant you have running on your phone. So Gemini, Siri, or whatever else you might use.

The headphone aspect is pretty impressive, with BleeqUp adding an open-ear design for safety reasons. That way you can hear whatever audio is coming from your phone, without losing track of your surroundings.

I experienced this first hand at MWC in a busy convention hall, and was able to hear the music pumping through the speakers while simultaneously having a conversation with another person.

The music wasn’t amazingly clear, but I’ll be the first to admit it was very loud in that room. Plus I’d argue that music quality shouldn’t be your priority if it means compromising personal safety.

A better kind of dash cam for cyclists

The star feature of the BleeqUp Ranger is the 16MP camera and its dash cam capabilities. I’m a big fan of the best dash cams in your car, simply because of the extra security they offer to drivers. If you can’t physically stop accidents happening, you should at least have a record of what happened. The same is true on a bike, potentially more so since you don’t have the security of travelling around strapped into a metal box.

BleeqUp pointed out that because the Ranger’s camera lens is situated between both of your eyes, it’s able to record everything from your point of view. That’s something the best action cameras can’t really accomplish if they’re mounted to your bike or the top of your helmet.

Most importantly, unlike other smart glasses, the Ranger’s camera can continuously record for 1 hour with the built-in battery — or up to 5 with the helmet mounted battery pack. Ray-Ban’s Meta Smart Glasses, meanwhile, only record for 3 minutes at a time.

Other features include a touchpad on both frames, letting you control the volume and playback, IP54 water and dust resistance, removable lenses and an audio-only navigation system to help you get around without looking at your phone. All in a pair of glasses that weigh as little as 42 grams (1.4 ounces)

BleeqUp Ranger will be launching on Kickstarter later this month, with prices starting at $349.

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If the Game Boy Advance SP and Steam Deck had a baby, it would look a lot like this Flex Gaming concept from Samsung Display. Brand new to MWC 2025, it’s the next step of something we often see — put the company’s best screens into interesting devices.

And color me most interested about this gaming foldable — so much so, that I wish it was a real thing. If this were real, I would rapidly turn into Fry from Futurama, demanding that Samsung “shut up and take my money.”

Let me explain how this works, and why I hope it will become a thing for the future of the best gaming handhelds. In fact, it's such a neat way of doing a portable machine that I hope we get a Nintendo Switch 2 like it.

Above the fold

From first impressions, this looks like your average gaming handheld — kind of like a Nintendo Switch Lite with its bright color and button layout.

But something’s weird here. First is that noticeable crease in the middle of the 7-inch OLED display. And second, the direction and face buttons have a big hole in the middle of them.

At first, this may seem like a baffling design decision. And that’s when they hit you with the fold — closing this flat with the analog sticks fitting perfectly into these holes. It gives you prime protection of that screen up-front and reduces the overall size of the device by half.

A pocketable gaming handheld

Up until this point, PC gaming handhelds have been limited to the extra large candy bar shapes the likes of the Steam Deck. There may be some variation in terms of the Lenovo Legion Go, but they all fall back in like around this big screen in the middle.

This means I’m stuck to thinking about this strictly as a special occasion device — where it needs backpack space to make it make sense. Not to say that’s a bad thing whatsoever, but it does reduce the amount of times I have my Deck on me for some playtime.

So to be able to stash this folded away in my back pocket immediately makes it a thousand-percent more portable to go play at any time during the day’s adventures. It may just be a concept, but Samsung Display is absolutely onto something here, and I hope we see something like this become a reality.

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The Nubia Flip 2 5G foldable has made its first appearance at MWC 2025, and it's got quite a legacy to uphold. The original Nubia Flip 5G stunned everyone last year by offering a foldable phone for a mere $500. But it seems as though a lot can change in a year.

The big news is again the price: €699. That's 200 euros more than the original Nubia Flip cost, but it's still cheaper than any other foldable phone. Even limiting our scope to just flip foldables, the Motorola Razr 2024 is still 100 euros more, and a Razr Plus 2024 or Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 will set you back over a grand. And as you'll see, there are good reasons for this price increase.

Nubia has overhauled the design of the Flip 2, with the phone weighing 193 grams compared to the original's 208 grams (6.81 ounces vs. 7.34 ounces). This weight drop has been managed by improvements to the hinge mechanism, aluminum frame and toughened glass. The Nubia Flip 2 can apparently survive a drop of up to 1.2m, but that's presumably only if you have the phone's delicate inner screen safely folded away.

The inner display is a 6.9-inch OLED model like the original Nubia Flip's, but this time rated at a brighter 1,200 nits. The bigger news on the display front is the redesigned 3-inch rectangular external panel. Not only is this rated for 900-nits of brightness, it's larger and more conventionally shaped than the more distinctive (but less practical) circular display of the last model.

With its new shape, Nubia says the Flip 2 can now use "almost all" apps on the cover screen, similar to the Motorola Razr 2024. I saw it running TikTok, the camera app and messaging apps, but I have no reason to doubt it being able to run other apps as well.

On the topic of cameras, the Nubia Flip 2 gets improved photography. The 32MP selfie camera double the resolution of the original Nubia Flip's front camera, while a 50MP main rear camera returns from the previous model.

Taking advantage of the new hinge and the larger outer display, the Nubia Flip 2 now offers a preview mode to show what's in the camera viewfinder on both screens, as well as hovering/hands-free photography. This works by letting the user partially bend the phone and stepping away to snap a pic.

AI is of course present and correct. Common features such as translation for calls and in-person conversations are available, alongside a wallpaper generator that was shown off in the announcement presentation. Nubia's also added AI Pets, meaning you get your choice of a puffer fish, tiger, cat, dog or llama that will greet you when you fold the phone. How exactly these relate to the other AI services isn't clear.

Gemini should be coming to the Nubia Flip 2 too, as ZTE promised all its internationally-sold mobile devices will gain support for Google's AI from March.

To finish off our specs run-down: a Dimensity 7300X drives the Flip 2, which is not a flagship-grade chip but makes sense given the lower pricing. On the battery front, you get a roomy 4,325 mAh battery with 33W charging.

The Nubia Flip 2 has given up a significant part of its price advantage compared to other flip foldable phones. But this hasn't been done for the sake of it — upgrades to the outer display and durability alone are arguably enough to justify the increase. And depending on how powerful the new chipset proves to be, or how useful the software upgrades are, that could still make the new phone as great a value proposition as the first Nubia Flip.

With the Galaxy Z Flip 7 and new Moto Razrs likely to arrive in the coming months, we're likely on the cusp of big changes to our best foldable phones guide. And if Nubia's changes pay off, the Flip 2 could just inherit the spot that the cheap and cheerful original model managed to grab.

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The 2025 Mobile World Congress (MWC) has completed its first day, and already we've seen some amazing new devices and concepts.

For instance, we've checked out a phone powered by the sun, a modular camera phone with magnetic lenses and a laptop that can flip open to reveal an 18-inch display.

This is only the start of MWC, and there's more on the horizon for all you tech fans. If you want to keep up to date, check out our MWC 2025 live blog for all the latest news.

However, for those looking for a more quick breakdown, here's the 7 most amazing gadgets from MWC Day 1.

Lenovo's ThinkBook "Codename Flip" concept is a 2-in-1 breakthrough

Last year, it was the transparent laptop concept. But for 2025, Lenovo has gone big with the ThinkBook "Codename Flip" — a simple, unassuming 13-inch notebook that you can literally flip open into a gigantic 18-inch vertical OLED panel.

From standing proudly without needing a kickstand (unlike the Asus Zenbook Duo), the versatility of ways you can use that 18.1-inch 2000 x 2664-pixel 3:4 aspect ratio display, to the attention paid to ergonomics in that touchpad, there's a lot to love here.

Of course, this alongside the solar-powered laptop and monitor with AI built-in are only concepts. But if Lenovo wants to launch this device, I'm all for it!

Could solar powered phones be the wave of the future?

Solar power has a lot of benefits, and we've seen it added to everything from cars to homes. However, MWC 2025 has revealed what could be the first phone that uses solar power to constantly charge itself.

The device in question comes from Infinix, and our Tom Pritchard got to spend some time with the phone to see how well the idea works.

The tech is currently limited to only 2W, so it isn't going to be replacing a charger anytime soon. However, Infinix says the point of this concept is to collect the energy needed to extend the phone's own standby time, or as a “practical backup” if more traditional forms of power are out of commission.

Sadly, Infinix isn't planning on selling the concept device yet, but the mere fact it exists is potentially great news for anyone who wants a phone that limits their energy footprint.

Xiaomi is looking to change smartphone cameras we know it

If there's one common complaint about smartphones, it's that the camera bumps have been getting bigger and bigger. Admittedly, no phone's reached the level of the Galaxy S4 Zoom, but still it's a problem. However, Xiaomi unveiled something that could change how we view cameras on our phones: the Modular Optic System, or MOS.

Tom's Guide's Tom Pritchard got to see what, exactly, this new system is meant to do and how it's meant to work. The concept model seen at the event allowed users to attach a small, compact camera to the magnetic ring on the back of a phone. In theory, this would mean users could have far more options than just the cameras on the device.

In a brief hands-on, Tom said that the phone felt pretty comfortable to hold and wasn't too heavy. He also noted that the connection process was seamless and didn't require any special case or attachment to work. MOS is an interesting concept, and hopefully Xiaomi continues it in the future.

Samsung is bringing back the A-series in a strong way

Samsung has officially announced the Galaxy A56, Galaxy A36 and the Galaxy A26. All three of these phones have a shot of making our best cheap phones list, and they all offer a fair amount for shoppers on a budget.

The Galaxy A56 is the clear standout, with a 6.7-inch display and 120Hz refresh rate. It's also got a 50MP main camera, a 12MP wide angle lens and a 5MP Macro. All of this is powered by a 5,000mAh battery that allows for 45W wired charging.

If you're worried all this might mean a price increase, have no fear, as the Galaxy A56 is launching with the same $499 price tag as the previous phones. That's $100 less than the iPhone 16e.

Admittedly, the Galaxy A36 and the Galaxy A26 are a little less impressive, although they do feature full HD displays with 120Hz refresh rates. Unfortunately, both phones are still running a single 50MP main lens, alongside an 8MP ultrawide and a 5MP macro.

However, prices for the A36 and A26 are start at $399 and $299, respectively.

TCL is improving its augmented reality glasses with the TCL RayNeo X3

Augmented reality glasses are slowly getting better and better, and could soon reach a combination of peak design and impressive features. TCL is looking to take a huge step in that direction with the TCL RayNeo X3 Pro, the follow-up to the TCL RayNeo X2 shown off at last year's MWC.

TCL has clearly taken some of the audience reactions to heart, having slimmed down the frames so that they're much less noticeable. The TCL RayNeo X3 Pro also features a gorgeous micro-LED display with a brightness of up to 2,500 nits. However, the big addition is actually useful multimodal AI assistance.

Unfortunately, the battery life does leave something to be desired, especially as most of the features stop working as soon as the glasses reach 10%. Jason had to constantly charge the glasses up to 20%, but the low battery warning would flash after only 10 minutes of use.

Honor announces its latest smartwatch: The Honor Magic 5 Ultra

Honor used the first day of MWC to reveal several products, as well as its plans for AI. What has us most excited was the official announcement of the Honor Watch 5 Ultra.

While standing out in the smartwatch market is pretty difficult, the Ultra Watch 5 impressed us so much we gave it a score of 4.5 stars in our review.

Part of the reason for this score is the overall design of the Honor Magic 5 Ultra, which easily matches any of the best smartwatches on the market. It's sleek, stylish and features a large, clear AMOLED display and a comfortable watch band.

Honor has also worked to improve both the sleep and fitness tracking on the watch. Last but not least, the Honor Watch 5 Ultra is rated for 15 days of battery life.

While Honor has announced that the phone will cost €279 at release, there's no word on U.S. availability or pricing.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra offer a stylish design, but not for everyone

Speaking of new releases, Xiaomi took the time during MWC to finally announce the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which will launch March 4. We scored the phone an amazing 4.5 stars in our just published review due to several pretty fantastic features.

The Xiaomi 15 Ultra sports a nostalgic design with a lovely bright screen. This retro look hides the actual power of the phone, which comes with the Snapdragon 8 Elite and 16GB of RAM.

However, all of this doesn't come cheap as the Xiaomi 15 Ultra will set you back a minimum of €1,499.

While there's a lot to love about the phone, there are some issues with it. The most pressing is that the Xiaomi 15 Ultra likely won't release in the U.S. We do expect the phone to appear in the UK and European markets.

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This year is gearing up to be a pretty big year for tri-fold phones. The Huawei Mate XT might have been the first three-screen foldable to be unveiled, but we could also see Samsung’s Galaxy G Fold come to market this summer.

But since these are both larger book-style foldables, what does the future hold for foldable flip phones? Infinix (the same company that brought the solar-powered phone to MWC 2025) thinks it has the answer with this concept — the Infinix Zero Mini Tri-Fold Concept Device.

Yes, that is its official name.

Infinix claims this “is not just another foldable.” Instead it’s a "bold reimagination of how technology enhances everyday life, evolving seamlessly between different forms.”

The key thing to remember is that this is a clamshell foldable with two hinges instead of one. That means the folded product is a lot more compact than phones like the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6 or Motorola Razr+.

Even more flipping

Completely folded you’re looking at a phone that’s around the size of a (large) credit card. Unfold both hinges and you have what appears to be a pretty standard-looking phone. We can’t say how big the concept device is supposed to be, because Infinix hasn’t told us.

Infinix has made a point of mentioning that the hinges aren’t just there so the phone can unfold to reveal a larger screen. Instead it’s trying to emphasize that the dual hinge-design lets the phone “shift effortlessly between multiple modes”.

Existing foldables have already done this to an extent, most notably with Interpreter modes on the likes of the Pixel 9 Pro Fold and Samsung’s Galaxy Z series. Or by using a cover display as a viewfinder, so you can take selfies with the main camera.

Infinix mentions both of these things, but doesn’t elaborate on what else the Zero Mini Tri-Fold could offer.

This is still a concept

It does mention that the hypothetical device would have a special strap accessory that would let users mount the phone in different places. On bag straps, gym equipment, car dashboards and so on. Though this is all rather moot since the phone is a concept that won’t be released anytime soon.

Still, with the era of tri-fold phones looming, it’s good to see that phone makers are thinking about how that technology could be adapted for clamshell phones as well. Though it’d be nice to get some real devices in our hands sooner rather than later.

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Lenovo is no stranger to wild laptop concepts. Some, like the rollable Thinkook Plus Gen 6, see the light of day, while others, including Lenovo's transparent display laptop, are simply intriguing ideas. With this new foldable laptop concept, however, I'm hoping it will be the former.

I got the chance to check out the Lenovo ThinkBook "Codename Flip" laptop concept over at MWC 2025, and instead of your usual 2-in-1 designs, it acts more like a 5-in-1 notebook. That's all thanks to its 18.1-inch foldable OLED display that folds up quite nicely into a compact 13-inch design.

Does it come with an obvious display crease? Sure, but that hardly gets in the way of having an ultra-long screen that can be split into two monitors, folded backward to use as a tablet or simply as a regular 13-inch clamshell laptop.

After some hands-on time with it, it's clear this foldable laptop has great potential to give the best 2-in-1 laptops a new form factor to achieve, even if I was worried about snapping its display in half more often than not. Still, for just a concept, this laptop impresses.

Lenovo ThinkBooK Flip: Specs

Lenovo ThinkBook Flip: What we like

Specs aside, the real draw here is opening up its vertically long OLED display, which I can imagine will make quite the "look what my laptop can do" type of statement when using it in an office, coffee shop or any public setting, when it comes down to it, though, more screen in a portable design is always a winner.

Flippable OLED goodness

I've never felt restricted or constrained by displays on 13-inch laptops like a MacBook Air M3, but Lenovo's ThinkBook Flip concept offers the big-screen treatment I always liked having.

Boasting an 18.1-inch (2000 x 2664) OLED display with a 3:4 aspect ratio when unfolded, the Flip is gorgeous to look at. There's a noticeable crease in the middle, but not so visible that it would distract me. Also, seeing as it's just a concept right now, I'm sure Lenovo would further refine the display to make it all look more seamless.

Being able to turn your laptop's screen into a long vertical monitor is handy. Still, it's even more convenient knowing that its dual mode can offer an extra display (13.1 inches and 12.9 inches, dual 16:10 aspect ratio). Whether stacked on top or folded behind to share your screen with others, it's an extra way to use your laptop productively.

It's touch-enabled, too, making it a competent tablet with a sizeable 12.9-inch screen. It's still on Windows 11, so don't expect the best tablet experience, but for reading or watching shows, it does a great job.

The display itself is also bright with punchy colors, which is what you'd expect from an OLED panel.

Small design, big potential

Fitting an 18-inch display into a 13-inch laptop body the way Lenovo has done for its ThinkBook Flip is clever, as it's a great way to get more screen real estate in a compact design — bar getting a portable monitor.

Surprisingly, despite how long the display looks when completely unfolded, it holds up well. I never thought that it would just topple over, meaning the base of the laptop is actually made of sturdy stuff. Although, Lenovo offers a stand to give it some support, like in its tablet mode.

Speaking of modes, there are five of them:

• Clamshell Mode
• Vertical Mode
• Share Mode
• Tablet Mode
• Read Mode

Each is incredibly useful and doesn't take long to set up, although I wasn't quite sure what the real difference was between Read and Tablet modes.

It's not the lightest or thinnest 13-inch laptop around the block (measuring 11.3 x 8.2 x 0.7 inches and weighing 3.1 pounds), but it still felt portable enough to carry around easily.

As a quick note, I'm also a fan of the Smart ForcePad with its three-layer illuminated dashboard. It could bring up a number pad and even media controls, making the touchpad supremely more useful than just a place to move a cursor.

Specs look promising

Since it's still in its concept stage, who knows what its internals will look like if it ever does launch, but Lenovo has offered a general look at what will power the ThinkBook Flip — and it's already looking decent.

You can expect the latest Intel Core Ultra 200V CPU, with the Intel Core Ultra 7 chip being named specifically, 32GB of DDR5X RAM and a PCIe SSD. No number for storage is shown, but I predict it will be at least 1TB for space.

You'll find these types of specs in the best laptops, but since we couldn't put the ThinkBook Flip through its paces, I can only hope that it will perform as well as its internals look.

Lenovo ThinkBook Flip: What we don't like

You have to give it to Lenovo for its innovation, but that doesn't mean the ThinkBook Flip is not without some concerns.

Use with care

It's impressive what foldable OLED displays can do, and while they've had some time in the oven to be more reliable to use in foldable phones, the same can't be said about foldable tech in laptops.

When handling the ThinkBook Flip, I was paranoid that I would quickly snap the display from its hinge or accidentally bend it a way it's not supposed to. It feels delicate, so changing it to different forms took longer.

Plus, changing it into different modes can be a little tricky. For example, to split the screen in two and fold the display behind the lid, you'll need to swipe a toggle in the middle of the hinge. It's not exactly too visible at this angle and it would have been better to have this done automatically.

Of course, it's just a concept model, so Lenovo could be looking for more ways to streamline the process and make it that much more reliable to play around with.

Lenovo ThinkBook Flip: Outlook

Are we starting to see the evolution of 2-in-1 laptops? I certainly hope so, as what the Lenovo ThinkBook Flip concept has shown off has already excited me. I mean, it's hard to say no to more screens, especially when it can be easily tucked away when you're after a more traditional laptop.

We're already fans of the long vertical and rollable display of the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, and the ThinkBook Flip brings more of this in a versatile, foldable way. Here's hoping it sees the light of day at some point, although I also hope it launches with a bit more sturdier frame.

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There is a lot of tech on the floor at MWC 2025, and if I’m being totally honest a lot of it is pretty samey.

There’s only so many times you can go past a booth with phones offering AI innovations, or with suspiciously familiar-looking phones from brands you’ve never heard of, before it starts to blur together.

But if you look hard enough there is some really innovative stuff. Like this very cool folding projector, the Aurzen Zip.

What caught my eye wasn’t the projector’s small size, it’s the fact it has a tri-folding design. The Zip is essentially its own stand, and it's super simple to set up.

Super compact design

The size is also pretty important. The Zip measures just 3.3 x 3.1 x 1-inches, and weighs 0.62 lbs. Considering it fits in the palm of my hand pretty comfortably, it’s well suited for traveling or for those of you that don’t have space for larger TVs and projectors.

Just be sure not to drop it like I did. It seems that my inability to keep hold of gadgets is one of the major trends of MWC 2025.

If you want to go truly portable, the Zip’s 5,00 mAh battery will apparently last up to 90 minutes, with support for 24W USB-PD for all your recharging needs.

There’s also a built-in speaker, and the ability to project images up to 80-inches in size. Which is pretty incredible for such a small gadget, if you ask me.

Stream from your phone

My favorite part is the fact Zip has built-in casting support, letting you connect your devices to the projector without needing a Wi-Fi connection.

I actually saw this in action at MWC. The Zip was projecting a mirror image of a nearby phone, and it was able to keep the projection up to date without much noticeable lag.

It’s capable of supporting vertical and horizontal video too, so if you want to watch videos from the Tom’s Guide TikTok channel on a big screen you can.

The downside is that there’s no option to have a wired connection — it’s all done wirelessly. So for devices that don’t natively support the Cast protocol, like games console, you’ll need to purchase a separate wireless HDMI dongle.

The other issue is that the picture is limited to 720p. Which is far from ideal, but I’m not sure what you could really expect from a device this small.

The Aurzen Zip is currently available to pre-order on Kickstarter, with shipping scheduled for sometime later this month. The projector on its own will cost you $299, but a $399 bundle is available with the CastPlay wireless HDMI dongle, a magnetic charging stand and a magnetic mount

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We just got a first official look at the Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro here at MWC 2025, and we are now even more excited for the full launch happening tomorrow.

We still don’t know all the features that will be available on these phones, but it’s clear just from the look that Nothing’s signature Glyph interface has returned. These lights are both decorative and practical, communicating when you have new alerts with unique flashing patterns.

A circular section on the back of the two new phones houses the rear cameras. It’s a horizontal camera bar in the case of the regular Phone 3a, but the Pro model shifts the cameras around the circle more evenly, presumably to make up for larger sensors or other components that need more space around them.

It's rumored that those cameras will consist of a 50MP main, 8MP ultrawide on both phones, and then a 2x telephoto camera of unknown resolution for the regular Phone 3a, and a 50MP telephoto of unknown zoom level for the Phone 3a Pro.

Nothing stated during the reveal that there is a periscope zoom on the Pro model, but didn't confirm any of the other specs.

On the side, we can see what Nothing’s named the “Essential Key,” which teasers have revealed will be capable of taking screencaps and audio recordings. We hope it'll be usable for more than that though, especially with Nothing's tendency for adding weird but useful functions to its phones.

A new chipset is an important part of the Nothing Phone 3a series’ upgrades. Hence why this reveal happened at a stand belonging to Qualcomm, the makers of the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 that powers both phones.

AI capabilities were at the front of the Nothing engineers' minds too apparently, with the powerful NPU of the 7s Gen 3 being a particular draw.

Not a lot of detail, but also not a long time to wait

Not many other details were discussed during the brief reveal presentation, but fortunately we can rely on the rumor mill to fill in the rest until launch day tomorrow.

Both the Nothing Phone 3a and Nothing Phone 3a Pro should use 6.72-inch OLED displays with a 120Hz refresh rate, like the Nothing Phone 2a Plus that preceded them.

Both phones should offer at least 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage, with the Nothing Phone 3a Pro possibly getting a chunky 12GB of RAM. Also, the pair should both also use 5,000 mAh batteries, which will hopefully produce impressive battery life results when we test them.

We're still waiting for other key pieces of information like pricing and availability, but chances are it'll only be a few weeks until these phones are available to buy.

Whether you'll want to buy them will depend on if these two phones are any good or not, or if they're worthy of a spot on our best cheap phones guide. So check back with TG soon if you want to see these phones get the full review treatment.

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Let’s be honest. The likes of OpenAI Operator and the Rabbit R1’s LAM Playground are fascinating glimpses into the future of agentic AI web browsing. But their precision is like a drunk guy trying to throw a dart — technically aimed, but who knows where it’ll land.

On top of that, they’re based on virtual machines that could raise security concerns, and it makes them very slow. Well, I can exclusively reveal that Opera has an answer to this with Browser Operator.

Simply put, instead of having to run the browsing session virtually in its own desktop space, this operator can just take control for you directly in the browser — the world’s first agentic AI in a web browser just arrived at MWC 2025.

How it works

Browser Operator forms a part of the Aria AI overlay you’re probably already familiar with in Opera One R2 and Opera Air. Just flip over to the Operator, enter your prompt and watch it get to work.

For example, you can see the Operator jump in and buy a pack of 10 pairs of Nike tennis socks in a size 12 — freeing up time for you to go get other things done. You can watch the Browser Operator go through each interaction step-by-step, and give you transparency of all its thinking and doing.

Of course, you can give it more detailed and natural prompts too — giving it multiple steps and considerations to make in its decision process. You can see this happening in the request to buy Newcastle Premier League soccer tickets, as the Operator keeps the price in mind, the location of seating and availability of tickets.

Plus, given the fact it’s all happening within the browser, this agentic navigation is a cinch to interrupt and get involved in yourself too.

Speed boost

I can say with some experience that Opera's rivals will give you an interaction every 8-10 seconds — analyzing a screenshot for interactive elements, feeding that data into the LLM and taking action. With Browser Operator, you’re looking at that speed being cut nearly in half.

Based on looking at how the company fast-forwards the footage every now and again to x4 and x10, and timing each step being clearly shown in the AI chatbot window, it’s looking like you could get an action every 4-6 seconds on average. Given the complexities of the tasks being thrown at it in these examples, that’s crazy good!

However, you could entertain going even faster by working in tandem with the Browser Operator. Maybe instead of starting afresh from your home page, you opt to interact directly and navigate to the website, and then activate the Operator.

Thanks to all of this happening in the browser in front of you, that eliminates any need for a virtual machine that is usually quite a slouch to interact with.

Opera’s AI agency here is more to be something that works with you rather than completely replacing you.

The next step

So far, agentic AI has felt like something that’s a fun side project that you can play around with — smile at it taking its first steps into the world like a toddler, but realize it’s going to take a while for it to make sense.

Putting it directly into a browser like Opera doesn’t just make it faster, more secure and easier to work with alongside, it makes agentic make sense. This is a true transformative moment for web browsers in general, and the Norwegian browser company knows this.

“For more than 30 years, the browser gave you access to the web, but it has never been able to get stuff done for you. Now it can. This is different from anything we’ve seen or shipped so far,” Krystian Kolondra, Opera’s EVP, commented.

“The Browser Operator we’re presenting today marks the first step towards shifting the role of the browser from a display engine to an application that is agentic and performs tasks for its users.”

Browser Operator is currently available as a preview, but expect it to appear as part of an AI feature drop in the near future.

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I have made no secret about the fact camera bumps are getting too big. Just look at the iPhone 16 Pro Max and Galaxy S25 Ultra.

Some phones have been able to incorporate those bumps into quite smart designs, but what if we could eliminate the bump altogether? That's the idea behind Xiaomi’s Modular Optical System (or MOS).

MOS was on display here at MWC 2025, and the idea behind this concept device is that you can attach compact camera lenses onto the back of your phone. Forget the iPhone's MagSafe; this takes things to the next level.

This essentially turns your phone into a mirrorless camera, rather than relying on the traditional camera lenses that live on the back of the phone.

Move over, MagSafe

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen phone makers offer ways to attach beefier camera lenses to the back of their phones.

The difference here is that the MOS doesn’t require any cases or adapter rings. The lens simply snaps onto a magnetic ring on the back of the phone, much like the myriad of MagSafe accessories that are on sale.

The only real difference is that the MOS relies on a pair of contact pins, forming a physical connection between the phone and lens. According to Xiaomi this offers a “LaserLink” communication that allows for “nanosecond RAW data transfer”.

In other words, this is fast and likely much more convenient than a wireless connection as a result.

Other points of note include a f/1.4 aperture, a M4/3 sensor and a design that’s up to 50% shorter than your typical camera lens. There’s also a spinning dial on the lens itself, though it isn't clear whether this has a clear purpose or if you’ll have the option to tinker with it.

Since the concept model on show at MWC is all in Chinese, there was a limit to how much information I could glean from it.

The MOS concept felt pretty comfortable in my hand, not particularly heavy but also not that light either. That said, the real star of the show was the ability to quickly snap the lens into place.

The connection was near enough instant, and should Xiaomi decide to develop this technology further things could get pretty interesting.

But for now, this is simply a proof of concept, and the Modular Optical System isn’t scheduled to be going on sale anytime soon. But it does look promising.

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The smartphone world's getting excited for the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, and the rumored iPhone 17 Air that will similarly be a super-thin version of a flagship phone we know and love. But nobody — not even we tech journalists — can handle either of these phones yet.

Fortunately, Tecno, a Chinese phone maker, has come to MWC 2025 with its Spark Slim concept, a super-skinny phone you can already try out. Which, of course, I did as soon as the conference hall opened.

The headline spec of the Tecno Spark Slim is its 5.75mm (0.23 inches) thickness. For reference, the Galaxy S25 Edge is tipped to be about 6mm (0.24 inches) thick, and the iPhone 17 Air 5.5mm (0.22) thick.

With the curved screen and soft ceramic back panel, the phone basically melts into your hand like an open foldable phone, but without the huge palm-spanning area of those devices' inner screens.

Despite the slim design, Tecno's managed to fit a 5,200 mAh battery inside the phone, which can be charged at up to 45W. That's a larger capacity than you get in regular-sized phones like the Galaxy S25 Ultra (5,000 mAh), and shows that despite the obvious focus on a slim design, Tecno didn't ignore the other needs a phone user has.

That continues with the other specs. The Spark Slim features a 6.78-inch AMOLED screen with a 3K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate for smooth and detailed scrolling. It's rated as 4,500 nits at peak brightness, too.

On the back of the phone are two 50MP cameras, with a 13MP selfie camera and a punch-hole on the front. Decorative lights around the back cameras add even more personality to the Spark Slim.

But perhaps the wildest thing the Tecno representatives explained to me was that the 144-gram (5.07 ounces) weight of the phone is heavier than the original version of this concept.

The company had to add more weight to the Spark Slim in order to make it feel better to use, which is a mind-boggling piece of design work.

Sadly, I now have to tell you that the Spark Slim is not commercially available.

At least not yet. Tecno's primarily focused on developing phone markets such as Africa, and a phone like this would be way too expensive for regions like that. But the company apparently hopes that there's enough demand for the Spark Slim to make it worth releasing a production version.

We still don't know much about the Galaxy S25 Edge, other than it's a real device that's likely going to be launched in the next few months. And the iPhone 17 Air is still just the stuff of rumors, even if we hopefully see it this fall along with the other iPhone 17s.

But Tecno has more than proven that the slim flagship phone is already here, and that Samsung and Apple both have plenty of room to grow, if their slim phones' specs are as far behind Tecno's as the rumors suggest.

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You don’t need to tell me the benefits of solar power. A couple of years ago my roof panels generated enough electricity in one month that I didn’t have to pay my energy bill for the rest of the summer. And, like the calculators of old, it seems that big tech is finally wising up to the benefits of scaling solar tech down and adding it to our gadgets.

We’ve seen this tech added to cars, home security cameras, and even phone chargers. Now at MWC 2025 we’ve seen that tech land in a smartphone thanks to Infinix.

The company’s showing off a concept device featuring its new SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology. Which is, essentially, a solar panel built into the back of your phone.

I got to spend a little bit of time with the device at MWC, and while it’s pretty much a one-trick pony I’m still very excited about the prospect of a phone that can recharge itself.

Granted the tech is limited to 2W charging speeds right now, which is outrageously slow. So it goes without saying that this tech isn’t going to replace your phone charger, even if you live in one of the sunniest places on Earth.

But the extra few percentage points of power you generate could easily be the difference between your phone dying and not.

That’s generally the idea behind this tech. Infinix says that it’s all about collecting the energy to extend its own standby time, or as a “practical backup” in the event that more traditional forms of power are out of commission.

AI-optimized power management is also able to regulate the voltage, keeping everything running efficiently and preventing the device from overheating. Better still, the panels can generate power from indoor and outdoor light sources. In fact the concept devices at MWC were able to start recharging using an especially-bright flashlight. Sadly, the flashlight on the back of my phone did absolutely nothing.

It’s unfortunate that Infinix isn’t planning on selling this phone just yet. But with the concept proving that such a phone could exist, I’m looking forward to seeing where this technology actually goes.

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