Mobile World Congress, better known as MWC, is one of the biggest tech shows of the year. Brands like Xiaomi, Honor, and Realme take the opportunity to showcase new smartphones, wearables, laptops, and more.
MWC 2025 is no different, with a huge selection of devices on show at the Fira in Barcelona, ranging from high-end smartphones to sci-fi-level concepts, new wearables, and even AI-powered robots.
That said, here’s our hand-picked selection of the best releases and concepts from MWC 2025, all chosen by our team of experts.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra is Xiaomi’s all-singing, all-dancing camera-focused flagship for 2025 – and it’s a fantastic bit of kit. It not only sports a main camera with a massive 1-inch sensor, but it offers a high-res floating 3x telephoto and a whopping 200MP 6x periscope lens for impressive zoom performance.
As we’ve already reviewed the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, we also know that it’s stunningly powerful with the Snapdragon 8 Elite, has a great display and has no issue lasting all day. What’s not to love?
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge
While Samsung didn’t take the opportunity to officially launch the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge at MWC, it’s the first time that the phone has been showcased in the flesh to the masses.
Hanging from a thread on Samsung’s MWC stand, you can really appreciate just how thin the upcoming smartphone is – and we can’t wait to find out more in the coming months.
Realme 14 Pro Plus
The Realme 14 Pro Plus was initially unveiled in India a few months ago, but Realme confirmed at MWC that the capable mid-ranger is headed to the UK and Europe.
The phone includes a unique rear finish that changes colour depending on the ambient temperature, something Realme has showcased on its stand by submerging the phones in water and changing the temperature to induce the change. It’s an eye-catching way to showcase the tech.
As with the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, we’ve already reviewed the Realme 14 Pro Plus if you want to find out more.
Nubia Flip 2
Nubia’s budget-focused Flip foldable was a commendable effort to bring affordable foldable tech to the market, but we weren’t that impressed by the tiny circular covert screen, and the build quality wasn’t quite there – but the new Nubia Flip 2 looks to right many of those wrongs.
Showcased on the ZTE stand at MWC, the new Flip 2 ditches the odd circular cover screen for a 3-inch panel similar to Xiaomi’s Mix Flip, offering access to widgets and other data. It’s also much slimmer, and offers dual 50MP cameras to boot. This could be one to watch this year.
Honor Watch 5 Ultra
Honor’s new Watch 5 Ultra is a visually striking wearable with a unique angular design not really seen in any competitor, complete with the same grade 5 titanium chassis that protects the top-end Apple Watch Ultra 2. That’s pretty impressive for a €279 wearable.
This is paired with a large 1.5-inch LTPO-enabled AMOLED screen, which provides a more efficient always-on display experience. When combined with a 480mAh battery, Honor claims that the watch should last up to 15 days on a single charge – an impressive feat indeed.
Huawei Watch D2
The Huawei Watch D2 is a fantastic wearable that not only boasts impressively long battery life, but it is also one of very few smartwatches on the market that can track your blood pressure. It’s a game-changer for anyone with high blood pressure or related health issues, allowing for a much more convenient way to track your metrics, and it’ll even work when you’re asleep.
It also helps that it’s a very good-looking smartwatch that offers much of the same health and fitness tracking as other recent entries in Huawei’s wearable collection.
TCL Nxtpaper 11 Plus
TCL initially teased the Nxtpaper 11 Plus at CES 2025, but it wasn’t until MWC that the Nxtpaper 4.0-enabled tablet was fully detailed – and it’s certainly a unique tablet. TCL’s Nxtpaper tech essentially offers a blend of a regular display and an e-ink display, with the latest iteration boasting brighter colours and improved clarity.
The screen also has an e-ink-esque matte finish etched by lasers to diffuse environmental lighting more effectively. When paired with the optional stylus, it’s similar to the regular pen-and-paper experience. Of course, you can get dedicated devices for this but the hybrid nature of the Nxtppaer 11 Plus makes it a very interesting piece of technology.
Honor Pad V9
Another noteworthy tablet at MWC 2025 is undoubtedly Honor’s new Pad V9, a £399 tablet that punches way above its price point in practically every area. It packs an IMAX Enhanced screen with a rapid 144Hz refresh rate and a pixel-packed 2.8K resolution for a great viewing experience.
That’s coupled with the MediaTek Dimensity 8350, and while that isn’t the top-end Dimensity 9000 series, it’s only a single step down. That should translate to strong performance across the board. We’re also big fans of the optional stylus and keyboard accessories, allowing the tablet to compete with Apple’s entry-level iPad.
Realme Ultra camera phone concept
Realme teased an ‘ultra’ camera phone ahead of MWC, and while many thought it’d be a competitor to the likes of the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, it’s instead a rather out-there concept that essentially fuses a phone and a full-on DSLR lens.
It’s a unique concept that really pushes the boundaries between smartphones and DSLRs, especially when paired with a 1-inch CMOS sensor. We don’t see this actually launching any time soon, but it’s a fun piece of technology to try out on the Realme stand at MWC.
Xiaomi Modular Optical System concept
Realme isn’t the only manufacturer with a unique camera phone concept at MWC. Xiaomi has also shown off what it calls a Modular Optical System Concept that essentially allows a small and powerful lens to snap onto the back of a phone – in the case of MWC, a modded Xiaomi 15.
Once snapped into place, you can switch to the external lens in the camera app, complete with full manual control support. The lens boasts impressive specs too, including a variable aperture from f/1.4 to f/11 and optical zoom, that helps close the gap between phone cameras and mirrorless alternatives.
It’s one of the most polished concepts we’ve seen at a trade show, and we wouldn’t be surprised if this ends up being a feature of a flagship Xiaomi smartphone in the not-too-distant future.
Infinix SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology concept
It’s not just camera concepts that are taking MWC by storm – Infinix has also joined in on the conceptual fun with its SolarEnergy-Reserving Technology concept. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but it’s essentially a smartphone with solar panels built into the rear to charge it passively when in bright light.
It doesn’t have to be sunlight either, with Infinix demonstrating the technology simply by using a bright torch. While reps were quick to point out that this shouldn’t be the primary way to charge a smartphone, especially given how hot phones can get when left in direct sunlight for long periods, it should passively extend the device’s life.
It’s a very cool concept that we’d love to see implemented in a commercial smartphone in the future.
Lenovo Yoga Solar PC concept
If you were to take Infinix’s mobile concept and scale it up to a laptop, you’d probably end up with something similar to Lenovo’s Yoga Solar PC concept at this year’s show. It is essentially what it says on the tin – a laptop with solar tech built into the exterior of the case to capture light and turn that into free power.
And, like with Infinix’s alternative, it doesn’t need to be sunlight to do its job – any bright enough light source should be sufficient, as demonstrated on Lenovo’s stand at the show. Again, a very cool concept that we’d love to see in a mainstream device a little further down the line.
Honor MagicBook Pro 14
If we’re talking about laptops that are actually going into mass production, our vote goes to the new Honor MagicBook Pro 14.
Sporting either an Intel Core Ultra 5 225H or Core Ultra 9 285H, depending on the SKU you opt for, it’s safe to say that it’s a capable laptop. That’s paired with a large 14.6-inch OLED screen with a super smooth 120Hz refresh rate and a high-res 3120 x 2080 resolution, and there’s optional touchscreen support.
There’s also a healthy selection of ports, including two USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. At just 17mm thick and 1.3kg, this is a pretty powerful machine.
Samsung Project Moohan
Like Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge, Samsung didn’t detail the upcoming Android XR headset – dubbed Project Moohan – at MWC 2025, but it showcased the headset on its stand, giving us our first real glimpse at the hardware ahead of its launch later this year.
Huawei Mate XT
Huawei took the opportunity to showcase its impressive tri-fold device at MWC 2025 ahead of a wider European rollout, and it’s an exceptional device in almost every regard. Going hands-on at the Huawei stand, we were not only impressed by the quality of the build but also how thin and light it was.
Crucially, it fixes the issue with current book-style foldables – big black bars atop and below regular 16:9 video content. With a more tablet-esque form factor, the Mate XT is much better suited for binge-watching Netflix. The only catch, as ever, is Huawei’s lack of access to Google Play.
Tecno Phantom Ultimate 2
Interestingly, Huawei isn’t the only mobile manufacturer with a tri-fold smartphone at MWC this year. Tecno is keen to get in on the fun with its new Phantom Ultimate 2, offering a very similar tri-fold design to Huawei’s alternative – but with a twist. It’s even thinner than Huawei’s alternative when fully unfolded, measuring in at an almost unbelievable 3.5mm thick at its thinnest point.
And, compared to the leather-clad Huawei alternative, the Phantom Ultimate 2 has a sleeker glass rear with a refractive finish that shimmers in the light. A well-engineered device, indeed.
TCL PlayCube
Last, but by no means least, we have the TCL PlayCube. Showcased at the show ahead of a full launch later this year, this compact projector offers a unique design.
It’s essentially split into two pieces – the projector and the speaker – that can be rotated individually. This allows you to prop up the PlayCube at almost any angle, making it instantly easier to set up than many of the fixed-angle alternatives on the market right now.
Aside from the claim of three hours of battery life, we don’t know much else about the portable projector right now, but it sounds like we’ll be hearing more sooner rather than later.
