Mobile World Congress, or MWC, has kicked off in Barcelona, Spain, with intriguing reveals across phones, laptops, and tablets. Samsungā€”specifically Samsung Displayā€”showed off a few concept pieces that offer a glimpse at what’s to come from folding displays. Lenovo also used the conference to announce a concept: its Yoga Solar PC, which runs on sunlight. TCL is still carrying the torch for its NXTPaper handheld displays. We also got to peek at the heavily rumored Nothing Phone 3(a) and Phone (3a) Pro with their cool, see-through, light-up chassis. Plus, new phones are coming from brands that don’t sell devices in the U.S. (cue our FOMO), while Qualcomm is touting faster 5G speeds coming your way.
Samsung flaunts its R&D
We love a show-off, particularly when it’s Samsung bursting through with whatever it’s hashing out behind the scenes in its research and development labs. Via CNET, we caught a look at one exciting concept device. It shows a Switch-like gaming console that folds the display into itself for more compact storage. Samsung also heavily flexed its display prowess with promises of a seamless OLED experience across the ecosystem. The idea is that no matter what Samsung-made screen you’re looking at, the colors all look the same. Also, these display panels get really bright at 5,000 nits. Don’t forget your indoor sunglasses.
Samsung packed all the concept devices on the plane to Spain. In addition to the folding displays, the company offeredĀ those in attendance a closer look at itsĀ Project Moohan Android XR headset. The demonstration let folks paw at the external battery and switch packs as needed, though it doesn’t seem anyone received a live demonstration quite yet. So far, the rumored expected launch date for the XR headset is April 2025.
Samsung’s updated A-series
Samsung’s economical smartphone set, the Galaxy A-series, also got a bump-up during the conference’s opening weekend. The Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 will all be heading for a global launch date soon enough, though the latter two devices will be the first to launch at the end of March. They’re all 120Hz screen smartphones with dialed-down Galaxy AI features called “Awesome Intelligence.” Fortunately, that includes Google’s Circle to Search.
Lenovo’s sun-powered concept laptop
Leave it to Lenovo to trot out more of its concept hardware whenever possible. The PC maker showed off a Yoga Solar PC concept, and its primary selling point is that it will last you a heck of a long time, as long as you have sunlight to draw power from. We saw it behind closed doors before Lenovo flew the device overseas for the show.
TCL trots out more Nxtpaper products
TCL, best known in the U.S. for its economically priced smart TVs, also makes smartphones and tablets. Over the past few years, the company has picked up some steam with its Nxtpaper technology, a colorful e-Ink-like experience that’s much easier on the eyes than your flagship’s bright OLED. The company announced a new tablet and three smartphones, including the sequel to last year’s TCL 50 XE. Only the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper will be available in the U.S.-adjacent, launching in Canada first. It will cost about $230.
Nothing launches something
The various colorways and backsides of Nothing’s Phone (3a) series.
The biggest US-centric news of MWC 2025 this week is that the Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro will be available in beta for those interested in carrying the see-through smartphone. Elsewhere, the phone will be readily available this month.
The Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro cost $380 and $460, respectively, though you’ll have to sign up to be a part of the beta program before you can get your hands on one. Each phone has its own thing that it’s good at and a signature camera erray; the Phone (3a) is an overall solid mid-ranger, though it doesn’t have much wiggle room in the camera performance area. The Phone (3a) Pro is for folks who don’t mind paying more for telephoto capabilities. Both devices light up when someone calls you.
Honor wants a comeback story (to the U.S.)
Honor is not a brand that we talk about in the U.S. I last covered it nine years ago, before the Great Big Ban of its devices and partner products. Honor is a subsidiary of Huawei, which has been doing fine in China the past few years despite no longer offering access to the Google Play Store on its devices.
At MWC 2025, Honor announced a new Android-compatible smartwatch, the Honor Watch 5 Ultra, plus a super-economical $250 tablet with a 10,100 mAh battery with the promise of multiple days on a single charge. Honor also revealed that it’s working to solidify collaborating development with Google and Qualcomm to concoct a so-called “intelligent ecosystem.” The idea is to spoof what Apple has but in Android land while also being able to support software updates for as long as Google and Samsung have on their respective devicesā€”up to six years for every new device. Honor publicly committed to hopping on the AI bandwagon with its own set of algorithms for camera performance.
Xiaomi gives its phones a Y2K millennium makeover
O-Town sang a song about this Xiaomi smartphone. It called it Liquid Dreams.
This isn’t a smartphone you’ll ever get a handle on in the U.S., and that’s too bad. The Xiaomi 15‘s specifications are all flagship worthy, with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor, 12GB of RAM, and a Leica-powered 50-MP primary camera with one of the largest apertures in the phone business. There’s also a 5,240 mAh battery back in there, all powering up a pocketable 6.3-inch smartphone.
The other cool thing about the Xiaomi 15 is its liquid silver backside. It’s made of the stuff that millennial’s dreams are made of. 9to5Google saw it in person and says it’s an absolute fingerprint magnet and that the finish would possibly blind you on a hot summer’s day with the sun out. Still, it’s fun to see something new in the world of smartphone aesthetics, especially as the rest of the industry rounds its corners so devices look like the iPhone from far away.
Xiaomi also used MWC 2025 to show off the Xiaomi 15 Ultra with camera specs that rival Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra. Again, it’s too bad we don’t have access to Xiaomi’s line of devices.
Realme’s real good stuff
Xiaomi’s budget brand, Realme, also announced new phones overseas. The Realme 14 Pro and Pro+ have bigger batteries than your most expensive Samsung flagship. The specs between the two smartphones are mostly the same across the board, including a 6,000 mAh powering up a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processor and 12GB of RAM.
The camera hardware also differs between the two. The plain Pro is bland without the telephoto and ultrawide lenses in tow. The RealMe 14 Pro+ seems more worthy of its price tag simply because it offers telephoto and zoom capability.
Per CNET, RealMe was also showing off a modular camera lens system on the MWC show floor, where you can swap out different lenses. This one lets you mount any full-frame mirrorless lens to your camera phone rather than relying on proprietary mounts that would only work within its system.
A phone wrapped in gold and silver
Nubia’s RedMagic 10 Pro is already nicely priced at $650 for everything it can do. It starts with a Snapdragon 8 Elite processor and a whopping 7,050 mAh battery pack. The brand already lets you pay for extras like RAM and storage, but you can also elect to pay for gold-plating, which it showed off at MWC. It costs nearly three times the original amount for the version of the RedMagic 10 Pro with gold and silver plating, a carbon fiber body, and sapphire glass to protect its display. That bumps the phone’s price to $1,500, which certainly puts into perspective how much materials like this increase the cost of a smartphone.
Another solar-powered smartphone
I guess with the world warming up the way it is, it makes sense that there are so many solar-powered devices coming into the helm. At MWC 2025, Infinix, a “brand crafted for young consumers,” announced a “solar energy reserving” smartphone. The company also showed off color-shifting e-ink and some of its AI abilities. I liked The Verge’s take on it.
Teens don’t want this
I feel bad for teenagers. People don’t want them to be on the internet. HMD Global, the big brand that took over the Nokia moniker years ago, is marketing its new product under the guise of keeping teens safe. The HMD Fusion X1 is a fully parent-controlled smartphone with extra guardrails to keep teens from going ham. It has all the features they need, like a stellar camera and long battery life, while parents see which apps they’re downloading and who they’re talking to. I’m genuinely sorry if you’re a teen that ends up with one of these.
Qualcomm’s new 5G chip
Qualcomm would like you to know that even though some of its collaboratorsā€”cough, Appleā€”are slowly moving away from featuring its chips and cellular modems, it’s got plenty to offer the rest of the smartphone world. The chip giant announced the X85 5G Modem-RF for Android devices at MWC 2025. If you’re paying for this kind of 5G speed, your future phone will be able to access up to 12.5 Gbps download speeds and maximum 3.7 Gbps uploads. The last generation’s chip topped out at 10 Gbps.
Earbuds with a battery pack for your phone
These earbuds can charge your phone.
HMD Global, best known as the overseas brand that took over the Nokia moniker, had a ton of products to show off at MWC 2025, from phones like the aforementioned teens-only device to this very cool earbuds case that also doubles as an extra battery for your stuff. The idea is that you’d plug in your phone for a quick little boost on battery.
You can buy the Xiaomi Buds Pro 5
You can’t buy Xiaomi’s new smartphones for use in the U.S., but if you wanted to, you could try importing this pair of Xiaomi Buds Pro 5. They’re one of the first earbuds to boast Wi-Fi for lossless audioā€”something we’ve been talking about Samsung adopting soon. Unfortunately, even if you buy the Xiaomi Buds Pro 5 outright, the advanced connectivity features aren’t available. You’ll need one of its new phones to activate it.
This $90 phone gets real loud
ZTE isn’t a brand you see as much stateside anymore (a pity, because they were folding phones before Samsung made it mainstream). At MWC 2025, the brand showed off the Nubia Music 2, a smartphone that doubles as a music speaker. The phone goes up to 95 decibels, and it’s loud enough that CNET said it set off an Apple Watch’s noise alert. It costs about $90 in Malaysia.
The thinnest smartphone
I got a kick out of my buddy Jason Howell’s video about the Techno Spark Slim, a concept device to show how thin these smartphones are planning to get. It looks so thin that it’s almost frail. I’d be afraid to wield it for fear of it breaking in half. And yes, before you ask, it does purport to out-thin the Galaxy S25 Edge.
