Our 12 favorite mobile tech products at MWC Barcelona
2025 is no exception, and MWC saw the launch of some of the most advanced smartphone camera systems ever, not to mention some of the best laptops you can buy right now, and some interesting takes on product categories like wireless earbuds.
We checked out the coolest launches from MWC 2025, which wowed us with innovative designs, features, and technology.
Xiaomi 15 Ultra
The Xiaomi 15 Ultra continues the legacy of the 14 Ultra from last year in offering what could be the single best smartphone camera out there. What makes it so great? Well, it all comes down to the telephoto camera, which uses a 200-megapixel sensor typically used on a smartphone's main camera. The result is that while the lens achieves 3.2x optical zoom, the phone can use a sensor crop tech to hit 6.4x "optical-quality" zoom, without introducing any digital zoom. Having used the phone personally, the camera is incredibly impressive, even if slightly inconsistent. And, it has all the other bells and whistles you would expect from a flagship phone in 2025, including a top-tier chip, stunning display, and long-lasting battery.
Available now in China, the U.K., and Europe, starting at €1,499
HMD Amped Buds
HMD, now being branded as Human Mobile Devices, is blending product categories in some genuinely helpful ways. The HMD Amped Buds may look like a basic pair of wireless earbuds, but the somewhat large charging case serves a purpose—it holds a large battery that can be used to charge up your phone. It supports Qi2 as well, which means it'll snap onto the back of your Qi2 or MagSafe-compatible phone for wireless charging. The battery isn't huge—at 1,600mAh it won't fully charge your phone, but it will help keep it going through a day. The earbuds themselves have modern features like noise cancellation, and they come in some cool colors.
Available in April for €199
HMD 2660 Flip
Flip phones are in, but while other flip phones leverage flexible display technology, the HMD 2660 Flip goes back to the roots. The 2660 Flip is essentially a feature phone, and it's built just to make calls, send texts, and take basic photos with a 0.3-megapixel camera. None of that means it doesn't have a modern design. Its colorful body, rounded curves, and so on, make the humble flip phone look a whole lot more modern than any classic flip phone before it, and it's perfect for those who want to stay connected while … disconnecting.
Available later this year, pricing undisclosed
Nothing Phone (3a) Pro
The Nothing Phone (3a) Pro may blur the line between Nothing's cheaper "A" phones and its flagship tier models, but that doesn't make it any less of a great release. Why? Well, perhaps the biggest reason is that it's a triple-camera phone with all three main camera lenses but at a much lower price than most alternatives that have both an ultrawide and a telephoto camera. The device also retains the now-classic Nothing transparent design, has a decent chip for the price, and adds a so-called "Essential Key," which is designed to give immediate and easy access to AI features housed in the phone's Essential Space.
Available now starting at $459
Nothing Phone (3a)
Alongside the Phone (3a) Pro, Nothing has also launched this lower-cost option, following the success of the Phone (2a). The Nothing Phone (3a) has a slightly lower-end triple camera than the Pro model, but it still gets a nice-looking screen and the Essential Key. The device also has the much-loved Nothing transparent design with the light-up LEDs on the back for notifications, and it comes at a pretty affordable price—lower than many of the other budget-focused phones with similar features. Bonus: It comes with 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage in the base model, which isn't bad given its price.
Available now starting at $379
Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro
At first glance, the new Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro might look like normal high-end wireless earbuds, but they have one feature not seen in any wireless earbuds before them. While they can connect to a source through Bluetooth, they also have Wi-Fi connectivity, making them the first wireless earbuds to make use of Qualcomm's Expanded Personal Area Network (or XPAN) technology. This allows for a higher bandwidth, meaning you'll get up to 96kHz/24-bit audio streaming. And, perhaps even better, you'll be able to retain connectivity at further distances, so you can walk away from your phone without losing connection, as long as you stay on your Wi-Fi network. The buds also offer all the other advanced features you would expect, like ANC and a continuous battery life of 10 hours, which is impressive.
Available now for £189.99
Honor Pad V9
The Honor Pad V9 may not have any groundbreaking new tech, but it does offer a range of great features at a very reasonable price. The tablet represents great value. It has an 11.5-inch display with a 2.8K resolution and a 144Hz refresh rate, which should help make it crisp and smooth. Under the hood, it's powered by a MediaTek Dimensity 8350 Elite chip, which is a solid performer, plus it supports some helpful productivity accessories, like a keyboard/trackpad attachment and a stylus. It's slightly more expensive than the base iPad, but it has a better display and a bigger battery, and if you're agnostic on operating system, it may make a better choice for your needs.
Available now for £399
Honor Watch 5 Ultra
Honor's MWC 2025 releases included a smartwatch, and it has some impressive features. The watch boasts a nice-looking 1.5-inch LTPO display with a 480mAh battery that Honor says will give the device a massive 15-day battery life—though that will, of course, depend on your usage. The device doesn't have Google's Wear OS operating system in it, instead offering Honor's custom software, but it does have several interesting health features, like a Quick Health Scan that is built to give you an overview of the status of your health. It works with both Android and iOS phones.
Available later this year for €279
Samsung Galaxy A56
Samsung's Galaxy A phones have long offered solid performance at a midrange price, but these days, the competition is heating up. The Galaxy A56 is the top of the A-series line right now, offering a 120Hz AMOLED display, Samsung's own Exynos 1580 chipset, and six years of operating system updates, according to Samsung. Not only that, but the device has a triple-camera system, though while there's a 50-megapixel main camera and a 12-megapixel ultrawide camera, the third lens is a 5-megapixel macro camera instead of a telephoto lens. Still, the camera should be versatile enough for most situations, especially given the $500 starting price.
Available selectively now, starting at $500
Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition
Alongside its crazy laptop concepts, Lenovo also launched several ready-for-the-public laptop models at MWC 2025. Perhaps the most notable of those models is the Lenovo Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, which is one of the more impressive laptops out there right now. Most of that comes down to its stunning screen, which is one of the first Tandem OLED displays on the market. That means that it retains the benefits of OLED tech, like true black levels and power efficiency, but gets much brighter than OLED screens typically can. It's the same tech used on the current-generation iPad Pro, which has been hailed as offering the best display in any consumer product, period. Lenovo's laptop is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 9 285H processor, along with 1TB of storage, which is expandable thanks to its open SSD slot.
Available later this year starting at $1,799
Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1
While not as impressive as the Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition, the Yoga 7 also got an upgrade. It's an impressive machine, offering a 2.8K OLED screen in either 14-inch or 16-inch sizes and an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processor. It also supports the optional Lenovo Yoga pen for those who want a device for graphic design or other artistic use-cases, plus it's super thin and light, making it easy to take on the road. As a 2-in-1, it has a 360-degree hinge, so you can use the device as a laptop or in other modes that leverage its touch display, as needed.
Available later this year starting at $849
Satellai Tracker
While MWC was mostly focused on new phones, wearables, and laptops, we saw other mobile devices, too—including the Satellai Tracker for your pet. What sets this device apart from other trackers, however, is how advanced its connectivity is. It connects to five global satellite systems for GPS positioning, and it has health-tracking features built right into it for precision. It even has a solar panel, ensuring its 7-day battery stays topped up at all times. Safe to say that if you're looking for a more advanced way to keep track of your pet, the Satellai Tracker may be the way to go.
Available later this year for $249
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Wall Street Journal
2 hours ago
- Wall Street Journal
I Want This New Wireless Phone Charger All Over My Home
At under 2.4 inches in diameter and just over an inch thick, the PowerBug is the definition of unobtrusive. Rather than using a power cable, it plugs directly into an outlet with its fold-out prongs; it's small enough that it won't block the second outlet on a duplex receptacle, although your phone might, depending on how you position it. As far as I can tell, this is the only product of its kind in the U.S. Netherlands-based Zens released a similar product last fall, but as of publication, it's only available with an EU plug. The PowerBug adheres to the Qi2 powering standard like most recent wireless chargers, with magnetic charging at up to 15 watts. Just snap your iPhone into place and it'll start charging. Position your phone horizontally to use StandBy mode to display a clock, photos or widgets. The most recent Samsung Galaxy phones support Qi2 as well, but you'll need a case to take advantage of the magnetic alignment feature. This charger is ideal for places where there's a raised outlet, like kitchens and bathrooms, because it allows you to view your phone without having to find a way to prop it up while it's charging. As someone who loves to cook, I find this particularly useful. I can check timers or watch a YouTube cooking video without having to tap around on my phone lying on the countertop. If you do need wired power, the PowerBug has that covered, too. There's a 20-watt USB-C port on its underside for charging a second device, although you have to provide your own cable (we recommend this one from Anker). That's enough power to charge headphones, a tablet or even a laptop, albeit at a slower-than-maximum rate. The PowerBug's simple design and black and white color options mean it'll fit in almost anywhere in most homes. And it's small enough that I could see traveling with it as well, slipping it in my bag and plugging it in as a convenient charging solution at a hotel. It's so useful, I've been looking around my apartment for any outlets that I could reasonably plug a PowerBug into—I could see ending up with a small collection of them. Although it may look pretty plain, there's a lot to love about this wireless charger.
Gizmodo
2 hours ago
- Gizmodo
Nothing Phone 3 Review: A Rule-Breaking Phone for Rebels
A month removed from the flustered echo chamber of gearheads, self-proclaimed tastemakers, and apparently everyone-is-a-designer-and-engineer-now people on social platforms like X and Threads, I can say with certainty that almost all of the complaints about Nothing's controversial Phone 3 are much ado about—excuse the pun—nothing. Taken as a whole, the Phone 3 is exactly what I expect from Nothing, the London-based technology startup led by ex-OnePlus cofounder Carl Pei that's known for stirring up strong opinions with its eye-catching, transparent gadgets. Everything from the Picasso-esque backside design and its unorthodox asymmetrical camera lens layout to the circular dot matrix screen in the upper right corner to the AI-focused 'Essential' key that functions like a secondary brain screams different. To the masses, Nothing is trying too hard to stand out and be cool. But that's the whole point—the only way to break the status quo is to make some noise in the now mature and very predictable world of smartphones. And the Phone 3 noise has been both positively and negatively deafening. Nothing Phone 3 Nothing's Phone 3 is a statement phone that broadcasts your own individuality. It's not for everyone, only a person who's tired of the status quo. Pros Cons I understand the disappointment with the Phone 3's not-quite-2025-flagship-level chipset, or that the screen isn't as good as the latest iPhone or Samsung Galaxy's displays, or the fact that Nothing is charging $800 for a slab that—on paper—falls short in some places compared to competitors. But you were never going to consider buying the Phone 3 if tech specs were the only thing that mattered. Like all of Nothing's products—the excellent Ear wireless earbuds and over-ear ANC Headphone 1—the Phone 3 is a statement that tells everyone that you're not a sheep following the herd. I'm gonna address the so-called 'flaws' of the Phone 3 first because the echo chamber has been the most vocal about them, starting with the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8S Gen 4 chipset. Tit for tat, the 8S Gen 4 chip is a step below the more performant and 'flagship' 8 Elite (Gen 4), with the CPU being roughly 35% slower and the GPU around 44% slower. These synthetic performance benchmarks lost all meaning long ago; no person—I feel sorry if you are that person—is counting cores and clockspeeds for phones. Maybe the 1% of pro mobile esport gamers are losing sleep over a few dropped frames in League of Legends: Wild Drift or PUBG, but us normies are not. Nothing could have gone with last year's flagship Snapdragon 8 Elite (Gen 3), which is pretty close on paper, and the Phone 3 would run with equal responsiveness. I've tested every phone that Nothing has released since the original Phone 1 in 2022, including all of the modular CMF budget ones, and I can't recall any major hangups with Android running on them. That's not because Nothing used the best chipsets (it never has), but a testament to optimizing its Nothing OS version of Android for what's perceptible to consumers—the taps and swipes of the animations that make a phone feel and appear fast and fluid. Bouncing around the OS on the specific model that Nothing sent me to try, with 16GB of RAM (the base model has 12GB of RAM), felt no less smooth than on a Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7 or OnePlus 13. All of my apps opened instantly, and while I'm by no means a hardcore HoYoverse gamer, the game developer and publisher's graphics-intensive titles like Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail run just fine on the Phone 3. Anyone complaining about the 8S Gen 4 chipset is bitching just for the sake of bitching. I haven't felt the chip or the Phone 3's performance was not up to snuff in a month of daily usage. Next on the list of complaints is the display. Sure, you can get a slightly larger display on the OnePlus 13, but everyone's gripe is that the Phone 3's 6.67-inch, 120Hz AMOLED screen is LTPS (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline) and not LTPO (Low-Temperature Polycrystalline Oxide). The latter is found in almost all premium smartphones and simply means the screen's refresh rate can drop down to as low as 1Hz in standby or when content doesn't need to draw as many frames as frequently. The benefit of an LTPO display is potential battery longevity. I appreciate having the most cutting-edge specs in new devices, and I'll never refuse longer battery life in a phone, but the Phone 3 has such strong battery life (easily 1.5 to 2 days) from its 5,500mAh cell that I'm not sure the minor upsides to LTPO would have extended power by any meaningful metric. The most divisive thing about the Phone 3 is its love-it-or-hate-it design. Nothing ditched the Glyph Interface that was comprised of a bunch of LED strips on the Phone 1 and Phone 2 for the Glyph Matrix, a circular dot matrix screen made up of 489 individual LEDs. The mix of straight lines, circles, and an intentionally misaligned periscope telephoto camera lens can only be described as Mondrian meets Picasso. It's an opinionated design that makes many people weirdly uncomfortable because it's not another solid-colored iPhone. Like my colleague Kyle Barr, I've grown to like the Phone 3's oddball panel—strangely aligned triple-lens cameras and all. It does feel like Nothing has dialed back on the transparent elements that let you see the raw components underneath, but overall, I don't hate the direction. The Glyph Matrix is not as—literally—flashy as the Glyph Interface, but the LED arrays have the potential to show more widget-like information (dubbed 'Glyph Toys') than the light strips. About two inches below the Glyph Matrix is a touch-sensitive haptic button that you tap to shuffle through the various Glyph Toys; a single tap switches to the next one and a long press will activate its secondary function (if it has one). At the time of this writing, there are several 'useful' Glyph Toys—stuff like the time, battery level, a stopwatch, and even a dot matrix 'mirror' of yourself when you take a selfie with the rear camera. You can also set custom animations for contacts and notifications, though I found doing so less amusing and more annoying, as it was hard to remember which one was mapped to who/what after a few hours. The Glyph Matrix doesn't look as cool as the Glyph Interface, but it's more versatile for displaying icons and numbers, which the light strips couldn't do. Then there are the other Glyph Toys that are just for fun—spin the bottle, a magic 8 ball, and a rock paper scissors. I don't know why you'd ever want to play rock paper scissors with a phone or spin a digital bottle to, uh, see who pays for dinner (Nothing's unconvincing use case example), but I suppose it's all harmless fun. You shouldn't buy the Phone 3 with the expectation that there will be tons of useful Glyph Toys that could help you reduce your screen time; an SDK for developers to create their own little dot matrix widgets is available, but I also don't expect there to be anything groundbreaking considering how niche Nothing's customer base is right now. Perhaps one day Nothing will make a phone with cameras that blow away the competition, but there's also not a whole lot of motivation to do so when photos are mostly shared on social media. The Phone 3 takes good-enough photos and videos. Even as a camera nerd, the 50 megapixels of resolution for the main, ultrawide, and periscope zoom cameras, as well as the selfie camera, meant very little to me. Photos and videos all look fine with more dynamic range than I truly care to nitpick over and low-light shots that are more than bright enough. Were there times when the cameras took ugly photos and videos? Of course there were, but so does every other phone, flagship or not. The iPhone 16 Pro's 5X telephoto camera takes some of the muddiest low-light photos I've ever seen in a phone. Whenever I pulled the Phone 3 out of my pocket, I'd feel a brazenness gently take over me. I wanted people to look at it and ask me about it. I wanted people to perk up as I fiddled with the Glyph Matrix. No strangers—in the subway or at coffee shops or anywhere in New York City—ever did strike up a casual convo, but I want to imagine one day there will be a person who does. The Phone 3 was a reality check with myself. Is my phone an expression of my own individuality or somebody else's? Some people buy a phone for the best tech specs because they're gonna slap a case on it and cover up its raw materials anyway. Some people buy a phone based on price, and also slap a case over it to cover up any cheap design. The Phone 3 does not have the very best tech specs, but it does have an aesthetic and fun vibe that you won't find anywhere else. (The Essential key and its AI 'memory' is still meh to me and I really wish I could remap the button to do something else.) Is that worth $800? At a time when everyone thinks they're cool wearing the same clothes and same sneakers, doing the same dance challenges on TikTok, eating at the same Instagrammable foodie spots, and using the same iPhone, the Phone 3 at least dares to challenge the status quo—and it always costs extra to be a trendsetter.
Android Authority
5 hours ago
- Android Authority
We asked Gemini for a story about the Pixel 10 launch and it hallucinated a bizarre foldable
Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Summer's been going by so fast, it's hard to believe that we're already down to just two weeks to go until Google's August 20 event, where we're expecting to see the company introduce the Pixel 10 series, the Pixel Watch 4, and some new Pixel Buds. As that date keeps creeping up on us, we're learning more and more about what we're likely to get. Some of it sounds great, like the full-featured Qi2 magnetic charging support, while we're a little bummed by other developments, like word that the Pixel 10 Pro Fold might not hit stores until October. While those are important details, granted, with the event so palpably close even those are starting to feel overshadowed by the tone of general excitement that's consuming us. After all, this isn't just about some fresh new hardware — Google is going to want to sell us on the experience these devices deliver, and that's going to mean showing off new software features, hyping up creative tools, and all the fun and showmanship that a launch like this calls for. Alright, so cool? That will probably be really neat to experience two weeks from now? So what? Well, on Tuesday Google just introduced its latest Gemini tool, with the AI system picking up the ability to easily generate illustrated storybooks. We already had a bit of fun imagining some fictional Android Authority offices, but it felt like this feature has even more potential. Gemini lets you steer the story in any direction you want, accepts file uploads for adding richness to the world it creates, and supports revisions to help tweak things just right. That got us thinking: If we feed Gemini everything we know about Google's plans for the Pixel 10 launch, could it put together a story of what we're likely to expect? We prompted Gemini with a PDF full of Pixel 10 rumors, along with a general description of Google's upcoming event and our own plans for covering it. Gemini's first draft was in the right ballpark, but needed a bit of tweaking. To an extent, Gemini's storybook tool feels resistant to taking too many notes. We were able to insert our own C. Scott Brown into the story easily enough (or, at least, someone wearing his glasses) but Gemini didn't like our attempt to correct Rick Osterloh's job title. Then there are the hallucinations, from a Pixel with a several-generations-old camera bar … in the middle of the screen, to a Pixel 10 Pro Fold that looks like one of those origami fortune tellers. But enough spoilers; let's check out the actual story! Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Wat. Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Stephen Schenck / Android Authority Gemini, you have just turned the Pixel into an iPhone. We hope you're happy with yourself. Follow
