MWC 2025: Phones, wearables, robots and AI in Barcelona [VIDEOS]

With the Mobile World Congress 2025 (MWC) in full swing, several tech companies have made big announcements and showcased innovative products.

MWC 2025 takes place from 3 March to 6 March in Barcelona, Spain. MWC is mainly about phones, mobile devices and services. 

As usual, global brands, including Xiaomi, Honor, and Huawei, occupy a large part of the show floor, while Google and Samsung also have a presence at the congress.

While there are unlikely to be many major announcements, there is usually a showstopper that gets everyone talking and sends ripples through the tech world.

Tech stuff

Some of the most impressive products that have been showcased at MWX so far include Xiaomi’s 200-megapixel camera phone, Lenovo’s bright idea for concept laptops and a MagSafe-like camera lens accessory.

There are also a plethora of wearables, including smartwatches, AR glasses, solar-powered laptops, and earbuds. Samsung’s Android XR headset, nicknamed Project Moohan, also drew a lot of attention.

AI is also everywhere, just like the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Watch day 1 of MWC

Day 1 ✅ #MWC25 pic.twitter.com/05lLCfqB1C

— MWC (@MWCHub) March 3, 2025

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Smartphones

While smartphones seem to be getting bigger and thicker, Tecno’s newest phone made an impression with its ultrathin body, thinner than the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge, while packing an even more powerful battery.

Huawei

Huawei’s triple-fold Mate XT Ultimate Design is at MWC. Although it only folds twice, the screen has three segments.

The device, which debuted worldwide in Kuala Lumpur, Indonesia, will likely excite tech enthusiasts.

The first-ever trifold display in the industry has smashed ceilings while setting many new records in smartphone innovation.

The Huawei Mate XT Ultimate Design will be available in South Africa in April 2025. Although no price point has been provided for South Africa, the device will likely cost between R50,000 and R60,000.

It is now the thinnest and largest foldable display simultaneously. It measures as thin as 3.6mm and 26cm wide when unfolded.

Built with an Advanced Precision Hinge System, the trifold display has achieved a breakthrough in durability and is the first to support inward and outward folding.

Huawei’s new tri-foldable phone, the Mate XT Ultimate, was among the latest tech innovations at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain pic.twitter.com/c6pDqTombO

— Reuters Business (@ReutersBiz) March 4, 2025

ALSO READ: Huawei’s Mate XT Ultimate Design tri-fold to ring in SA

Tecno

The Tecno Spark Slim is only 5.75mm thick, but it has a 5200mAh battery, eliminating the usual doubts about ultrathin phones: their batteries are often too small.

The Spark Slim also has a 13MP front-facing camera, two 50MP rear cameras, and a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with sleek curved edges and a 144Hz refresh rate.

Tecno Spark Slim smartphone that is only 5.75 mm thick.#MWC2025 #Tecno #TecnoSparkSlim pic.twitter.com/JTk8qFqKiU

— Piyush Bhasarkar (@TechKard) March 3, 2025

Honor

Honor also joined the party, announcing what it called the Alpha Plan, a new corporate strategy to transform the company from a smartphone maker to a global leading AI device ecosystem company.

The three-step plan details Honor’s steps to usher in the new intelligent world and calls on the industry to co-create an open, value-sharing ecosystem that maximizes human potential, ultimately benefiting all mankind.

Honor also introduced multiple new products, including the vine-leaf curved design and lightweight body AI PC Honor MagicBook Pro 14 with powerful performance and record-setting battery life.

Other notable announcements include Nokia and its ecosystem of industry partners’ advances in deploying and optimising AI-powered Radio Access Networks and the future architecture for AI-RAN.

Buds

The new Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro are the latest earbuds to feature Qualcomm’s S7 Pro chip. The enhanced silicon allows the earbuds to stream audio via Wi-Fi pairing instead of traditional Bluetooth, resulting in 96kHz or 24-bit lossless audio playback.

FIRST look at the Xiaomi Buds 5 Pro😍 pic.twitter.com/pOmCwlumba

— mysmartprice (@mysmartprice) March 2, 2025

Samsung

Samsung kicked off its MWC campaign by announcing three new Galaxy A-series phones, all of which are priced below $500.

The company is unveiling its mid-range offerings the same week Apple is pitching its new $599 iPhone 16e, which was launched last month.

The Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 5G phones sell for $499, $399, and $299, with the tier determined by display quality, camera hardware and processor.

Google

Google is showing off new ways to use the Gemini assistant while using your camera or screen sharing.

As part of MWC 2025, Google’s new demo videos demonstrate how you can point your camera at several objects and ask Gemini to analyse them, as well as ask Gemini questions about what you are looking at onscreen.

ALSO READ: Apple iPhone 16e lands in SA, but should you get one?