Mobile World Congress (MWC) kicked off in Barcelona, Spain, with exciting news on phones, laptops, and tablets. Samsung (specifically Samsung Display) showed off some concept designs that gave us a taste of what’s to come in the foldable display space. Lenovo also used the conference to announce a concept: its Yoga Solar PC, a solar-powered computer. TCL continues to carry the torch for its NXTPaper portable displays. We also looked at the much-hyped and almost-announced Nothing Phone 3(a) and Phone (3a) Pro with superb, transparent, backlit chassis. Plus, the new phones are coming from brands that no longer sell their devices in the US (which makes us feel lost), while Qualcomm is touting faster 5G speeds shortly.
Samsung flaunts its R&D
We love to show off a little, especially when Samsung shows off what’s being developed behind the scenes in its R&D labs. Thanks to CNET, we saw a fascinating concept device. It shows a Switch-style gaming console whose screen folds inward for more compact storage. Samsung also showed off its display prowess, promising seamless OLED display performance across its entire ecosystem. The idea is that no matter which Samsung display you’re looking at, all the colours will look the same. Plus, these displays are seriously bright, at 5,000 nits. Don’t forget your sunglasses for indoors.
Samsung loaded all the concept devices onto a plane bound for Spain. In addition to the foldable displays, the company offered attendees a closer look at its Project Moohan Android XR headset. The demo allowed people to play with the external battery and swap out kits as needed, though it appears no one has gotten a live demo yet. The XR earbuds are currently scheduled for release in April 2025.
Samsung’s budget Galaxy A series of smartphones also got a boost during the first weekend of the conference. The Galaxy A56, A36, and A26 will be available worldwide soon, though the latter two will be the first to launch in late March. All smartphones have 120Hz displays and scaled-down Galaxy AI features called “Awesome Intelligence.” Luckily, that includes Google’s Circle to Search feature.
Lenovo’s sun-powered concept laptop
Let Lenovo show off more of its hardware concept when possible. The PC maker showed off the Yoga Solar concept PC, whose main selling point is that it will last a very long time, provided it has sunlight to power it. We got a behind-closed-doors look at it before Lenovo shipped the device overseas for the show.
TCL trots out more Nxtpaper products
TCL, best known in the US for its low-cost smart TVs, also makes smartphones and tablets. The company has gained momentum in recent years thanks to its Nxtpaper technology, a colourful e-ink display that’s much easier on the eyes than the glossy OLED display on its flagship model. The company announced a new tablet and three smartphones, including a follow-up to last year’s TCL 50 XE. Only the TCL 60 XE Nxtpaper will be available in the US, with Canada the first. It will cost about $230.
Nothing almost launched something.
Nothing hasn’t announced anything yet, but we’ve been keeping an eye on rumours swirling about the Nothing Phone (3a) and Phone (3a) Pro. Despite sharing a name, the two phones are Nothing alike. The Phone (3a) has a Pixel-like camera panel, while the Phone (3a) Pro borrows its design from OnePlus and Oppo phones. Both are see-through, as we spotted over at 9to5Google. We should have more details on all the specs this week since Nothing isn’t using a trade show to unveil its phones.
Honor wants a comeback story.
Honour is not a brand we talk about in the United States. The last time I spoke about it was nine years ago, before the Great Ban on these devices and related products. Honour is a subsidiary of Huawei, which has succeeded in China in recent years despite no longer offering access to the Google Play Store on its devices.
At MWC 2025, Honor announced a new Android smartwatch, the Honor Watch 5 Ultra, and an ultra-budget $250 tablet with a 10,100mAh battery that promises days of battery life. Honor also said it was working to consolidate joint developments with Google and Qualcomm to create an “intelligent ecosystem.” The idea is to replicate what Apple has in the Android world while still being able to support software updates for the same length of time that Google and Samsung give their devices: up to six years for each new device. Honor has announced its intention to join the AI movement by developing algorithms to improve camera performance.
Qualcomm’s new 5G chip
Qualcomm wants you to know that while some of its peers (ahem, Apple) are phasing out their cellular chips and modems, it has something to offer the rest of the smartphone world. At MWC 2025, the chipmaker announced the X85 5G-RF modem for Android devices. If you pay for that kind of 5G speed, your future Phone will be able to access download speeds of up to 12.5 Gbps and peak upload speeds of up to 3.7 Gbps. The last-generation chip peaked at 10 Gbps.