Opinion : MWC is n’t the ca n’t lose mobile event it once was , but the 2025 episode was compelling for Mobile River - buff . The queerness was back and the innovative emotional state lives .
I was n’t especially enthused forMobile World Congressthis class . With most of the major manufacturer choosing to innkeeper events on their own timescales , rather than trekking to Barcelona , the event has held less signification .
Plus I expected more of the same ; each manufacturer showing up with their own take on the same AI dick we ’ve been subjected to over the last couple of yr .
Thankfully , that was n’t the case . The absence of multiple flagship releases from technical school ’s the freehanded names left way for other company and products to shine . And it was connive hardware concepts cause most of the headlines .
We were care for to some more kinky technical school , coolheaded promotion and zany concepts that not even Apple ’s interestingly - timediPad launchescould take the shine off .
Notable notebooks
Look at Lenovo , for example , who showed up in Catalonia gird with some really neat laptop concepts , including theLenovo Yoga Solar PC , which is loaded with solar cellphone in the display ’s back panel that can convert 20 minutes of verbatim sun into an hour of extra video playback time .
I have intercourse it as need to spend a little bit more meter outside to replenish the battery life , rather than being link to the dwelling house office to ensure there ’s enough juice to last the twenty-four hours .
We also get the Thinkbook Flip , which is a unique take on a foldable show that commit users more upright actual estate for view document , webpage , and more . It starts off as a 13 - column inch laptop computer that can be flipped up to an 18.1 - inch option .
This enable split screen apps , or even a mirrored display if you fold it back on itself . It also has a jolly singular trackpad with medium controls consanguineal to the dearly departedMacBook Touch Bar .
go along the expandable display theme , the party debuted new versions of its Magic Bay accessory , which would make it easy to add a pair of extra displays either side of a laptop screen to form a unquestionable command centre .
This is precisely the eccentric of affair you desire to see when you show up at a technical school show . Something tactile and tangible ; not a bunch of executive grizzle on in an interminable keynote about how AI can steal from the pockets of creatives .
Phone cameras are back
The launch of theXiaomi 15 Ultraset a new in high spirits weewee fall guy for thebest photographic camera phones in 2025with its 1 - inch - backed chief camera , auxiliary lense and a slap-up camera grip supplement . But on the periphery of the show were sign that manufacturer were cook to think elbow room alfresco of the box when it comes to cameras once again .
As ourmobile editor in chief Lewis Painter points out , MWC 2025 was awash with intriguing camera concepts the likes of which we have n’t seen in quite some fourth dimension , since tech company were experiment with cameras that were also phones rather than the other way around .
The Realme Ultra photographic camera phone concept , for representative , connects to a received DSLR lens system bestow incredible flexibility to the shooting experience . Xiaomi rocked up at the event with a concept for a portable crystalline lens ( below ) that simply magnetically attaches to the back of a alter Xiaomi 15 telephone set .
From the show trading floor in Barcelona , Lewis write : “ Now , I know this is a concept , but it feels so well manufactured and polished that I would n’t be surprised if it became a feature of speech of the Xiaomi 16 Ultra , if not the total Xiaomi 16 reach . I for certain hope so , anyway . ”
What’s old is new again
Realme rocked - up at MWC with some pureGlobal Hypercolor MT - shirtvibes . The RealMe 14 Pro change coloring material when disclose to the stale , and hold this out from Samsung ? Retro and futurist in one brutal slide .
Yes, there were lofty AI promises
We mentioned relief that AI was n’t the overriding theme of MWC this year . However , no major technical school show would be complete without a highfalutin concept anticipate to reshape society as we fuck it .
purity was on - bridge player to propose anAI - based Alpha Planthat would “ make a novel prototype for civilisation ” through collaboration with other players through the various stagecoach of AI development .
Thankfully , this show was more about the roving ironware than the override AI ghost . Long may that keep on .
