
Cellular World Congress is happening in Barcelona this week, providing producers a chance to point out off new gear with no need to carry their very own splashy occasion. To this point, we have discovered about some new laptops and telephones, in addition to upcoming AI updates to Android and an web connectivity announcement from Meta. There’s additionally been some attention-grabbing concepts on this planet of headphones and a complete lot of ideas which may by no means make it to market, however are enjoyable to have a look at any manner.
Here is a take a look at everything announced at Mobile World Congress that caught our eye. We’ll replace this story all through the week.
Lenovo
Among the many bigger-name producers, Lenovo has arguably had the busiest MWC thus far. The corporate has revealed a complete bunch of laptops, together with upgraded ThinkPads and a number of other intriguing idea fashions.
The ThinkPad T14s 2-in-1 has a design that’s extra aligned with the convertible format of the Yoga lineup than a typical ThinkPad. The 14-inch machine could be outfitted with a 400-nit WUXGA contact show. Different ThinkPads are getting spec upgrades, whereas Lenovo claims the brand new ThinkPad X13 Gen 6 has “one of many lightest ThinkPad designs ever.” The corporate has a contemporary slate of laptops with generative AI capabilities as properly.
A few of Lenovo’s ideas have actually caught our consideration. It’s a bummer that the corporate doesn’t at present plan to show the Yoga Solar PC Concept right into a business system. Due to the photo voltaic cells on the casing, the laptop computer can absorb sufficient vitality from the solar in 20 minutes to play an hour of movies. As little as 0.3 watts of sunshine is sufficient to juice up the battery. Whereas solar-powered laptops aren’t precisely new, the Yoga Photo voltaic PC feels polished. Here is hoping Lenovo does extra with the notion sooner or later.
As well as, Lenovo confirmed off some conceptual display accessories for a ThinkBook laptop computer. There’s an eight-inch display that attaches to the aspect magnetically that can assist you, as an illustration, sustain with notifications and widgets. The Magic Bay Twin Show Idea provides a 13.3-inch panel to both aspect of the principle show. There’s additionally a slim second show that is designed to sit down above your laptop computer display and supply fast entry to issues just like the time, climate, notifications, a spotlight mode timer, an AI assistant and notifications.
On prime of all of that, Lenovo provided a take a look at a brand new prototype laptop computer with a versatile show. Constructing on the tech the corporate used within the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable, the ThinkBook codename Flip AI PC Proof of concept (to provide its full title) has a fold-out display. This enables Lenovo to double the panel’s measurement from 13 inches to 18.1 inches. The ThinkBook Rollable’s show, alternatively, can prolong to 16.7 inches. Once more, Lenovo does not at present plan to launch a business model of this fold-out laptop computer, however it’s an attention-grabbing concept.
Samsung
The primary MWC information from Samsung this yr is the company’s latest midrange and budget phones. The Galaxy A56 has a bigger display than its predecessor at 6.7 inches, however it’s thinner too at 7.44mm vs. 8.2mm. There’s now a small bump the place the amount and energy buttons are — a tweak that we really feel makes the A56 simpler to deal with.
Samsung has switched up the digital camera array within the A56. On the entrance, there is a lower-res 12MP lens. On the opposite aspect, you may discover an upgraded 12MP ultrawide, 50MP most important sensor and a 5MP macro lens. The A56 has a bunch of AI-powered digital camera and picture modifying options, corresponding to enhanced topic detection in portrait mode and an object eraser.
Pre-orders are open within the UK for the Galaxy A56, which prices $499/£499. It can hit the UK on March 19, however of us within the US should wait till “later this yr” for it.
Samsung additionally revealed the Galaxy A36 5G and Galaxy A26 5G. Each units have a 120Hz, 6.7-inch show with brightness of as much as 1,200 nits. Additionally they share an IP67 score and 5,000mAh battery with the A56.
Nevertheless, the bottom fashions of every solely have 6GB of RAM (in contrast with the A56’s 12GB). As well as, the A36 has the Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 processor as a substitute of the Exynos 1580 that the A56 boasts, whereas the A26 has a Exynos 1380 chipset.
Samsung’s idea folding telephones and gaming handhelds
Along with correctly launching the trio of A-series telephones, Samsung additionally introduced a bunch of idea units to Barcelona, additional displaying off its versatile show prowess. We have seen reporting of those, like Android Police’s protection of a “Flex Gaming” handheld. That prototype consists of a 7.2-inch OLED display that bends in half. Flanking the show are what look like controllers and holes the place they’d match when the hand-held is folded up. Elsewhere on the web we additionally noticed Samsung showcase a Galaxy Z Flip-esque system that had two hinges that allow it fold in on itself from the highest and backside. Allison Johnson at The Verge has nicknamed it “The Claw,” which to our editor Cherlynn Low is simply paying homage to an MSI system.
Xiaomi
Sadly, Xiaomi does not have plans to carry a handset it confirmed off at MWC to the US. That is an actual pity, as a result of no different corporations are promoting telephones fairly just like the Xiaomi 15 Ultra within the nation as of late.
Xiaomi teamed up with Leica to make a smartphone that leans closely into pictures. The digital camera array features a 1-inch 50-megapixel Sony most important sensor, an f/2.2 50MP ultrawide cam, a 50MP midrange lens with a 70mm focal size and a 200MP periscope array with a 100mm focal size — that equates to a 4.7x optical zoom. Some preset Leica filters assist to tie the 2 manufacturers’ knowhow collectively.
That is not all that is perhaps attention-grabbing to cell snappers. Xiaomi’s separate Pictures equipment contains an add-on digital camera grip with a bodily shutter button, an adjustable dial and devoted video button. You may have the choice to connect a typical 67mm filter adapter to a case as properly — in different phrases, a number of the tools you may use on a devoted digital camera is appropriate with the Extremely 15 as a part of this setup.
Furthermore, the Extremely 15 has a 6.7-inch AMOLED show with 120Hz refresh charge and as much as 3,200 nits of brightness that can assist you get a very good take a look at your captures. Plus, in contrast to another Chinese language telephones (like Huawei’s), Xiaomi helps Google providers in HyperOS 2, which is an Android pores and skin. The Extremely 15 begins at about €1,499 (round $1,572).
Android
Talking of Android, Google introduced two new AI-powered features for the operating system at MWC. The Dwell Video perform, which Google first previewed at I/O 2024, means that you can share what your cellphone’s digital camera sees with Gemini so you possibly can ask the chatbot questions in regards to the footage.
The brand new screensharing perform works in an analogous manner. You’ll be able to ask Gemini questions on no matter’s in your cellphone or pill’s show.
In the event that they work in addition to marketed, these options could possibly be a boon for accessibility. Google will first provide them to Gemini Superior subscribers beginning later this month. These with a $20 per 30 days Google One AI Premium membership, which is included with some Verizon plans, have entry to Gemini Superior.
Nothing
Samsung wasn’t the one smartphone maker of observe to point out off two new mid-range units at MWC. Nothing debuted its Phone 3a Pro and Phone 3a on the occasion — though it has but to unleash the Cellphone 3.
The 3a Professional has a beefier digital camera module (fairly actually because the system is about 10 grams heavier than the 3a). It incorporates a 50MP telephoto sensor with a 3x optical zoom; a 50MP main sensor with f/1.88 lens and dual-pixel section detection auto-focus (PDAF); and an ultrawide 8MP sensor with a 120-degree area of view. The handset has a telemacro mode too. As for the 3a, that boasts a most important 50MP digital camera with single-pixel PDAF, however the different two sensors are the identical as on the 3a Professional.
The cameras are the principle distinction between the 2 telephones, which each have a 6.77-inch AMOLED LTPS show with a 120Hz refresh charge and as much as 1,300 nits of brightness. The telephones have a 5,000mAh battery with assist for 50W quick charging, and so they run on a Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 chipset.
The units have Nothing’s multipurpose Important Key, a bodily button that may take screenshots and allow you to document voice notes. The telephones even have some generative AI options, corresponding to the flexibility to transcribe mentioned voice notes and describe what’s in screenshots and photographs.
As common, Nothing is initially providing these units within the US by means of a beta program. Cellphone 3a pre-orders are open now and the $379 handset ships on March 11. That is the date when pre-orders for the Cellphone 3a Professional go dwell. The $459 cellphone could be in your palms on March 25.
Meta
There was extra information out of MWC past new gear and OS updates. Meta and the Web Society announced a partnership to bolster reasonably priced web connectivity across the globe. They’re collectively placing $30 million into the initiative over the following 5 years.
A serious purpose of the mission is to assist construct out infrastructure in areas the place business suppliers have but to take action. The Connectivity Co-Funding Initiative may also again coaching applications, community-centered options for underserved areas and regionally owned networks. The Web Society is hoping to seek out extra companions to assist with the mission.
HMD
Finnish firm HMD, which additionally makes units underneath the Nokia model, introduced a bunch of telephones to Barcelona this yr, however possibly essentially the most attention-grabbing factor was some earbuds. The Amped Earbuds are a pair of pretty commonplace Bluetooth buds, with a twist within the case: It is obtained a 1,600mAh battery inbuilt that helps reverse wi-fi charging. It is a fairly stable concept — given you are doubtless already carrying a cellphone and a few headphones. Maybe the one situation is that capability: 1,600mAh is sufficient to cost plenty of headphones, however it’s dramatically smaller than the battery in your cellphone. Nonetheless, an additional 20 % of battery life could possibly be an lifesaver.
Replace, March 7 2025, 4:05PM ET: This story has been up to date twice since publish. As soon as to incorporate a bit on Samsung’s idea folding units, and as soon as so as to add a bit on HMD’s Amped Earbuds. The introduction of the article was additionally modified.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/everything-announced-at-mwc-2025-samsung-nothing-lenovo-xiaomi-and-more-tech-news-200029465.html?src=rss
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