The annual telephone fiesta often known as Mobile World Congress is sort of upon us as soon as once more, and it is set to be one of the crucial thrilling tech occasions of 2025.The cell present runs March 3-6, and I’ll be on the bottom in Barcelona with my colleagues Andrew Lanxon and Abrar Al-Heeti, testing all the brand new product launches and zooming in on the breakthroughs that may outline cell tech by means of the subsequent yr and past. I’ve been attending and masking the present for 11 years, writing about every part from the very first demo of the HTC Vive headset to rescuing an previous Nokia 3310 from a backstreet market on the identical day HMD launched a 2017 replace to the long-lasting telephone.This yr, we’ll be looking ahead to Chinese telephone makers resembling Xiaomi and Oppo to dominate MWC. “This will be an extremely strong show for them, and we expect a very strong presence on the show floor,” says Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight.Smaller gamers resembling HMD and Nothing are additionally set to unveil new telephones that we will not wait to get our arms on, plus there’ll doubtless be some fascinating wearables, together with smartwatches and AR glasses, with bonus laptops and earbuds, too. We’re additionally anticipating to see AI in all places as soon as once more this yr, principally flavored by Google’s Gemini, with a sprinkle of fascinating options from the telephone makers on high. CNET’s personal analysis means that a lot of you aren’t that impressed with the AI capabilities of smartphones to date. We’ll be looking out to be used instances and options that we expect will likely be genuinely thrilling and transformative when it is time so that you can improve your telephone.In the meantime, here is what we count on to see.What Phones to Expect at MWC 2025Xiaomi
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If there’s one telephone we’re particularly excited to take a look at at Mobile World Congress, it is the Xiaomi 15 Ultra. The digicam on the Xiaomi 14 Ultra blew us away final yr — it made the telephone stand out in a sea of in any other case related high-end units. The hype has been constructing across the launch of its successor, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra, which we count on to see unveiled at MWC.NothingNothing’s design-driven method to expertise is at all times intriguing, and we’re excited to see what’s in retailer for its March 4 launch occasion. The Nothing Phone 3a and rumored 3a Pro will doubtless be the star(s) of the present, and will run on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chips, which might mark a shift away from the corporate’s partnership with Mediatek. Helpfully, Nothing has already proven us what the telephone appears like because of a teaser it posted on X.Phone (3a) Series.Where technical intricacy meets purity. The essence of Nothing. pic.twitter.com/02UEwkgROl— Nothing (@nothing) February 24, 2025
Nothing’s subsequent flagship telephone can be anticipated to reach in 2025, however not till later within the yr. The firm launched its predecessor, the Nothing Phone 2, again in July 2023, so we’re anticipating the two-year intervening interval to lead to some upgrades. It’s unlikely the Nothing Phone 3 will make an look at MWC, however we’ll be protecting an eye fixed out for teasers of what to anticipate from the telephone when it lastly arrives.SamsungSamsung had its personal main telephone launch of the yr forward of MWC, however that does not imply we have heard the final of the Galaxy S25. The Barcelona occasion is a chance for the corporate to showcase its new flagship collection in Europe and doubtlessly additionally give us a greater take a look at the S25 Edge telephone it teased at Unpacked in January.Other telephone firms will likely be following go well with, with units together with the Honor Magic7 Pro and the triple-screened, dual-fold Huawei Mate XT utilizing MWC as a victory lap after earlier launches.
The Coolest Phones at MWC 2024 From Samsung, Honor, Motorola and More
See all pictures What Other Tech to Expect at MWC 2025MWC has at all times been at the beginning in regards to the telephones, however “mobile” as a class embraces a slew of various merchandise, from laptops to wearables.One of essentially the most thrilling merchandise to make its full debut at MWC 2024 was the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Competition on this area is heating up, with firms together with Oura and Ultrahuman providing thrilling good rings of their very own. The present might be the right venue for brand spanking new or established tech firms to enter the good jewellery market.In 2024, we additionally noticed the emergence of standalone AI units together with the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1. Both generated important hype, however largely fell flat when the time got here to check them. So is that this rising machine class lifeless within the water (particularly as we all know Humane’s AI Pins will stop working quickly)?”Never say never,” says Wood. “But I’m not expecting a lot of those devices because of the fact that the ones that were there previously have been spectacularly unsuccessful.”The capabilities of those units have largely been subsumed into smartphones, because of enhancements in Google’s Gemini and Samsung’s Galaxy AI, he provides. “The window of opportunity for those products has somewhat evaporated.” Watch this: Best of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and More
04:04 One space the place there’s nonetheless room for development is in spatial computing, by which we imply good glasses. Phone maker Oppo might be one to observe on this area, and we may additionally see quite a few smaller firms displaying their face-worn expertise at MWC, too. These might be something from glasses with built-in AI, microphones and cameras to glasses with a built-in digital show of some sort and Apple Vision Pro-style goggles.Over the years, we have seen dramatic development within the variety of automakers at tech exhibits — specifically CES. MWC hasn’t sometimes hosted automobiles to the identical extent, though final yr Xiaomi showcased an electrical car on the present. There’s nothing to say we should not count on to see extra alongside these traces this yr, particularly with chipmaker Qualcomm current. The firm is on the coronary heart of integrating cell connectivity into automobiles, with use instances starting from infotainment to security.It’s inevitable that we’ll additionally see a clutch of laptops, tablets and earbuds make an look on the present. Lenovo is our one to observe on this respect — in our estimation, it was the standout PC maker on the earlier present, and we’re eager to see what it has in retailer this go-around.AI at Mobile World Congress Here’s Gemini AI assistant operating on the Pixel 9. James Martin/CNETAs was the case final yr, we’re anticipating AI to be in all places at MWC — so that you may be questioning what precisely is new for 2025.Until now, essentially the most AI-packed telephones have tended to be flagship fashions, however this yr we should always count on AI options in a wider vary of units, based on Wood. “What we’re going to see is AI capabilities moving down the price curve,” he says. That means AI in midrange telephones and never simply the fancier fashions. (Case in level: the brand new $599 iPhone 16E that Apple simply unveiled.)With Apple perpetually absent from MWC, this present informally belongs to Google. We count on to see it in all places, showcasing the entire newest capabilities Gemini has to supply whereas partnering with the entire telephone makers in attendance. The query for these firms will likely be how they’re utilizing AI to distinguish their merchandise, when all of them have entry to the identical suite of Google options.Samsung’s Galaxy AI is a first-rate instance of this, however at MWC we’re anticipating to see a daring play from Honor as the corporate outlines its new “Alpha Plan.” As effectively as an overarching course for the model, this technique entails creating an open and collaborative ecosystem of AI-powered units.As I discussed, it is unlikely there will be extra standalone AI units, however slightly a continuation of the pattern of embedding AI into every part we already personal. Chipmakers resembling Qualcomm will likely be extolling the virtues of on-device AI, and hopefully offering some thrilling demos to showcase how we would count on AI to genuinely change and enhance our expertise, if not this yr, then within the close to future.One of my favourite demos ultimately yr’s MWC was a partnership between Qualcomm, Brain.AI and Deutsche Telekom, which confirmed how AI may doubtlessly change the app-based interface everyone knows and love. I’ll be looking for equally fascinating concepts this yr.