It’s over… MWC 2024 closed its doors on Thursday after what felt like an even more action-packed event than last year. I’ve walked many miles, attended various events and briefings, and got to play with some of the coolest new toys in town.
It’s not just flagship phones that impressed me at MWC 2024, as you’re about to see below.
Unsurprisingly, the flagships that debuted at the show will be high on the list. They feature some of the latest innovations in mobile tech, which will drive the industry forward. But there were also some impressive gadgets that were much more affordable, and I’ll tell you about all my favorites.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Xiaomi unveiled its Xiaomi 14 series at MWC, just as expected. The €999 Xiaomi 14 is a great flagship on its own. But €500 extra (I know!) gets you the Xiaomi 14 Ultra.
It’s not just one of the best smartphones you can buy, it’s also one of the biggest camera upgrades of the year. It certainly is the best Xiaomi phone the Chinese vendor has ever made.
Honor Magic 6 Pro
The Honor Magic 6 Pro is the other flagship that was announced at MWC 2024. Like the Xiaomi 14 Ultra, the flagship focuses on a camera experience that uses AI to capture incredibly fast photos of moving subjects. That’s just one aspect of it. The handset also comes with a novel way to use AI on a mobile device, aiming to cut down the time you need to perform certain actions on the handset.
The intent-based UI and intent-based computing are in the early days on the Magic 6 Pro, but they’re certainly a unique feature for this flagship.
Tecno Camon 30 Premier 5G
While I knew about the Xiaomi and Honor phones, I didn’t see the Tecno Camon 30 Premier 5G coming. What’s amazing about this phone is that it challenges the Xiaomi 14 Ultra when it comes to photography. Tecno says the phone features a camera system like no other, relying on a separate processor from Sony to deliver “4K 30fps full-scene AI-NR HDR video for the first time in the industry.”
The phone isn’t out yet, but the Tecno PolarAce Imaging System is something to remember if you can find this Chinese vendor’s products in your region.
Motorola wrist smartphone
The Motorola smartphone that can wrap around the wrist is simply stunning. It’s just a concept device meant to drive innovation and turn some heads in the process. The phone Moto brought at MWC is easily one of the best experiences of the show because it feels like an almost finished product. I wouldn’t buy one, though, but it’s absolutely exciting.
Google Gemini
Google didn’t technically launch Gemini at MWC 2024. However, the company announced new AI features coming to its products. You can Chat with Geimini in the Messages app, and it will summarize chats for you in Android Auto. These are just two of the Gemini experiences Google demoed in Spain.
With AI being one of the big themes of MWC 2024, you can’t ignore one of the most important generative AI products in the industry, controversies aside.
Xiaomi HyperOS
After seeing HyperOS in action at MWC, the operating system that powers the Xiaomi 14 phones and other tablets, I said it’s the kind of experience that Apple would offer if the iPhone ran Android. It looks a lot like iOS and iPadOS, it’s optimized for performance, and it features plenty of Continuity-like tricks. But it’s built on Google’s Android, rather than a fork, and will work on a bunch of new devices.
Lenovo transparent laptop
Motorola parent Lenovo brought a laptop with a large transparent display and a touch keyboard. It runs Windows 11 with AI features supposed to take advantage of the transparency, and it might herald the more distant future. You won’t get it in stores anytime soon, however.
Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5
Speaking of products you can buy, Lenovo’s got you covered if you need a ThinkPad upgrade. Like every year, the company just unveiled several new laptops that will hit stores soon. But the Lenovo ThinkPad T14 Gen 5 is easily a highlight. It’s not just about the specs or design. This is an incredibly easy laptop to repair and upgrade. The ThinkPad T16 Gen 3 is the larger version if you want a bigger screen.
TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro
I met TCL at MWC to see the future of NXTPAPER technology. The company brought its new smartphones and tablets at the show after announcing them at CES earlier this year. The TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro is easily one of the best Android tablets I have tested in recent years. The glare-free display is bright and vivid, and the 14 Pro turns into a black-and-white e-reader when you need one.
Tecno Pocket Go Windows AR gaming system
MWC is also the place where you see all sorts of mobile devices, including wearable AR glasses and VR headsets. The Pocket Go from Tecno is a portable console of sorts. The Windows 11 computer sits inside a controller that connects via USB-C to AR glasses. It’s similar to what you might have tried before. But I think the virtual display experience is simply stunning here.
Samsung Galaxy Ring
Another wearable device present at MWC is the Samsung Galaxy Ring. This is the wearable’s first official showing after Samsung soft-launched it during the Galaxy S24 Unpacked in January. I saw the device displayed behind a piece of glass, so I don’t know how it feels or what it can do. But I know I’ll want to try the Galaxy Ring when it comes out.
TCL 5G dongle
I might have looked for TCL’s NXTPAPER phones and tablets at MWC 2024, but I accidentally found something else that caught my attention. The TCL Linkkey IK511 is a 5G RedCap dongle that will sell for under $100 this year. RedCap means 5G speeds of up to 220Mbps, but that’s still great. And it’ll work as a 4G dongle when there’s no 5G in reach.
Humane AI Pin, Samsung Galaxy S24, and Nothing Phone 2a
Why am I bundling these three devices? Well, I think they qualify as Best of MWC 2024 devices, but they were all announced before the show despite being shown off there. Still, I can’t ignore them because it wouldn’t be fair.
Humane AI Pin
I’ve been following Humane’s Ai Pin for the better part of a year now, but I didn’t expect to see it in action in Barcelona. I must say that getting an actual demo of the Ai Pin from Humane certainly beats seeing the wearable AI gadget in Humane’s launch clips or photos.
The device performed admirably, and I’m cautiously optimistic. The price is still a problem, and I don’t like the display-less experience. But the Ai Pin is definitely a highlight of MWC 2024, even though it wasn’t unveiled in Spain.
Samsung Galaxy S24
The Galaxy S24, especially the Ultra, is easily one of the highlights of MWC 2024. The Mobile World Congress was the place where Samsung would unveil Galaxy S models in previous years. Now, Samsung doesn’t want to share the attention with its competitors, and I can see why.
The Galaxy S24 phones got a headstart of about a month compared to the flagships coming at MWC. They proved to be amazing devices. The Galaxy AI features, especially Google’s Circle to Search, also stand out.
Samsung had a massive booth in Barcelona, with Galaxy S24 flavors getting lots of attention from those at the show. The Galaxy S24 certainly dominated the show, taking over the entire city of Barcelona.
Nothing Phone 2a
Nothing was not present at MWC officially. The press had to go to a Nothing event outside of the Fira area, where Nothing gave us a first look at the phone’s design. But this next-gen budget-friendly phone is launching officially next week. And I can’t talk about the best of MWC without mentioning the Nothing Phone 2a design reveal.
