The annual cellphone fiesta often known as Cell World Congress is nearly upon us as soon as once more, and it is set to be one of the thrilling tech occasions of 2025.
The cellular present runs March 3-6, and I will 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 cellular tech by the following yr and past. I have been attending and masking the present for 11 years, writing about every thing from the very first demo of the HTC Vive headset to rescuing an outdated Nokia 3310 from a backstreet market on the identical day HMD launched a 2017 replace to the long-lasting cellphone.
This yr, we’ll be waiting for Chinese language cellphone makers corresponding to Xiaomi and Oppo to dominate MWC. “This might be an especially sturdy present for them, and we anticipate a really sturdy presence on the present ground,” says Ben Wooden, chief analyst at CCS Perception.
Smaller gamers corresponding to HMD and Nothing are additionally set to unveil new telephones that we will not wait to get our palms on, plus there’ll doubtless be some attention-grabbing wearables, together with smartwatches and AR glasses, with bonus laptops and earbuds, too.
We’re additionally anticipating to see AI all over the place as soon as once more this yr, principally flavored by Google’s Gemini, with a sprinkle of attention-grabbing options from the cellphone makers on high. CNET’s personal analysis means that lots of you aren’t that impressed with the AI capabilities of smartphones thus far. We’ll be looking out to be used instances and options that we predict might be genuinely thrilling and transformative when it is time so that you can improve your cellphone.
Within the meantime, this is what we anticipate to see.
The telephones
If there’s one cellphone we’re particularly excited to take a look at at Cell World Congress, it is the Xiaomi 15 Extremely. The digicam on the Xiaomi 14 Extremely blew us away final yr — it made the cellphone 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 Extremely, which we anticipate to see unveiled at MWC.
Nothing’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 Cellphone 3a and rumored 3a Professional 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.
Cellphone (3a) Collection. Energy in perspective.
4 March 10 AM GMT. pic.twitter.com/auesJycJQy— Nothing (@nothing) January 30, 2025
Nothing’s subsequent flagship cellphone can be anticipated to reach in 2025, however not till later within the yr. The corporate launched its predecessor, the Nothing Cellphone 2, again in July 2023, so we’re anticipating the two-year intervening interval to lead to some upgrades. It is unlikely the Nothing Cellphone 3 will make an look at MWC, however we’ll be conserving an eye fixed out for teasers of what to anticipate from the cellphone when it lastly arrives.
Samsung had its personal main cellphone 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 probably additionally give us a greater take a look at the S25 Edge cellphone it teased at Unpacked in January.
Different cellphone firms might be following go well with, with units together with the Honor Magic7 Professional and the triple-screened, dual-fold Huawei Mate XT utilizing MWC as a victory lap after earlier launches.
The Coolest Telephones at MWC 2024 From Samsung, Honor, Motorola and Extra
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The very best of the remaining
MWC has at all times been at first in regards to the telephones, however “cellular” as a class embraces a slew of various merchandise, from laptops to wearables.
Some of the thrilling merchandise to make its full debut at MWC 2024 was the Samsung Galaxy Ring. Competitors on this area is heating up, with firms together with Oura and Ultrahuman providing thrilling sensible rings of their very own. The present could possibly be the right venue for brand spanking new or established tech firms to enter the sensible jewellery market.
In 2024, we additionally noticed the emergence of standalone AI units together with the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1. Each generated vital hype, however largely fell flat when the time got here to check them. So is that this rising gadget class lifeless within the water (particularly as we all know Humane’s AI Pins will stop working quickly)?
“By no means say by no means,” says Wooden. “However I am not anticipating quite a lot of these units due to the truth that those that had been there beforehand have been spectacularly unsuccessful.”
The capabilities of those units have largely been subsumed into smartphones, due to enhancements in Google’s Gemini and Samsung’s Galaxy AI, he provides. “The window of alternative for these merchandise has considerably evaporated.”
Watch this: Better of MWC 2024: Bendable Screens, AI Wearables and Extra
One space the place there’s nonetheless room for development is in spatial computing, by which we imply sensible glasses. Cellphone maker Oppo could possibly be one to observe on this area, and we may additionally see plenty of smaller firms displaying their face-worn expertise at MWC, too. These could possibly be something from glasses with built-in AI, microphones and cameras to glasses with a built-in digital show of some type and Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional-style goggles.
Over time, we have seen dramatic development within the variety of automakers at tech exhibits — specifically CES. MWC hasn’t sometimes hosted vehicles to the identical extent, though final yr Xiaomi showcased an electrical automobile on the present. There’s nothing to say we should not anticipate to see extra alongside these traces this yr, particularly with chipmaker Qualcomm current. The corporate is on the coronary heart of integrating cellular connectivity into vehicles, with use instances starting from infotainment to security.
It is 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
Here is Gemini AI assistant working on the Pixel 9.
As was the case final yr, we’re anticipating AI to be all over the place at MWC — so that you is likely to be questioning what precisely is new for 2025.
Till now, essentially the most AI-packed telephones have tended to be flagship fashions, however this yr we must always anticipate AI options in a wider vary of units, based on Wooden. “What we’ll see is AI capabilities transferring down the worth curve,” he says. Which means AI in midrange telephones and never simply the fancier fashions. (Living proof: the brand new $599 iPhone 16E that Apple simply unveiled.)
With Apple perpetually absent from MWC, this present informally belongs to Google. We anticipate to see it all over the place, showcasing the entire newest capabilities Gemini has to supply whereas partnering with the entire cellphone makers in attendance. The query for these firms might 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 chief instance of this, however at MWC we’re anticipating to see a daring play from Honor as the corporate outlines its new “Alpha Plan.” In addition to an overarching path for the model, this technique includes 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 development of embedding AI into every thing we already personal. Chipmakers corresponding to Qualcomm might be extolling the virtues of on-device AI, and hopefully offering some thrilling demos to showcase how we would anticipate AI to genuinely change and enhance our expertise, if not this yr, then within the close to future.
One in all my favourite demos eventually yr’s MWC was a partnership between Qualcomm, Mind.AI and Deutsche Telekom, which confirmed how AI may probably change the app-based interface everyone knows and love. I will be searching for equally attention-grabbing concepts this yr.
