If last year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) event felt like the entry point for AI, then this year’s show confirmed just how much it’s ingrained in our devices. As such, part of our challenge with MWC 2026 was to recognize innovations that incorporate AI in truly helpful ways — rather than just having AI for the sake of it, or that go the other direction and ground their innovations in unique hardware.
This includes a smartphone with a “robot” inside, and a pair of smart glasses that can seamlessly project and summarize your notifications for you while also helping you gain more insights into your surroundings.
After meeting with dozens of companies — and hearing about a lot of AI — these are the very best new products at MWC 2026.
Best phone: Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra
Understandably, it’s the Privacy Display that’s captured attention the most. It’s built-in, can be set to work automatically with any app you like and is precise enough to hide only your notifications. We expect to see a number of other smartphone makers attempt to make their own version very soon.
Of course, Samsung has upgraded plenty besides the display. The S26 Ultra also offers improved main and 5x telephoto cameras to take brighter images, plenty of new AI features to handle edits, task organization and more on your behalf. There’s faster charging and a mighty new chipset to power it all. It’s as far from an iterative upgrade as you can get.
Our review of the Galaxy S26 Ultra is still in progress, but the innate quality of this phone is easy to see, and that is why it’s taken a prize here at our MWC Best in Show awards. — Richard Priday
Best tablet: Honor MagicPad 4
Honor might be grabbing headlines at MWC 2026 for its Magic V6 foldable, but in my opinion, the best product from the brand right now is actually the new MagicPad 4 Android tablet.
At just 4.8mm thick, the MagicPad 4 is not only thinner than Apple’s iPad Pro M5 but also the thinnest Android tablet you can buy right now. And despite that slim profile, it doesn’t compromise on specs. You get a large 10,100mAh battery inside, along with a bright 12.3-inch OLED display that supports up to a 165Hz refresh rate and slim bezels. It’s powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset and comes with up to 512GB of storage.
Of course, you can pair it with a keyboard to turn it into a productivity device on the go, but what really stands out is the built-in app windowing support. Tap the windowing button in the taskbar, and every app you open launches in its own window, similar to a Windows laptop. You can then move them around freely and multitask with ease.
The MagicPad 4 is really one of those devices that makes you appreciate the engineering behind it the moment you pick it up. — Sanuj Bhatia
Best concept: Honor Robot Phone
Honor has been teasing this gimbal-equipped, personality-stuffed phone for a few months already, but we finally got a look at what it could do. And it will make all kinds of users happy.
For the hardware-focused, especially if they’re also camera enthusiasts, a phone with a tiny 3-axis gimbal is already a fun idea. And the option to interact with the phone conversationally, with the 200MP camera now acting as the nodding, shaking and dancing head of a pocket AI companion, may entice those of us who are all-in on the current AI moment in tech.
What’s more, Honor claims this phone will become an actual purchasable device later this year, with additional features on the way too. We’re not sure how much we believe that, but wherever Honor and its Robot Phone go next, we’ll be watching with great interest. — Richard Priday
Best gaming product: Lenovo Legion Go Concept
Beyond its ergonomic controllers, its secret weapon is the foldable POLED panel that can be unfolded from 7.7 inches to a full 11.6 inches for a far bigger gaming canvas. You can put the controllers back on either in landscape or portrait (differing POVs depending on whether the game needs more verticality), or you can stick it on the keyboard deck and feel like you’re back in the netbook era.
This raw versatility is unheard of in gaming handhelds, and something I’d love to see explored more. — Jason England
Best audio product: Soundcore Space 2
The Soundcore Space 2 headphones sound like a dream for those who want decent-quality cans but refuse to drop more than $150 on a pair. Yet they look and feel practically premium, with a clean, foldable design and plush-feeling headband and earcups. The best bit? They can endure up to 70 hours between charges, or 50 hours with ANC.
They feel light and comfy to wear, with a robust seal that doesn’t cook my ears. I found the four-stage ANC effective, negating the collective din of hundreds of chit-chatting people walking by. I fed it my repertoire of test songs, including The Prodigy, Queen, and Fleetwood Mac, and it delivered rich, crisp audio, with enough oomph in the bass. The loudness also holds up well without distortion, until you crank it up to the levels your mother warned you about. — Matt Ng
Best smart home product: Eufy Robot Vacuum Omni C28
As someone with kids, it’s never long before the kitchen floor gets sticky from cooking mess, spilled juice, or unsanctioned science experiments. Thankfully, the budget-focused Eufy C28 is on hand to help. The all-in-one station offers up to 75 days of hands-free use, during which you’re untethered from draining mucky water tanks, detangling hairs, emptying grotty dustbags, and cleaning filthy mop brushes.
I like the slimline design of this one, and though the finish isn’t as premium as its pricier counterparts, the matte design isn’t a sucker for fingerprints. I’ve had a quick go already, and the 15,000pa suction provides sufficient cleaning power for most debris, while the mopping is solid and doesn’t leave streaky finishes.
Sadly, with no extendable brush or mop, expect to do some manual top-up cleaning along skirting boards, corners, and awkward nooks, but at least this machine takes on the brunt of your floor-cleaning duties. — Matt Ng
Best robotics product: Cambridge Consultants Humanoid Robots
Humanoid robots are fast becoming a reality, but so far all we’ve seen is demos of movement. Don’t get me wrong — that’s cool. But a preset pop’n’lock dance routine doesn’t necessarily answer the question of “how will this thing help me around the house?”
Cambridge Consultants came to MWC 2026 with the answer: a robot packed with two Nvidia Jetson chips running off Team Green’s latest Blackwell GPU. With this loop, it is able to run a 2-billion parameter AI model to act reactively and proactively to complete tasks — thinking 16 steps ahead and taking situational differences into account.
For example, in this box-moving exercise here, we have the common sense to figure out how to lift it and put it down. In the physical AI space, however, it takes huge quantities of compute to establish what the angle of the box is, how much pressure to put on it, what kind of grip it needs, and where to put it at what force. This is able to run all those equations 50 times every second, and it’s a real glimpse of what a robotic future could look like. — Jason England
Best innovation: MemoMind One smart glasses
MWC truly turned into the war of the smart glasses, and the MemoMind One really stood out with the right balance of features for them to be the ideal replacement for taking your phone out of your pocket to do the simple tasks. And it does all of that while being rather stylish on your face — actually not looking like smart glasses.
You know that “tech bro” look, right? The one where you’ve obviously got a piece of tech strapped to your face. Smart specs have entered an awkward phase, but the ones are, well, the ones that manage to keep things far more refined. They share a lot of similar features with the Even Realities G2, but take things up a notch with built-in speakers and far more design choices to find the right look for you. — Jason England
Best design: TCL Nxtpaper 70 Pro
While Samsung is proudly showcasing its Privacy Display feature on the Galaxy S26 Ultra, TCL is continuing to double down on eye comfort with its Nxtpaper displays at MWC 2026. The company has introduced its new smartphone, the Nxtpaper 70 Pro, powered by its latest Nxtpaper 4.0 technology.
The Nxtpaper 70 Pro features a large 6.9-inch display with support for up to a 120Hz refresh rate. Thanks to the Nxtpaper technology, it reduces eye fatigue by cutting down glare and minimizing blue light exposure. But what truly stands out is the inclusion of three different Nxtpaper modes.
The Nxtpaper 70 Pro lets you switch between Color Paper Mode, Ink Paper Mode, and Max Ink Mode. Color Paper Mode retains full color while still offering the eye-comfort benefits. Ink Paper Mode converts the display to black and white for a more paper-like experience, while Max Ink Mode transforms the phone into a near e-reader-style device for extended reading sessions.
Beyond the display, the Nxtpaper 70 Pro appears to be a capable smartphone. It offers up to 512GB of storage, a 5200mAh battery, IP68 dust and water resistance, and runs on the MediaTek Dimensity 7300 chipset. It isn’t launching in the U.S. right away, but TCL says availability will begin in April 2026. — Sanuj Bhatia
Best security product: Tapo C665G KIT
Looking to upgrade your at-home security? The new Tapo C665G Kit from TP-Link makes a compelling case for being affixed to the outside of your home. Available in two options, with or without a bundled solar panel (45 minutes of sunlight = 24 hours of capture), this weatherproof camera could well be the smartest and most secure consumer security solution in the world.
First, it’s compatible with both WiFi and 4G; simply pop in a 4G SIM card and enjoy peace of mind that your security system won’t be inaccessible just because your WiFi is out.
Moreover, 4K video quality with subject recognition, night mode, and a built-in spotlight make monitoring your domain a breeze. Plus, the camera automatically tilts and shifts to track subjects using AI, from faces to pets, vehicles, and more. Best of all, all the AI processing is handled on the device, for extra security. — Dan Bracaglia
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