All posts tagged: MWC

Orange iPhone 17 Pro Impersonators Were Out in Droves at MWC 2026

Orange iPhone 17 Pro Impersonators Were Out in Droves at MWC 2026

Published by skeptic

In September, Apple unveiled its iPhone 17 Pro line in a color all its own — a bright tangerine orange that split the CNET newsroom between lovers and haters. And yet, nearly half a year later, that hue is all over MWC 2026, suggesting its fans have gone global. From accessories to blatant copies of the iPhone 17 Pro Max itself, a shocking variety of products seemingly sampled Apple’s exact color tone to splash over their devices. It’s as brazen as the iPhone maker’s choice to go with such a blinding color.  Though the Anker Nano 45W smart display charger was launched at CES, its orange color debuted at MWC 2026. David Lumb/CNET I first noticed the color’s presence when I walked into the hotel bar that accessory maker Anker rented to showcase its new line of products. While the TKTK recharging plug was originally revealed at CES a month earlier, Anker had it in bright orange for MWC. The charger was already charming with a cute robot appearing on its screen, but the bright …

Push for smartphones builds momentum, but still faces cost hurdles

Push for $40 smartphones builds momentum, but still faces cost hurdles

Published by skeptic

A push by a coalition of telecom operators, device makers, and industry groups to bring $40 smartphones to market — a price point seen as key to getting tens of millions more people online — is gathering momentum, but questions remain over whether manufacturers can produce such ultra-low-cost devices at scale. This week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, the advocacy and lobbying group GSMA said it is working with major African mobile operators — including Airtel, Axian Telecom, Ethio Telecom, MTN Group, Orange, and Vodafone — and smartphone makers to pilot ultra-low-cost 4G devices in six African markets: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda, in a bid to make smartphones more affordable and bring an additional 20 million people online. Affordable smartphones are widely seen as key to narrowing the digital divide in developing markets, where millions of people live within mobile broadband coverage but remain offline, often because internet-enabled devices remain too expensive. Through its Handset Affordability Coalition, the GSMA is working with operators and manufacturers to …

MWC Is Where Cutting-Edge Phones Shine. Too Bad You’ll Probably Never Buy Them

MWC Is Where Cutting-Edge Phones Shine. Too Bad You’ll Probably Never Buy Them

Published by skeptic

For years, people have decried the monotony of smartphone design. With each annual release, companies tend to recycle the same features — when they’re not borrowing from each other — with minimal upgrades and hardly any aesthetic changes, resulting in an uninspiring sea of sameness and predictability. That’s why at every tech event I’ve attended over the last several years, the most eager crowds cluster around phones that defy hardware limitations. This year’s Mobile World Congress was no exception. I wiggled my way through hordes of people pushing to get their hands on foldable, flippable and ultraslim devices.  Some of these phones are already available to purchase, like Samsung’s Galaxy Z Trifold and Huawei’s Mate XTs. Others are still concepts, like Tecno’s superthin Phantom Ultimate G Fold and its modular phone. A handful of others I saw are on the way to store shelves, like Honor’s Robot Phone and Motorola’s book-style Razr Fold. Watch this: Our Experts’ Favorite Products at MWC 2026 | All Things Mobile 05:40 As our smartphone options have expanded, our collective tastes have remained …

I went to MWC 2026, and these are the best announcements I saw at the mobile show

I went to MWC 2026, and these are the best announcements I saw at the mobile show

Published by Sam Flores

It isn’t the first time I’ve seen a modular phone, and it likely won’t be the last, but this concept device from Chinese smartphone maker Tecno caught my eye. It’s an exceptionally thin Android smartphone with a couple of connectors on the back that’s used to attach various gadgets. One module turns the phone into a complete camera system with a massive lens. The display acts as a viewfinder, though the weight distribution didn’t feel quite right when I tried it – I almost dropped it when I picked it up. Other smaller, less unwieldy modules can attach to the phone, including a smaller camera lens, a speaker, a vanity mirror, a wallet and a wireless microphone. A Bluetooth tracker that’s compatible with both Apple and Google Apple recently announced a new AirTag, but at MWC, Chinese company Xiaomi announced its first-ever tracker, and it works with both Apple’s ‘Find My’ app and Google’s ‘Find Hub’. A coin cell battery powers the Xiaomi Tag, which it says with last for around a year like Apple’s …

Nothing Has 2 New Midrange Phones, but Only 1 Will Be Sold in the US

Nothing Has 2 New Midrange Phones, but Only 1 Will Be Sold in the US

Published by skeptic

It’s midrange phone season. Google’s $499 Pixel 10a goes on sale today, Apple announced its $599 iPhone 17e early this week, and now it’s Nothing’s turn. The UK company—from OnePlus founder Carl Pei—announced the Nothing Phone (4a) and Phone (4a) Pro at an event in London, hot on the heels of Mobile World Congress 2026. After four years on the mobile handset market, Nothing is still lacking a major presence in the US. That’s partly because it has mostly sold its phones through a confusing beta program for some time. Also, it doesn’t have any US carrier partners, which is how most Americans buy a new smartphone. This latest launch still doesn’t inspire confidence that the US phone market is a priority for the company, considering only the Phone (4a) Pro will be sold stateside. Nothing spokesperson Lewis Hopkins says the company made the decision based on which model it expected to perform better in the market. Still, Hopkins did confirm that Nothing is expanding its retail presence globally—it just opened a store in Bengaluru, …

RAM Shortage Could Kill Budget Phones: The Latest Predictions at MWC 2026

RAM Shortage Could Kill Budget Phones: The Latest Predictions at MWC 2026

Published by skeptic

The race to build AI infrastructure has gobbled up so much memory that prices have skyrocketed, with analysts predicting that product costs will rise as a result. But the outlook is far worse than anticipated. New reports and forecasts suggest that the RAM shortage could prompt manufacturers of cheaper devices to reduce or even stop production for some time. Smartphone shipments are expected to drop by 13% through 2026 compared with last year, according to the International Data Corporation. This won’t just be a temporary crisis, but “a tsunami-like shock originating in the memory supply chain, with ripple effects spreading across the entire consumer electronics industry,” Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for Worldwide Client Devices at IDC, had previously said in a statement.  When reached at MWC 2026, Jeronimo predicted that this impact won’t happen immediately. Phone sales will stay pretty static over the first quarter of the year (which is almost over) as distributors buy as much stock as they can, but the shortage will start affecting phone production around the second quarter, between April …

These are the 7 best phones I found at MWC 2026

These are the 7 best phones I found at MWC 2026

Published by skeptic

I’ve been scouring the floor at MWC 2026 to find the best new smartphones, and this year’s edition of the world’s leading mobile-focused show has been wall-to-wall. I’m sure you’re thinking that the clue is in the name — Mobile World Congress — but you’d be surprised at how often MWC feels slightly devoid of smartphones. But MWC 26 has bucked that trend, and there are seven new smartphones that you need to know about. Related MakeUseOf’s best in show MWC 2026: Crazy concepts, wonderful laptops, and amazing smartphones Barcelona never fails to deliver. Honor Magic V6 Wonderful foldable Honor’s Magic V6 is one of the big head-turners at MWC 2026, and for a good reason. It’s a super high-end foldable that packs in a top-of-the-range Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip with up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage, backed up by a whopping 6,600mAh silicon-carbon battery (with 80W wired and 66W wireless charging) that puts it competitors to shame. It’s also remarkably slim, measuring 8.75mm when folded, and just 4mm when opened. It …

I tried Tecno’s modular phone concept at MWC – and it quickly got weird

I tried Tecno’s modular phone concept at MWC – and it quickly got weird

Published by skeptic

Adam Doud/ZDNET Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Tecno’s magnetic modular phone is a proof of concept without a release date.  It’s thin and light, and the modular battery design is cool. The magnets aren’t strong enough, and the camera modules need some work. Tecno is always a delightful visit during MWC, the brand has a history of bringing interesting concepts to bear. This year, there are a pair of them, including a tri-fold phone I couldn’t dive into, as a security device prevented me from even closing it on the showroom floor. This concept is different from the Z-shaped foldable phone it showed last year. Instead, it folds twice to the center, like the Samsung Trifold, with the outside screen on one of the wings. But the other concept was the one that caught my attention: a magnetic modular phone.  Also: What to expect at MWC 2026: Best phones I’m anticipating from Xiaomi, Honor, and more Modular phones are seemingly the dream among phone enthusiasts. Who wouldn’t want to …

These Official ChromeOS Flex USB Sticks Can Give Your Old Mac or Windows PC a Second Life

These Official ChromeOS Flex USB Sticks Can Give Your Old Mac or Windows PC a Second Life

Published by skeptic

“People want something that lasts them a long time, that is quality, that is useful,” says Google senior director Alexander Kuscher. “Eventually, when it breaks or when you lose it, you get a new one because you feel taken care of. So I think that builds trust, and the trust is important.” Flex started as an enterprise service for businesses; Google offered companies worried about security vulnerabilities on aging hardware a way to easily update to a more secure operating system. Or, at least, one that still received updates. After a while, other users started to get ahold of the software, downloading and installing it on their own USB sticks for their personal machines. “We didn’t make it particularly easy at the time,” Kuscher says. “But people did it.” What led to the more consumer-oriented push of ChromeOS Flex—like this partnership with Back Market—was the end of software support for Microsoft’s Windows 10 operating system last fall. While the OS still technically works, it stopped receiving security updates, and Microsoft has encouraged users to update …

Smart Glasses, AI Wardrobes and Cute Bots: Stroll Down Android Avenue at MWC 2026

Smart Glasses, AI Wardrobes and Cute Bots: Stroll Down Android Avenue at MWC 2026

Published by skeptic

Nestled between two conference halls at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is a pathway lined with Google’s latest tech — and its cutest robot figures. Here, spectators can step inside homey, wood-paneled booths and try out features across Pixel, Android XR and Search. Welcome to Android Avenue.  I swung by Google’s setup to check out demos for its latest products and features. Greeting me at the entrance and setting the scene was an adorably colorful Android statue waving hello. CNET’s Tara Brown and I hold up our access stickers in front of a matching Android. Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET In one booth, I tried on the Android XR smart glasses prototype for the first time and explored some promising use cases. I saw and heard real-time, AI-powered translations through the glasses as a Google employee spoke to me in Spanish. I also followed a Google Maps overlay that guided me along my route without obstructing my vision, thanks to the display projected onto the right lens.  Android XR glasses tap the Gemini AI assistant. Andrew Lanxon/CNET Hot …