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.
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 also looks fantastic, and I’m a particular fan of its red colorway. It features a 7.95-inch LTPO AMOLED internal screen, plus a 6.52-inch cover screen, both of which look exceptional. Plus, the fold itself is barely perceptible, making the screen feel a bit better.
Elsewhere, it has a triple-camera system featuring a 50MP main, 64MP telephoto, and 50MP ultra-wide, along with a 20MP front-facing camera. While Honor hasn’t opted to pursue one of the whopping 200MP cameras found on other smartphones, its camera quality is absolutely fantastic, showing you don’t need a big, flashy number to get the job done.
Smartphone cameras never advertise the specs that actually matter
And the one they do use isn’t giving a clear picture.
Tecno Camon 50 Ultra
Bridging the gap
I was really impressed with Tecno’s flagship Camon 50 Ultra at MWC 2026. It’s a fantastic phone that really bridges the gap between mid-range and flagship, packed with useful and interesting AI features.
I particularly like the Camon 50 Ultra’s screen. It’s a 6.78-inch 144Hz AMOLED, with a 1208 x 2644 resolution and 428 dpi. It looks sublime, and I’ve really enjoyed how bright and smooth everything looks while using it; it also has 2160Hz PWM dimming, boosting accuracy, and making everything feel responsive.
The Camon 50 Ultra also has a good set of cameras, as Tecno devices often do. It has a 50MP Sony LYT-700C 1/1.56″, which is excellent for a range of shots, particularly capturing detail at night. Backing it up is a 50MP 3x telephoto lens and an 8MP ultrawide, plus a 50MP front camera. The telephoto lens supports up to 60x zoom, with AI Super Zoom supporting beyond 20x.
It’s also packed with useful AI features, with its Ella AI tool more deeply ingrained in the device, many of which work with its cameras. For example, the AI Auto Zoom offers better image reframing, while an upgraded version of FlashSnap (first seen on the previous 40 Ultra) can snap photos even before you hit the shutter. The latter is remarkable in how it captures crisp, still images of moving subjects that the regular camera mode simply can’t.
I’m also a big fan of the 6500mAh battery, which delivers all-day battery life. It also features 45W fast charging, which is super useful when you’re on the go.
Hardware-wise, the Camon 50 Ultra uses a Dimensity 7400, which isn’t the latest in hardware, but it’s more than capable of delivering the Camon Ultra 50’s AI tools, such as FlashSnap, MindHub, Writing 2.0, and similar.
Motorola Razr Fold
It’s finally here
Motorola teased its Razr Fold at CES 2026, showing us what it might look like, but never giving us the real goods. But now, at MWC 2026, Motorola has given us all the specs, and better yet, let everyone have a good old play with it.
And I have to say, it’s a great-looking foldable, backed up with powerful hardware that’ll make it a very competitive option.
It features a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chip (not the Elite), with a very well-sized 6,000mAh battery. Now, that’s not as much as the Honor Magic V6, but it’s more than the Galaxy Z Fold 7’s now-paltry looking 4,400mAh. Back that up is up to 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.
The display is another strong point for the Razr Fold. It has a 6.6-inch 165Hz outer screen, with a 2520 x 1080 resolution, which, on its own, looks great. The Razr Fold unfolds to a sublime 8.1-inch 2484 x 2232 120Hz inner screen with a peak brightness of 6,200 nits. It also feels very responsive and looks color accurate, though I must admit it’s hard to truly check these things on the busy show floor.
Elsewhere, the Razr Fold features an array of very capable cameras, with a 50MP main camera, 50MP ultrawide, and a 50MP telephoto with 3x optical zoom.
This is Motorola’s first foldable, and we’re super keen to see how it works out under more intensive testing.
Honor Robot Phone
A much closer look, but still no touching
I actually saw Honor’s Robot Phone at CES 2026, where we received our first real preview of this intriguing device. But, at the time, it was strictly hands-off, and the device wasn’t powered on.
Now, at MWC 2026, Honor has gone a step further — an enormous stride, really — and officially “revealed” the Robot Phone. The big difference this time out was a working device, and its most unique feature, the integrated four-degrees-of-freedom gimbal system that pops out and looks around, was actually working.
Once the robotic gimbal head pops out, it can react to you with a basic level of engagement, such as nodding its head, shaking its head, following you around, and flipping around. Honor’s launch presentation also suggested it could engage with music, but I didn’t see this in practice.
As you might expect, the Robot Phone will be dripping with AI tech, with AI Object Tracking to follow you around, AI Spinshots to capture 90- and 180-degree video transitions, and a host of other enhancements that help merge this action cam-cum-smartphone into something practical.
It has to be said, the Robot Phone is cute. But whether its cuteness gets it over the line will be another thing, and I can’t wait to give it a proper try.
Vivo X300 Ultra
Ultra-powerful camera phone
I’m adding a quick word on the Vivo X300 Ultra.
I took a gander at what looks to be a super-powerful camera experience, complete with a 200MP telephoto camera with a 400mm lens that can deliver around 17x optical zoom.
It showcased the Vivo X300 Ultra in a full pro camera rig, set up to take video if you so wished. The rig was equipped with a cooling fan, grip mounts for mics and lighting, and so on.
As ever, GSM Arena has some early leaked specs for the actual device, suggesting it’ll likely feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5, up to 1TB storage and 16GB RAM, and a 7,000mAh silicon-carbon battery with 100W wired charging.
Again, take it with a pinch of salt, but the leaked specs also suggest it’ll feature two 200MP rear lenses, with a 50MP ultrawide to top it all off.
Either way, the Vivo X300 Ultra is shaping up to be a beast and is expected to launch globally in April.
Xiaomi 17 Ultra Leica Edition
The new go-to for high-end smartphone photography
Xiaomi’s 17 Ultra is another smartphone photography behemoth, featuring a best-in-class Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip, a 6,000 mAh silicon-carbon battery with 90W wired and 50W wireless charging, and up to 1TB storage and 16GB RAM.
That hardware is powering the Ultra 17’s substantial camera array, which includes a massive 200MP periscope telephoto lens with 75-100mm optical zoom and 1/4-inch sensor, a 50MP main camera with an enormous 1-inch LOFIC sensor and f/1.67 lens, and a 50MP ultrawide.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra also has two different Photography Kits to choose from. The regular Photography Kit is a slimmer version that feels more like a regular case with added shutter buttons, while the Photography Kit Pro steps it up with an extra grip, larger build, and importantly, an integrated 2,000 mAh battery.
This Brand Is Showing Samsung and Apple How AI Should Be Done
Honor’s AI Alpha Plan should make the industry leaders sit up and take note.
Nubia Neo 5 GT
Bringing premium features to a budget handset
Nubia always brings a slate of new phones to MWC, and the 2026 edition was no different. The Chinese smartphone manufacturer brought an expanded and upgraded Neo lineup, with the best of the bunch being the Neo 5 GT.
It’s a gaming-focused device, which means power and performance combined with some handy cooling and other unique features, some bearing the hallmarks of collaboration with sister-brand Redmagic.
The Nubia Neo 5 GT runs on MediaTek’s Dimensity 7400 chipset and Android 16, paired with 12GB RAM and up to 512GB storage. The front is dominated by a 6.8‑inch AMOLED panel with a 144Hz refresh rate, 1.5K resolution, and peak brightness of 4,500 nits, featuring a 16MP punch‑hole selfie camera.
On the back, there’s a decent 50MP main camera, with an auxiliary lens, but it has to be said, this isn’t the primary focus of the Neo 5 GT.
It’s all backed up by a substantial 6120mAh battery with 80W wired charging, along with a built-in active cooling fan and a massive vapor-chamber style cooling system to keep everything at a good temp when you’re gaming.
There are also pressure-sensitive shoulder zones rated at 550Hz, which Nubia calls “Neo Triggers 5.0,” along with 3,049Hz touch sampling for super accurate inputs while gaming.
What about the Samsung S26 Ultra?
Technically, the Samsung Galaxy S26-series didn’t launch at MWC 2026. Samsung opted to reveal its new phones at a separate event, as it always does.
But don’t get me wrong: the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra is a fantastic smartphone, and Samsung is already considering upgrades to its most eye-catching feature, the Privacy Display.
But if we’re keeping this all about MWC 2026, these are the best phones launched right here, right now.
