rss-bridge 2026-02-28T17:34:44+00:00

MWC 2026 Updates: All the News, Reveals and Concepts Debuting in Barcelona

The world's most important mobile show kicks off on Monday and will show off wild phone concepts along with new devices launching later this year.

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MWC 2026 Updates: All the News, Reveals and Concepts Debuting in Barcelona

The world's most important mobile show kicks off on Monday and will show off wild phone concepts along with new devices launching later this year.

[Image: Headshot of Mike Sorrentino]

Mike Sorrentino

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[Image: Headshot of Abrar Al-Heeti]

Abrar Al-Heeti

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[Image: Headshot of Andrew Lanxon]

Andrew Lanxon

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[Image: Headshot of Patrick Holland]

Patrick Holland

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[Image: Headshot of Katie Collins]

Katie Collins

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[Image: Headshot of Jeff Carlson]

Jeff Carlson

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[Image: Headshot of Vanessa Hand Orellana]

Vanessa Hand Orellana

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Mike Sorrentino

Abrar Al-Heeti

Andrew Lanxon

Patrick Holland

Katie Collins

Jeff Carlson

Vanessa Hand Orellana

Feb. 28, 2026 9:34 a.m. PT

[Image: The letters MWC stand in front the entrance to the building.]

The entrance to Mobile World Congress in 2025.

Tara Brown/CNET*

Mobile World Congress 2026 is kicking off on Monday, teeing up a week that's likely to be filled with product announcements and futuristic phone concepts.

Our expectations for this year's MWC 2026 include upcoming phones that we already know about -- including the Nothing Phone 4A that's set to launch March 5 -- along with launch events from companies like Xiaomi and Honor. Motorola's also attending, and considering the company revealed its upcoming Razr Fold at CES 2026, we'd expect the company to provide more details about the book-style folding phone.

We've also historically seen concepts at MWC that have never made it beyond the development stage but are still so cool to see. That's included Motorola debuting a flexible phone concept that you can wear on your wrist and Lenovo showing a solar-charging laptop.

And even though Apple isn't expected to attend MWC, it's quite possible that the company might be debuting the rumored iPhone 17E over the course of the week. Apple has announced that it's going to be making new product announcements starting Monday in the lead-up to a March 4 event in New York, London and Shanghai. We'll certainly be keeping an eye out in case a new iPhone is one of them.

We'll be covering all the reveals, concepts and fun highlights we find in Barcelona in this live blog. Keep checking back for more updates.

Live

10 hours ago

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My first hours with the Galaxy S26 strolling around Barcelona

David Lumb

[Image: A light blue smartphone rests face down on a wooden table.]

David Lumb/CNET

One does not simply walk through Barcelona -- one strolls, carouses, even gallivants through the beautiful Catalan city that will play host to MWC 2026 in the coming days. I've got the Samsung Galaxy S26 to accompany me on my jaunts through Spain's most famous coastal burg, and I've spent all morning using it to shoot photos of the towering Sagrada Familia, the stunning Sant Pau (an Art Nouveau former hospital) and more.

The Galaxy S26 is a handy little phone -- or at least, it feels little despite its 6.3-inch screen being ever so slightly larger than its 6.2-inch predecessor, the Galaxy S25. I'm pretty sure that the phone's 167-gram weight and 7.2mm thickness (same as the S25) is thin enough to make it easier to hold while taking photos than heftier devices, and I'm personally a fan of the flat sides. It's nice to hold; now I've gotta find all of its software's little quirks, including all its new AI features.

Stay tuned as I discover more ways that the newest top-tier Android handset will help me get through the year's biggest phone show.

Live

10 hours ago

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Xiaomi unveils its first hypercar for Gran Turismo

Katie Collins

[Image: hypercar]

The car is called the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo.

Andrew Lanxon/CNET*

Something you might not know about Xiaomi is that, as well as making phones that continue to impress us, the company also makes electric vehicles.

At its launch event on Saturday in Barcelona for the Leica Leitzphone by Xiaomi, the company surprised everyone by showing off its first hypercar for Gran Turismo, the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo. This concept car will be on display at Xiaomi's booth at MWC, and we're already excited to see this vision of the automotive future close up. Keep an eye on the live blog for more photos as we're able to grab 'em.

Live

13 hours ago

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On the ground at MWC testing the Galaxy S26 Ultra vs. iPhone 17 Pro Max

Patrick Holland

[Image: S26 Ultra Horizontal Lock]

Horizontal lock was one of a handful of AI-powered features that Samsung included on the Galaxy S26 Ultra to help your videos look level.

Abrar Al-Heeti/CNET*

CNET has several writers on the ground in Barcelona to cover this year's MWC convention. And while the show doesn't start until Mon. Mar. 2, CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti is using the early time to test the Galaxy S26 Ultra. She took the new Samsung phone out to try its new Horizontal lock video recording feature which keeps your video's horizon level no matter how much you shake, twist or rotate the phone. In early tests we've been impressed by how well it works which you can see clearly in the video below of our side-by-side test against the iPhone 17 Pro Max.

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Live

1 day ago

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What we expect at MWC 2026

Mike Sorrentino

[Image: A statue of the Android mascot at MWC]

Google's exhibit at MWC 2025 was Android Avenue.

Tara Brown/CNET*

Mobile World Congress is one of the biggest showcase events for the mobile phone industry. Taking place in Barcelona, the annual conference features everything from high-profile phone launches to the display of wild concepts that sometimes hint at future products in development.

CNET Principal Writer Katie Collins has been attending MWC for years and has put together a roundup of what we're expecting to see from this year's event.

Read more: MWC Barcelona 2026: All the New Tech, Phones, Wearables and AI We Expect to See

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[Original source](https://www.cnet.com/news-live/mwc-2026-news-updates-product-announcements/)