A phone that starts fires? 21 wild MWC 2026 award winners
#4 isn't your average burner phone. I just saw the future: 20,000mAh batteries, modular PCs, and robot smartphones
We just flew 3,800 miles* from NYC to Barcelona, Spain, for Mobile World Congress 2026 – and we got a glimpse at the future of tech and a lesson on Spanish wine and tapas. 🍷
MWC 2026 gave us a chance to see wild gadget concepts, the latest in foldable phones, and a glimpse of our 6G + AI future that’s going to be like “FaceTime on steroids,” as foretold by Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire in our exclusive interview. Curious about the next-generation of mobile technology and the cutting-edge companies at the forefront of advancing it? Well, The Shortcut has you covered.
It’s time to break out the trophies and break down The Shortcut’s MWC 2026 award winners, just like we did for CES 2026, IFA 2025, and Computex 2025.
*One of us flew 6,420 miles from San Francisco for Samsung Unpacked… but who’s counting?
🏆 And the Best of MWC 2026 Awards go to…
Lenovo Legion Go Fold Concept
Your Nintendo Switch 2 sure can’t do this! As one of the most attention-grabbing concepts at the show, Lenovo’s foldable version of the Legion Go 2 might be the coolest handheld gaming console of all time. The display portion measures 7.7 inches when folded, and the controls on either side make it look and feel familiar. But unfold its screen, and you get a nearly 12-inch canvas for playing games. What’s more, Lenovo designed a keyboard for it, turning it into a mini Windows 11 laptop. It’s versatility at its finest.
Honor Robot Phone
Talk about turning heads! Robots and AI were the focal point of what Honor had to show off at MWC, and the Robot Phone was the one thing that simply couldn’t be ignored. It has an auto-collapsing gimbal on the back that brings its 200MP camera to life, both for taking pictures and videos as well as interacting with the phone. It can pan for cinematic videos, follow your face during video calls, and respond to voice commands with head nods and shakes. It brings the phone to life in a way no other phone has done before, which could be a sign that Honor wants your phone to be more reactive in the future.
Motorola Razr Fold
Hello Hola, Moto! We finally got to go hands-on with the Motorola Razr Fold at MWC, and we left our briefing very impressed. The phone has a beautiful design that comes in two colors, and Motorola says it focused a lot on ensuring it was plenty durable. It also has the best camera system on any folding phone, according to Moto, which is a bold claim we’re excited to put to the test. Motorola might be late to the game for large-screen foldables, but it’s clear it wants to compete with the big dogs.
Oukitel WP63
A real trailblazer! This isn’t your average burner phone. The Oukitel WP63 is the perfect rugged phone that can be literally anything. It has an extremely beefy design, a humongous 20,000mAh battery, and one feature we’ve never seen on a smartphone before: an electric igniter. Yes, you can start fires with this phone – unlike other notable phones that have done it by accident. Reps from the company demoed the feature to us by lighting a cigarette, and it indeed worked. It’s only going to be priced at $399, too, so it might make sense to pick this up as your emergency phone for camping trips.
Xiaomi Leica Leitzphone
I Leica-it! I Leica-it a lot! Xiaomi is taking smartphone photography to a new level with its Leica Leitzphone. It’s a variation of the 17 Ultra with a physically rotating ring around its camera system for zoom. It comes equipped with an impressive camera system with a primary 1-inch sensor, a professional camera app with different lighting and color profiles, and Leica’s expert photo processing magic.
Qualcomm Snapdragon Wear Elite
Wear intelligence meets elegance! Qualcomm’s new chip for wearable devices is one of the biggest upgrades we’ve seen from them in years. The new Snapdragon Wear Elite is designed for anything you can wear - think watches, glasses, pendants, and more - and transforms them from ordinary gadgets to full-on AI devices. It’s much faster than the previous Snapdragon W5 chipsets, it has its own NPU for processing AI, and it’s gonna start popping up a lot in new devices.
Nothing Phone (4a)
Cotton Candy pink & blue? That’s a bold strategy, Cotton. We found the best colors in a phone come from Nothing’s Phone 4a, and it’s under $500. This transparent phone is the brand’s latest handset with a fashion-focused look, yet solid specs. There are plenty of reasons to like the Phone (4a), even if you just wanna obsess over its design.
Honor Magic V6
Folds perfectly, washes easily! The Magic V6 has pulled off what no other folding phone has done before: an IP69 rating. That means the device is as safe against water and dirt as a normal smartphone, and it can even withstand water jets (y’know, if you ever wanna throw your phone in the dishwasher). Combined with a premium design and flagship specs, it had no issue standing out on the MWC show floor.
Xiaomi Tag
The Apple AirTag we really wanted! Xiaomi’s take on an AirTag has a lot going for it. The biggest perk? A built-in clip so you can easily attach it to your stuff, which is one of the biggest annoyances of Apple’s trackers. What’s more, it works with Find My and Google’s Find Hub on Android, it’s IP67 rated, and it lasts for over a year on a full battery.
Soundcore Space 2
A sequel worth a listen! Anker’s Soundcore Space 2 headphones make some key upgrades for those shopping on a budget. These over-ear cans come with up to 70 hours of battery life, which is nearly double what you can get from higher-end headphones like Sony’s WH-1000XM6. They also come with a more advanced noise cancellation system to keep more of the focus on the music you play. Plus, you can get them in a variety of fun colors, all for $130.
Lenovo ThinkBook Modular AI PC Concept
The ultimate part-y trick! If you’ve ever wanted to swap out parts on your laptop at your leisure, one of Lenovo’s newest concept laptops might be up your alley. The ThinkBook Modular AI PC Concept lets you remove virtually everything from the laptop – we’re talking ports, the keyboard, and even the display. You can swap the keyboard for a second screen, HDMIs for USB-Cs, and customize it exactly to your liking. While still a concept, it’s not far off from what we’ve seen from companies like Framework, so maybe there’s a shot this disassembly-friendly ThinkBook will ship one day.
TCL RayNeo Air 4 Pro Limited Justice Edition
Throw some shade as The Batman! One of the most fun gadgets we saw at MWC was a special edition of TCL’s popular RayNeo Air 4 Pro smart glasses. The company unveiled a new Limited Justice Edition that comes with a lens shade designed to resemble Batman’s mask. There’s also a version that looks like the Joker. The shade is light enough not to weigh down the glasses at all, and you’ll fit in perfectly in Gotham City next time you visit.
Honor MagicPad 4
Pure magic out of thin air! Honor announced a new tablet called the MagicPad 4, and it set a new record as one of the thinnest tablets of all time. At just 4.8mm thick, it’s thinner than Apple’s iPad Pro, which measures 5.1mm. The best part? Honor didn’t skimp out on the specs. There’s a big 12.3-inch OLED display, eight speakers, a Snapdragon 8 Gen 5, and a big 10,100mAh battery.
Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo
Driven by imagination! Concept cars are a whole lot of fun to explore at shows like MWC, and Xiaomi brought some heat. Its Vision Gran Turismo concept car is ripped right from Gran Turismo 7, sporting a futuristic design that’s meant to be as aerodynamic as possible. There’s a ton of engineering poured into this car, with features like the Active Wake Control System, Accretion Rims, and its “Sofa Racer” interior meant to deliver the thrills of a supercar from a video game, but in real life. That’s exactly what we got from the company, and even though it’s not going to ship, it’s still a marvel to behold.
Motorola Nursery PIP1710 Connect
Smart enough for your little genius! Keeping an eye on your newborn has become a lot easier with all of the smart baby monitors on the market, and Motorola had an interesting one on display at MWC. Its PIP1710 Connect features a 1080p camera that can pan around to check on your child through the Motorola Nursery app. It supports two-way talking, room temperature monitoring, and built-in encryption to keep the feed private. It also uses its unique BeyondCry AI feature to identify when your child is hungry, sleeping, irritated, uncomfortable, and might need to belch.
Tecno Modular Magnetic Phone
Attractive in every way! Tecno’s coolest concept phone at MWC was the Modular Magnetic Phone. It’s an impressively thin phone that you can stack magnetic modules on top of, including various camera lenses, battery packs, wireless microphones, wallets, and more. It allows you to customize your phone’s hardware to the way you want and add new functionality, sort of how LG’s G5 did years ago. The Modular Magnetic Phone seemed a lot more intuitive and useful in Tecno’s demo, so we’re crossing our fingers that something like this ships one day.
Huawei MatePad Mini
No glare, all flare! There’s something about having a tiny tablet in your bag that can be convenient for travel, and we wanted to take Huawei’s MatePad Mini on our flight back to New York City for that reason. The tablet has a slim design that weighs just 255 grams, an 8.8-inch screen with tiny bezels, and support for Huawei’s M-Pencil Pro 2. It diffuses reflections thanks to a special coating on the display, there’s 256GB of storage, and it even has a rear 50MP camera.
Oukitel WP500 Ultra
Privacy at the push of a killswitch! Oukitel WP500 Ultra isn’t just a rugged phone; it’s a professional-grade tool featuring the world’s first AI-powered thermal imaging system on a mobile device. Using a high-res 640x512 sensor, it can actually “see” heat to find leaks or overheating tech.
Perhaps even cooler is the physical “Privacy Kill Switch” on the side. With one click, you cut all power to the GPS, microphones, and cameras at the hardware level – something software alone just can’t do. Throw in a massive 10,000mAh battery, a powerful Dimensity 8300 chip, and a 108MP camera, and you have a $399 survival phone that’s as smart as it is tough.
Eufy C28 Omni Robot Vacuum
Ready for any mess-ion! Eufy came to MWC with a brand-new robot vacuum cleaner that seems like a great value. The C28 Omni is a step-up over the brand’s C20 series with a new HydroJet self-cleaning roller mop to scrub away stains, a more powerful vacuum cleaner, a fully automatic docking station, and AI obstacle avoidance. Eufy also optimized the vacuum cleaner to perform better in low light and under your furniture. It’s priced at $799.99.
Vivo X300 Ultra
The ultimate lens-setter! Vivo went big on the camera for its X300 Ultra smartphone at MWC. Not only does it come with features like a 200MP telephoto sensor, but it’s also compatible with accessories like Vivos’ Zeiss Telephoto Extender Gen 2 Ultra, which gets you a 400mm equivalent lens for the back of your phone. This essentially turns the camera into a DSLR, complete with “gimbal-grade” image stabilization. It’s also compatible with a special camera cage for perfectly framing your photo before you take it. It’s an ambitious smartphone that generated a lot of hype.
TCL NXTPAPER 70 Pro
Paper-thin power for days! TCL makes a lot of smartphones that can last for multiple days on a charge, all thanks to its NXTPAPER technology that gives the display an E Ink-like appearance. The company announced the new NXTPAPER 70 Pro at MWC, and one of its biggest perks is lasting for a week on a charge when using Ink Paper mode. We got to check out the device at the show, and we were impressed with how clear the display looks and all the different modes you can use it in. It’s a unique device that’s perfect for anyone who reads a lot on their phone (or just wants their phone to last a long time).