Another year, another Mobile World Congress. MWC 2024 in Barcelona is yet again full of tech that you can get now or in the coming weeks or months and those that are cool but probably need a bit more time in the proverbial oven. 

Here we list down the ones that we feel best capture what it was like to roam the show floor of Fira Gran Via in Barcelona. 

Best Photography Smartphone: Xiaomi 14 Ultra 

Nearly every smartphone these days is so damn good at the baseline stuff that only a few features separate them from one another. One such feature is the camera capabilities. Since announcing their partnership with Leica, Xiaomi has doubled down on delivering the best smartphone for photography that you can buy. That’s what the Xiaomi 14 Ultra is positioned as. 

On paper, it’s absolutely stacked with its quad-camera setup: 

• 50MP f/1.63 to f/4.0 Leica LYT-900 main camera with OIS
• 50MP f/1.8 IMX858 Leica floating telephoto camera with OIS
• 50MP f/2.5 IMX858 Leica periscope camera with OIS
• 50MP f/1.8 IMX 858 Leica ultra-wide camera with AF

All four rear cameras support up to 8K 30fps shooting. The main shooter can film 4K at 120fps and 4K at 60fps on Dolby Vision for smooth captures.

But what takes it even further and cements its claim as the best smartphone shooter is the camera grip accessory that makes it so you can hold it as if it were an actual camera. 

We can’t wait to review it and show you exactly what kind of photos it can take. 

Best Electric Vehicle: Xiaomi SU7

Let’s keep things in Xiaomi’s side of the fence because the Xiaomi Su7, although announced earlier in the year, was the absolute star of Xiaomi’s booth for MWC 2024. The teal electric vehicle was on a rotating platform so onlookers don’t have to move from their spot to be able to take it all in.

he Xiaomi SU7 is positioned as a “full-size high-performance eco-technology sedan.” It aims to push the limits performance, ecosystem, and mobile smart space.

Xiaomi will employ three key technologies for autonomous driving. These are: Adaptive BEV Technology, Road-Mapping Foundational Model, and Super-Res Occupancy Network Technology.

Best Laptop: HONOR MagicBook Pro 16

While Lenovo’s ThinkBook Transparent Display laptop caught much of everyone’s attention, it’s still just a concept – and a divisive one at that. The HONOR MagicBook Pro 16 largely flew under the radar. But not for us. 

The MagicBook Pro 16 is an AI-ready laptop that’s poised to challenge the MacBook Pro especially with the latter’s seamless connectivity with its peer devices. HONOR Connect will let you seamlessly use the MagicBook with the rest of your HONOR devices like the Magic6 Pro and HONOR Pad 9 for an extended work and recreation hub that should elevate your general computing experience. 

It’s nice to look ahead but it’s also good to be ready for the present. The MagicBook Pro 16 is a little bit of both – a taste of the future right now.

Best On-Device generative AI: MediaTek Dimensity 9300 

MediaTek showcased industry firsts in Generative AI, but our favorite was SDXL Turbo on device. Powered by MediaTek’s Dimensity 9300 which includes its latest 7th Gen AI processor, you can generate an image in real time with just a few keywords. A green cat eating cheese on a silver plate? It’s possible!

That’s not all. The MediaTek Dimensity 9300 is also capable of fast video diffusion generation as well as on-device Generative AI video diffusion. The demo showed a use case in which animated avatars are created from a camera and processed in real-time.

And this particular chip is coming sooner than you think. 

Best Gaming Smartphone Technology: Infinix

Infinix’s actual flagship gaming smartphone isn’t quite ready for the show yet, but they were so excited for what it can do that they just had to showcase its capabilities. Guess what’s powering it? Yep, the aforementioned MediaTek Dimensity 9300. 

Other than the generative AI capabilities, Infinix is using the chip to deliver on three other core elements: processor, graphics, and cooling system. 

They’ll use Pixelworks visual processors for high resolution and high refresh rates and CoolMax system for cooling. Moreover, the Infinix AI algorithm is designed to dynamically adjust core utilization. This will make the device play longer and better. It’s on-the-fly, AI optimization which the company is very proud of. 

Best Smartphone Concept: Motorola “BENDR” 

“BENDR” is just what we like to call it but that tells you everything you need to know. From software and AI stuff, we’re shifting to something more tangible and unbelievably bendable. 

First showed off at Lenovo Tech World 2023, this is our first time actually seeing the tech in person. They say it’s best to show than tell so, just watch this: 

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Best AR Device: OPPO Air Glass 3

OPPO’s been showing off the OPPO Air Glass since 2019 but it’s never quite hit the market yet. Now on its “3rd Generation” model, OPPO is also tapping on the power of AI. 

It can access OPPO’s AndesGPT model using a smartphone. The wearable leverages multimodal AI technology to process and interpret complex user scenarios, including voice and visual interactions.

With touch interaction, it can support control functions like music playback, voice calls, information display, and more.

Using the Air Glass app on users’ smartphones, they will only need to press the temple of the Air Glass 3 to activate the AI voice assistant as well. From there, they can perform a wide range of tasks.

Best Tablet: TCL NxtPaper 14 Pro

We’re slowly rounding out the list by bringing you all back to reality. Back to something more tangible and readily available. The TCL NXTPAPER 14 Pro is optimized for human eyes. NXT Paper 3.0 technology brings plenty of eye comfort features, chief of which is low blue light. 

The NXTPAPER 14 Pro has an expansive 14-inch 2.8K display which integrates CPL technology and DC dimming. Meant for productivity, it runs on a MediaTek Dimensity 8020 processor. The tablet also houses a 12,000mAh battery with 33W fast charging, and supports 12GB of RAM and 256GB internal storage.

Best Wearable: OnePlus Watch 2

Last and maybe actually least in this particular set of devices is the OnePlus Watch 2. It’s the long-awaited follow-up to OnePlus’s inaugural wrist wearable. Your usual smartwatch bells and whistles are here: everything from Health Monitoring, Workouts, Notifications and more. 

This one’s pretty big and not likely made for daintier wrists. But the size comes with the promise of 100 hours of battery life. Great for something that costs US$ 299.99.

Show floors of tech conferences are pretty hectic. That’s especially true for a brand like Xiaomi who announced a bunch of truly interesting products at MWC 2024. Below is a quick look at what was on display on the brand’s booth, all shot on the Xiaomi 14. 

Xiaomi 14 Ultra 

Xiaomi’s latest and greatest smartphone can be equipped with a camera grip like its predecessor. Predictably, it was flocked by many curious journalists and content creators eager to show off the product. 

The cameras have been the main selling point of these Xiaomi flagships even more so now after the company’s partnership with Leica. The Xiaomi 14, in particular, is being touted as a pro imagery flagship.

Here are the lenses its rocking: 

• 50MP f/1.63 to f/4.0 Leica LYT-900 main camera with OIS
• 50MP f/1.8 IMX858 Leica floating telephoto camera with OIS
• 50MP f/2.5 IMX858 Leica periscope camera with OIS
• 50MP f/1.8 IMX 858 Leica ultra-wide camera with AF

It’s a fascinating product for sure especially if you check it out with its entire photography kit. 

Xiaomi CyberDog 2

You’ve likely seen this on your social feed doing all sorts of neat tricks and what not. But what is it for exactly? Well, really, just that. 

It’s designed to be a lower-maintenance pet without the hassle of dealing with potential allergies and customary trips to the vet. And no dealing with random ‘droppings’ too if you catch our drift. 

It drew a significant amount of people doing everything from flips, running around, jumping, and even standing only on its two front feet. 

Xiaomi Watch S3

The most stylish(?) of Xiaomi’s trio of wearables announced at MWC 2024, the Xiaomi Watch S3 was on display for everyone’s appreciation. 

You can purchase it with different color straps and bezels so you can go all matchy-matchy or use different colors altogether for a more unconventional look.

On paper, it seems to be pretty much similar if not an improved version of Xiaomi’s Watch S series. 

Watch our unboxing.

Xiaomi Pad 6S Pro 

We don’t know much about this particular product. But if its predecessors are any indication, it’s another fine addition to Xiaomi’s reliable suite of Tablets. Something both for work and play.

Redmi Note 13 Pro, Redmi Buds 5 Pro

Redmi also had its own section in the booth. There you’ll find a bunch of Redmi Note 13 series smartphones on tap for everyone to play with. 

READ: The Redmi Note 13 Pro+ 5G almost had it all

Also on display are the Redmi Buds 5 Pro in three colors: White, Black, and Purple. 

Xiaomi Grooming Kit 

We all know Xiaomi is more than just the usual mobile phones and accessories. Also on display are its extended products like this Xiaomi Grooming Kit. It’s a fine collection of things to make sure you look sharp wherever you may be. 

Xiaomi SU7

The real star of the booth, though, is something that Xiaomi announced earlier in the year – the Xiaomi SU7. It’s the company’s very own electric car.

On paper, the Xiaomi SU7 is positioned as a “full-size high-performance eco-technology sedan.” It aims to push the limits of performance, ecosystem, and mobile smart space.

It boasts of three Independently-developed motors: the HyperEngine V6, HyperEngine V6s, and HyperEngine V8s. Read more about it here.

That’s it for our quick go round at the Xiaomi Booth for MWC 2024. All the photos were taken using the Xiaomi 14. We kept the watermark so you know which mode and lenses we used for each shot. 

Stay tuned for more on the Xiaomi 14 in the coming days and weeks.

TECNO’s appearance at MWC 2024 is only its second ever, but the company is taking its “Stop at Nothing” mantra to heart.

TECNO unveiled an intriguing lineup of devices in Barcelona, like the robotic dog Dynamic 1, a new gaming marvel POVA 6 Pro 5G, and the portable AR gaming combo Pocket Go.

The brand also reintroduced its rollable phone concept, the Phantom Ultimate. To top it all off, the company tackled the future of its devices by showcasing groundbreaking concept materials and technologies.

Chameleon Coloring Technology

First, TECNO introduced a chameleon coloring technology wherein the material uses sub-micron prisms to scatter visible light of different wavelengths.

This can achieve a full spectrum color display in fast response speeds of up to 0.03ms. Among its coloring functions are matching corresponding color effects and defining colors independently.

Glasses-free 3D experience

In the future, TECNO might also have smartphone (or other devices) displays that support 3D visuals without the need for special glasses.

The brand’s 3D Stereo Optical Grating material achieves a glasses-free 3D visual experience, depth of field effect, suspension effect, and more. Special composite materials are combined with columnar raster texture to achieve such effects.

Layered Fiberglass

Layered fiberglass is a lightweight material that offers superior performance compared to ordinary glass. It is stronger, more bend resistant and ductile, and weighs less.

The layered fiberglass material uses an optical coating process to obtain a metal-like luster. Compared to a spraying process, this provides a smoother and more comfortable touch.

Displays stand to benefit from this technology in the future when pursued. It will offer users practical advantages, like a lighter smartphone and anti-fingerprint screen.

Colored Textured Glass

TECNO is also experimenting with another material: colored textured glass. As seen on the visuals, this might used in smartphone cases accompanying TECNO’s future offerings.

In order to get colored textured glass, molten liquids of different colored glasses are mixed evenly through a specific process.

This leads to a pure and long-lasting appearance with the color present on the entire body. It can even be customized to achieve the desired effect, whether gem-like or ceramic-like.

Fragrance Leather, Fabric Leather, Color Blending Leather

It seems TECNO is also exploring ways to provide more personalization to the exteriors of devices.

First, TECNO is looking at infusing fragrance into leather back covers. To achieve this, fragrant microcapsules are combined with the leather during the production process. The final material retains odor through time with this process.

The company is also considering fabric leather. In this case, high-performance organosilicone fabric replaces polyurethane coating. Silicone fabric has many advantages, such as being easier to clean and being odor-free.

As for phone back covers, TECNO is researching about color blending leather to create fluid art on the leather surface. Smartphone manufacturers have been using leather for the back covers of devices. However, limitations lead to just single-colored or two-tone designs.

Borderless foldable main screen

TECNO is also looking at completely removing bezels around the foldables’ main screens.

This will lead to a much higher screen-to-body ratio on the larger-screen devices.

Satellite Communication Technology

Lastly, the company is looking to tap satellite communication technology, so users can maintain contact in environments with poor or no signal.

This will be useful for activities such as camping, hiking, and mountaineering, giving users added safety.