MWC 2026 formally will get underway on March 2 and can proceed by March 5, however the bulletins are already coming forward of its begin. We are able to at all times rely on the annual tech occasion to convey tons of recent telephones, laptops and tablets, and we’re anticipating to see some robots and different devices too — plus loads of AI information, after all. Along with the bulletins, MWC is our probability to get hands-on time with a few of the most attention-grabbing new units, just like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.
Engadget’s Mat Smith is on the bottom in Barcelona, and we’ll be updating this story because the week goes on to maintain you within the loop on every little thing that caught our consideration. Maintain checking again right here for the most recent MWC information.
Xiaomi x Leica
Mat Smith for Engadget
Xiaomi kicked off MWC this 12 months by asserting the worldwide launch of its 17 Extremely smartphone, which debuted first in China again in December. It is unclear if the cellphone will ever come to the US, but it surely’s now rolling out in Europe. Xiaomi teamed up once more with Leica to make a photography-focused smartphone, and the 17 Extremely sports activities a 1-inch 50-megapixel digital camera sensor with a f/1.67 lens, a telephoto setup with a 200MP 1/1.4-inch sensor, and a 50MP ultrawide digital camera. There’s additionally a guide zoom ring across the digital camera.
Try our fingers on for our first impressions of what it is like taking pictures with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. And there is extra to it than simply the digital camera. The 17 Extremely has a 6.9-inch OLED 120 Hz show that peaks at 3,500 nits of brightness, and a 6000mAh silicon-carbon battery. The Xiaomi 17 Extremely begins at £1,299 (roughly $1,750).
Leica additionally introduced a brand new cellphone made in partnership with Xiaomi at MWC. It seems an entire lot like Xiaomi’s 17 Extremely, however is not the 17 Extremely, precisely.
Leica Leitzphone by Xiaomi hands-on at MWC 2026 (Picture by Mat Smith for Engadget)
Just like the 17 Extremely, Leica’s Leitzphone by Xiaomi has a 1-inch digital camera sensor and bodily controls for zoom and different settings, utilizing a mechanical ring across the digital camera unit. It incorporates a Leica-designed intuitive digital camera interface with the choice to indicate simply the necessities if you’re taking pictures, hiding all of the modes and labels. There is a monochrome taking pictures mode and Leica filters.
The Leica branding is splashed throughout it in design and wallpapers, but it surely’s in any other case fairly just like the 17 Extremely, with the identical specs. Just like the 17 Extremely, it has a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and a 6.9-inch 120Hz show. This one’s priced at €1,999 (roughly $2,362).
The Xiaomi Pad 8 Professional (Xiaomi)
Along with the 17 Extremely, Xiaomi introduced two new tablets at MWC this 12 months: the Xiaomi Pad 8 and Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro. There’s nothing revolutionary right here, however they’re light-weight and skinny, with each being 5.75mm thick and weighing 485g, and have a 9200mAh battery. The Professional mannequin is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, whereas the common Pad 8 makes use of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset.
Xiaomi additionally unveiled a brand new 5000mAh powerbank, the UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 15W. The 6mm thick energy financial institution is available in three colours with an aluminum alloy shell: orange, silver and charcoal grey. Together with that, the corporate launched the Xiaomi Tag, its personal tackle the Bluetooth merchandise tracker. The Xiaomi Tag has a built-in hanging loop so it may be connected on to a keyring, and the corporate says it’ll work with each Apple Discover My and Google’s Discover Hub for Android.
Honor MagicPad 4
Honor
Forward of MWC, Honor introduced what it claims is the thinnest Android pill on this planet: the 4.8mm thick MagicPad 4. We’re anticipating to listen to extra about this at Honor’s press convention on Sunday, however thus far we all know it incorporates a 12.3-inch 165Hz OLED show and weighs simply 450g. It comes with as much as 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset. The thinness does not rely the digital camera bump, Honor notes. The MagicPad 4 has 13MP rear and 9MP entrance cameras. It additionally boasts spatial audio, with eight audio system.
Simply because the show is barely smaller than the earlier MagicPad, the MagicPad 4 has a smaller battery at 10100 mAh. It comes with a 66W quick charger. The MagicPad 4 will run Honor’s MagicOS 10. We do not but understand how a lot it’ll price, however we’ll replace this after Honor’s press convention (the place we’re additionally anticipating to see the corporate’s robotic) with any new particulars.
Tecno
Tecno
We are able to at all times count on to see some wild cellphone ideas at MWC, and this 12 months we’re beginning with one from Tecno. The corporate unveiled a modular idea smartphone design that may be as skinny as 4.9mm in its base configuration. There’d be 10 modules to select from primarily based on the announcement, together with varied digital camera lenses, a gaming attachment and an influence financial institution, counting on magnets to maintain all of it collectively — or Modular Magnetic Interconnection Know-how, as Tecno is asking it.
