Recapping the best of the MWC 2024 conference is no small feat considering the range of larger-than-life devices we saw showcased this year. The smartphones were some of the biggest eye grabbers of course, but AI wearables were a category that expanded in multiple interesting directions. From making us redo our Humane AI Pin review to tempting us with the Tecno Robotic dog that is as advanced as we need robots to get right now, there was a lot going on at the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona. Even Google decided to pause its product launch in favor of announcing updates to its Gemini AI chatbot, a valiant effort after it spent the last few days fending off controversies over inaccuracy.
Augmented reality was another trend at the event and there was no dearth of troopers bringing in their own visually delightful offerings. The Oppo Air Glass 3 prototype was uniquely simplistic in its ambition to unite XR tech with AI, and HTC VIVE didn’t hold back on providing a whole ecosystem of possibilities with their technology. XPANCEO said hold my headset and took their ideas even further, with four contact lens prototypes, one of which could potentially bring XR straight to your eyes. The ideas remain in a piecemeal state considering the varying prototypes, but they’re clearly onto something groundbreaking.
Best of MWC 2024—Out Top 5 Picks from the Mobile World Congress Event
It feels awfully limiting to pick just five launches to mark the best of the MWC 2024 event considering that each brand had something innovative to offer up, but we’re going to try to narrow down our list and focus on why each one stood out to us this time around.
The Lenovo Transparent Laptop
Despite its limitations, the prototype of the Lenovo transparent laptop was a stunning display of technology that showcased how we were far from meeting the limits of what we can do with a computer. The transparent screen paired with the stylus compatibility could make for a useful device for many professionals in different spaces. If it were ever officially released, we’re certain that users would pick up the device, if just for the novelty of owning a see-through laptop. Titled “Project Crystal,” it showcased Lenovo’s own innovation and paired with Azumo’s Nano-Thin Film Illumination (Nano-TFI) technology, it also showed us the power of collaboration. While the transparent display is cool, the ability to use the projected keyboard might just be the most noteworthy part of this technology.
The issues with clarity, privacy, and the overall delicacy of the device do make it difficult to imagine that the device could ever see a public release, however, the Lenovo transparent laptop does pull at your imagination in terms of what you could expect the future to look like. It stood out very easily as among the best at MWC 2024.
The Samsung Ring
Another device that basked in the spotlight at the tech event was the Samsung Ring. The company has been teasing the device since the Galaxy Unpacked event in January, and it continues to playfully bat away making any commitments on what exactly we can expect around the Samsung Ring. Despite the lack of details, Samsung is quite a reliable brand when it comes to health tracking and it’s very likely that their smart ring will be a compact but reliable addition to the AI wearables category if they incorporate their AI pursuits here as well.
Samsung displayed its sleek rings during the MWC and its three simplistic colors and clean design were quite appealing. More than celebrating the ring itself, we seem to feel greater enthusiasm for what it means for the smart wearables industry. Big mainstream players like Google and Apple have kept away from devising their own products so far, but rumors indicated that the Samsung Ring has pushed Apple to speed up its work on a smart ring of its own. Chinese brand Honor also announced that it had its own ring in the works, so we’re hoping to see smart rings really take off by 2025, with a greater selection of design and detail in tow.
Tecno Pocket Go
We’d be making a big mistake leaving out the gaming category of devices while recollecting the best of the MWC 2024 gathering. Tecno made sure you would remember its name, making a couple of different announcements. The Tecno Pocket Go was one of the most interesting next steps for handheld gaming, taking a screen-free console and finishing the viewing experience with AR glasses. The device comes built with an AMD Ryzen 8840HS chipset and 16GB RAM with 1TB storage. The console itself is a powerhouse but the Pocket Vision AR glasses are what seal the deal, promising a portable AR gaming experience wherever you go.
Apart from the Tecno Pocket Go, we also saw the Tecno Robotic dog which they market as a little companion to keep by your side. The robotic dog doesn’t seem to do too much other than move around and listen to some basic instructions, but that’s quite alright for now. We don’t think we need a realistic mechanical pet just yet. The Robo dog doesn’t seem ready for a release but we could see the Tecno Pocket Go launch sooner rather than later.
Infinix Colour Changing Phone
Who doesn’t love customizability? While other brands give you a few options of phone colors to choose from, the prototype of the Infinix color-changing phone offers the ability to change the color of the entire back panel along a pre-specified pattern whenever you want. While color may be a small detail to some, the technology that appears to have gone into designing the device is quite unique and promises to have a very novel effect on how we perceive smartphones in the future.
Asus with its lights on the rear end of its ROG phones and Nothing Phones with the patterned glyphs on the back of the device are just some of the many ways we’re seeing tech expand to the device as a whole rather than just the resolution of your front screen. In continuation of this tech, the Infinix color-changing phone seems like the obvious next step for the evolution of a smartphone.
Xiaomi 14 Ultra
Not one to be intimidated by the flagship phones of other major smartphone players, Xiaomi appears to have its eyes set on making a mark internationally. The Xiaomi 14 Ultra secured an international release and seeing the innovation being this “camera phone” we’re quite certain it should perform well. With its Leica partnership and its Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, the phone promises to live up to every expectation you could have of a smartphone right now. It looks great, feels great, and most importantly, works quite well too.
Not to box itself into one department, the company also marketed its Xiaomi SU7 EV during the event and the fast-moving car seems like a dream.
While these are our top picks for the best of MWC 2024, there has to be a special mention made of the Samsung and Motorola bending phones—smartphones that go beyond the very basic idea we have of these devices. We can’t possibly fathom why we would want to risk breaking our already delicate smartphones by testing their flexibility, but as a concept, it is one we can’t stop talking about. And now that we are done talking about all the releases like the Samsung ring, the Tecno Pocket Go and all the other announcements, it’s time to sit around and hope for a release.
