MWC Barcelona 2026: All the New Tech, Phones, Wearables and AI We’re Expecting to See

Every year, around the time we see the first signs of spring, CNET takes its retreat to Barcelona for the Mobile World Congress.

This is the most important mobile exhibition in the world, and one of the most exciting events in the technology calendar. This year, we’re sending a bigger team to bring you all the show news as it happens.

It’s set to be a slew of new phones and wearables, with a weird robot thrown in for good measure. Sure, some of the exciting tech we see at MWC doesn’t make it to the wider world, but we’ve also seen some of our favorite tech at the show over the years — so expect a little bit of both.

Big themes are set to include AI and 6G, and with keynotes from SpaceX and Qualcomm, we’ll undoubtedly get a solid glimpse of the future of mobile. With Gemini in all and satellite dominance on the horizon, it’s an exciting time for the industry.

Here’s more of what we expect to see.

What are the important dates for MWC?

MWC 2026 is set to run from March 2 to 5, although we’ll be in town a few days earlier to report on some of the big launch events scheduled for this weekend. Don’t miss Xiaomi’s launch event on Feb. 28 and the Honor event in March. 1.

How to watch

No matter how far you live from Spain, there’s no need to feel like you’re missing out. The best place for all the latest MWC news is on our CNET live blog.

We’ve been attending the show for decades (this is the 20th year of MWC in Barcelona), and we have a team of experienced journalists and reviewers on the ground.

We will show you everything we find interesting and important, and we don’t just recommend new products from afar. We touch, we chat and we try not to leave, so make sure you follow us across Bluesky, Instagram, TikTok, X and YouTube, too.

What phones to expect at MWC 2026

For the past few years, Chinese phone makers have dominated MWC, and 2026 looks to be no different.

The phone’s first major launch event is scheduled for 6 a.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 28, when we expect Xiaomi to unveil its latest camera-focused flagship. We loved the Xiaomi 15 Ultraand the 14 Ultra before it, so we’re excited to see what the company has in store for us. The teaser image hints at its collaboration with premium camera brand Leica and promises a “new wave of photography.”

Next, we have Honor on Sunday, March 1, when the company has announced that it will launch its Magic V6 phone, alongside the MagicPad 4 and MagicBook Pro 14. Perhaps even more exciting, Honor said it will give us a first look at a working version of its Robot Phone, and will also unveil a humanoid robot at its event.

For some phone makers, MWC may have served as part of a triumph for their existing devices — particularly Samsung, which held its event in San Francisco this week to unveil its flagship S26 series. Motorola will be in town, possibly showing off The Razrsuch as Samsung Galaxy TriFoldit is still to be seen more in Europe.

Overall, MWC 2026 is likely to be the biggest show for foldable phones, which, according to Ben Wood, CMO and senior analyst at CCS Insight, “is now becoming a mature category.”

Another big trend in the phone space is likely to be a focus on batteries, especially silicon carbon-based technology, Wood said at the MWC preview session. “We expect to see phones with the biggest batteries we’ve seen in a long time, [with] fast charging — perhaps 300-watt charging — is being introduced,” he added.

What other technologies can you expect at MWC 2026

After the early flops that were the Humane AI Pin and the Rabbit R1, we are seeing more companies moving to jump on the wearable AI bandwagon. We expect to see a number of devices and demos from MWC — perhaps trying to get through OpenAI and Jony Ive to the punch.

This will include AI- and AR-based glasses, said CCS Insight analyst Ben Hatton during the company’s briefing session. “We expect to see a lot of spectacle this year, not just from Meta, but also from the younger players, [like] TCL and Oppo, they want to take a piece of the pie,” he said.

One of the key challenges for these companies will be differentiation, Hatton said. “Ultimately, there’s still a long way to go before these become mainstream market products,” he added, pointing out that at this stage, compelling use cases have yet to taper off.

It’s been two years since Samsung introduced the Galaxy Ring at MWC, and smart rings have been thin on the ground ever since — even though Oura CEO. Tom Hale He is expected to speak at this show. We don’t really expect to see new rings this year, but there’s always an outside chance.

Most likely, a slew of new laptops and tablets will emerge. They rarely get top billing at MWC, but we’ll always be on the lookout for more exciting launches. There could also be some interesting concepts at the show from the likes of Lenovo and Samsung Display, which are responsible for the technology behind the new Galaxy S26 Ultra’s scene-stealing Privacy Display.

Major themes: AI, 6G and beyond

It’s no surprise here that AI will be a big theme at MWC. For the past few years, Google has been dominating the AI ​​conversation at the event by showcasing the capabilities of Gemini and its widespread integration. Will this year be different? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean the AI ​​conversation has stopped.

We expect to see more advanced AI agents integrated deeper into wearables, providing live interpretation, more actionable health insights and personalized experiences. Some of the biggest players in the AI ​​game will be there, including Nvidia and Qualcomm, on the hardware side. They’ll probably be keeping sweet announcements for the program and, hopefully, have fun demos for us to try.

Turn the clock back a decade, and everyone was talking about 5G and what a huge difference it would make to our lives. Now that 5G is old news, we’re looking forward to 6G. Much of the discussion about 6G so far has focused on its impact on the industry, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to be excited about.

At a Web conference in November, Qualcomm CEO Cristiano Amon told me that 6G will make our phones faster than ever and connect us to an “always-on network.” This could include wearables, smart devices, cars and even robots. No doubt, Amon will elaborate on this subject during his MWC keynote, which is about 6G and AI.

Another theme that may be prevalent in the show is the role of satellites in improving network connectivity. SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell will be on stage to talk about Starlink, and all the major carriers in the world will have their own booths where they will show us what they are doing to get into the latest network technology.