MWC Is Where Cutting-Edge Phones Shine. Worst case you probably won’t buy them again
People have been criticizing for years monotony of smartphone design. With each release of the year, companies tend to reuse the same features — if not more they borrow from each other — with minimal improvements and aesthetic changes, resulting in an uninspiring sea of sameness and predictability.
That’s why at every tech event I’ve been to in the last few years, the crowds are so eager connecting phones bypassing hardware limitations. This year’s Mobile World Congress was no exception. I moved through the crowds of people pushing each other to hold hands it folds up, inflatable again Ultraslim devices.
Some of these phones are already available for purchase, like this one Samsung Galaxy Z Trifold again Huawei Mate XTs. Others are still concepts, like Tecno’s superthin Phantom Ultimate G Fold and its Modular phone. A few others I’ve seen are on their way to stocking shelves, like Honor’s Robot Phone and Motorola book style The Razr Fold.
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As our smartphone options expand, our collective preferences remain largely the same. Global foldable phone shipments have reached a record year-on-year growth rate of 14% in the third quarter of 2025, according to Counterpoint Research. But their share of the overall smartphone market was 2.5% in that quarter, keeping foldables strong in the niche sector. Thin phones like Apple’s iPhone Air and Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Edge have reportedly underperformed, as marketing stories don’t match real-world adoption. Even at a tech conference like The MWCI rarely saw attendees carrying anything other than a regular slab phone.
“Just because something looks good, doesn’t mean you want it at the end of the day,” said IDC Senior Research Director Nabila Popal. he told me in December.
Innovation and adoption are always two different circles in the world of mobile design. It’s refreshing to see phone manufacturers getting involved in the more ambitious, but that setup still boils down to the basics. And maybe that’s by design; something can only be buzz-worthy if not everyone owns it. But the argument that there’s a dearth of interesting phones loses validity with each passing year of hardware innovation — even if flagship devices continue to sound like copy-and-paste versions of their predecessors.
Most of the gap between niche phone hype and adoption boils down to them which requires more work. Folders, for example, have come a long way from development camera quality again battery lifebut they still lag behind what you’ll find in high-end phones. The same goes for smaller phones like the Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone Air, which have scaled back the specs for lighter builds. Until smoothness fully meets function, most people will continue to choose the latter.
The prices of the different phones are also prohibitive. A book-style wrap costs around $2,000, and a trifold will set you back around $3,000. Despite their limited capabilities, small and light phones often sit around the $1,000 mark.
Perhaps we are creatures of habit. I am guilty myself. After checking out some of the best phones on the market, I always flock back to my old simple phones. They have everything I need — namely, good cameras and long battery life — without any frills. For most of us, one screen is more than enough to carry out daily tasks.
Sure, the phone in your pocket might look the same as the one you used 10 years ago. But does that really matter if it still works for you?
It’s good that cell phone companies are looking for ways to differentiate themselves — not only from others, but also from their existing products. And I hope they continue to push those limits and break away from predictable designs, if only to give consumers more choices.
But until more people choose to step outside the norm, new cell phone designs will remain firmly entrenched in the commercial industry and the occasional pocket.
