Mobile World Congress 2025 is nearly upon us, and we’re heading to Barcelona to see what the world’s smartphone manufacturers have to offer as they launch new devices, tease new features, and talk incessantly about AI. The show officially kicks off on March 3rd and runs to March 6th, but the first announcements should arrive on March 2nd, when Xiaomi, HMD, and Honor all have press conferences scheduled.
MWC may be a long way from its glory days when the likes of Samsung and Sony used it as the launchpad for that year’s flagship phones, but there are still some major players expected to unveil new hardware next week — most notably, Xiaomi bringing its flagship 15 series to Europe. Nothing, HMD, and Realme are among the other companies we already know are planning to launch new phones.
Here’s what to expect from the companies we know will have news.
Image: Xiaomi
It’s already been confirmed that Xiaomi is launching the 15 series on March 2nd, with the regular 15 and 15 Ultra expected to appear. The base model has been available in China since October, while the 15 Ultra was only officially revealed on February 27th.
The 15 Ultra is another photography-focused flagship, with Leica branding and one version with a two-tone finish that mimics that company’s cameras. Its quadruple-rear camera includes a new 200-megapixel periscope lens alongside a trio of 50-megapixel sensors. If it’s any sort of upgrade on last year’s 14 Ultra, then it could have a good claim to being the best phone camera in the world.
Nothing has been busy teasing its 3A series, which will launch on March 4th. The company has confirmed that it’s introducing its first triple camera, with a 3x optical zoom periscope lens, and it’s confident enough to have shown off some snaps alongside results from an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Leaks have told us even more. Unfortunately for Nothing, the design and specs of both phones leaked in full last week, revealing that the 3A and 3A Pro will have similar designs, but differ around the cameras. More intriguingly, leaked promo videos show off a new side button that appears to enable an AI assistant and something called the “Essential Space.”
It’s been a good few years since Samsung regularly launched its S-series flagships at MWC, and we’re not expecting any announcements on that scale this year. In fact, we’re not expecting any announcements at all, but there may be one big tease: the Galaxy S25 Edge.
First revealed as the “one more thing…” at the end of January’s S25 keynote, the Edge is an extra-thin entry in the company’s flagship line. Last year, Samsung used that slot to tease its Galaxy Ring wearable before letting us go hands-on with one at MWC, so there’s every chance we’ll get a better look at the Edge this time around.
Google is another company that’s unlikely to make any major hardware announcements at the show — it never really does at MWC.
Still, it likes to start the show with a slew of Android updates — last year’s big one was the integration of Gemini into the Messages app. We’d expect some similar small announcements this year, likely still centered around the Gemini AI assistant.
HMD is one of a few companies that has confirmed a press conference for March 2nd, issuing teasers that promise “Two icons. One device,” and show off both the iconic Nokia game Snake and HMD’s sponsorship of FC Barcelona. Its event is even being held at the soccer team’s Camp Nou stadium.
We’re not sure what that all means, though. Last year HMD — long the manufacturer of modern Nokia phones under license — used MWC to reveal the first smartphones under its own name, along with a Barbie-branded flip phone. At the time, it promised more collaborations to come, so perhaps the first Barcelona-branded handset is on the way?
Lenovo hasn’t announced anything about its MWC plans, but leaker Evan Blass has stepped up to do the job for it. Blass has shared images across two X threads of an array of laptops, tablets, and other gadgets that he says Lenovo will drop in Barcelona next week.
Most interesting by far is the ThinkBook Flip, a laptop with a foldable screen that lifts up to give you double the display or folds back out of the way when you don’t need it.
Honor has also announced a press conference on March 2nd, but it sounds a little… odd. The company hasn’t teased new hardware, instead promising that it will unveil a new corporate vision it has branded the “Alpha Plan”.
The company only unveiled its Magic 7 Pro flagship line last month, so it’s no real surprise that it doesn’t have new phones ready for MWC. It has, however, teased an announcement related to “cross-system connectivity with iOS devices,” so it won’t all be dry business stuff.
Realme has teased two major announcements for MWC 2025. The first is the global (read: European) launch of the 14 Pro series, which went on sale in India last month. The exciting element here is the color-changing finish, which shifts from a pearlescent white to a silvery blue when the temperature drops below 16 degrees Celsius (about 61 degrees Fahrenheit).
The bigger surprise is the tease of an all-new phone that Realme says has an ultra-large sensor and DSLR-inspired hardware. Realme has steered clear of the flagship space so far, so the big question right now is whether this will be a truly premium rival to the likes of the Galaxy S25 Ultra or something cheaper that seeks to undercut the competition on price.
Tecno has already teased a variety of announcements for MWC, centered around the launch of the Camon 40 series of phones. These will feature updated camera software that the company says can more accurately capture a diverse range of skin tones, echoing Google’s own work in the same space since 2021.
The company has also teased that it will show off “practical AI” — whatever that means — and has hinted that it will be bringing smart glasses, an AI-enabled laptop, and perhaps a prototype of its Phantom Ultimate 2 trifold phone, too.
Every year, TCL turns up to MWC with a load of new phones using its Nxtpaper E Ink-esque displays, and we see no reason to expect anything different this time around.
