The 3 phones and tablets I’m most excited to see at MWC 2026

This year’s Mobile World Congress (MWC) is almost upon us, promising four days of mobile product announcements and innovations.

At the risk of dampening expectations at the outset, the first thing to note is that we’re unlikely to get any major surprises next week. The big brands all prefer to have their own separate announcements.

Samsung and Google have both announced major new smartphone hardware in the past week, while Xiaomi announced its latest flagships in December, so the MWC event is a global launch for most of its new devices.

Even with smaller brands, the nature of the modern press and social media environment means that we have at least some idea of what’s going to be on the showroom floor in Barcelona already.

That’s not to say there’s no excitement to be found at this year’s event in Barcelona. The following three devices have intrigued and titillated me in the weeks leading up to MWC 2026, and each promises to add something unique to the mobile party.

Tecno Modular Phone

Hong Kong-based Tecno hasn’t exactly wowed with its region-specific smartphones to date, but the Tecno Modular Magnetic Phone suggests it’s ramping up its ambitions.

This could be the most advanced and downright visually appealing modular phone concept we’ve ever seen (seen above).

It seems to be taking the skinny phone concept pioneered by the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge and the iPhone Air, and giving it a genuine purpose by implementing a magnetic accessory ecosystem.

There are ten such accessories that you can stick to the frame of Tecno’s sleek phone, including various camera configurations, a battery expansion, lanyards, and even a game controller. Because the base is so skinny, attaching most of these modules will leave you with a fairly normal-sized phone.

It’ll be intriguing to see how fully fleshed out this concept is – indeed, if there’s an actual product there at all. MWC should hopefully reveal all.

Motorola Razr Fold

Motorola’s first book-style foldable, the Motorola Razr Fold, will be one of the biggest genuinely new smartphone launches at MWC 2026.

It should also be one of the most exciting foldable launches. Personally, I’m more excited by this than I am the Honor Magic V6, which is also set for an MWC outing.

While Honor’s foldable will be the more premium offering of the two, it’s Motorola that looks likely to address the pricing issue that has plagued foldables from the off. If reports are to be believed, it could retail for around £1,500 – still expensive, but hundreds cheaper than the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7.

Motorola could poke Samsung’s imperious foldable in another way, too. The Galaxy Z Fold 7 famously ditched stylus support altogether, but the Motorola Razr Fold will support the company’s new Pen Ultra stylus on both of its screens.

Honor MagicPad 4

As mentioned, Honor Magic V6 foldable will likely attract more headlines, but for my money, the company’s next MagicPad tablet is the more interesting MWC announcement to look out for.

It promises to offer a startlingly complete tablet package, complete with a 12.3-inch 165Hz OLED display and a flagship-grade Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 processor (the first tablet to do so), all wrapped up in a teeny-tiny 4.8mm-thick frame.

That’s thinner than the Galaxy Tab S11 Ultra and iPad Pro M5.

The essential context I’m looking for here is the price. If Honor sticks anywhere near the £600 pricing of the Honor MagicPad 3, this could be the tablet bargain of the year.

Honorable mentions

London-based Nothing will be announcing its new phone at an event in London just after MWC – presumably because it’s cheaper and then more eyes are available – otherwise it would have occupied one of my top picks.

The Nothing Phone (4a) is an even bigger deal than usual for the brand, since Nothing previously announced that it wouldn’t be launching a flagship phone in 2026. It also promises a bold new take on the signature Glyph notification lighting system and should make for a nice Pixel 10a rival.

Elsewhere, we’ll be looking forward to seeing the Xiaomi 17 series take its global bow.

They always prove to be classy Galaxy S rivals, while the Xiaomi 17 Ultra in particular is sure to be a leading contender for the Best Camera Phone crown in 2026.