MWC 2025 has come to an end, and there was so much to see, so many things to do! Managing Editor Derrek Lee and Senior Editor Harish Jonnalagadda were both in Spain this year and had the opportunity to hand out awards to some well-deserving companies.
This annual event gives companies a chance to show off their most recent products, introduce and tease new or upcoming devices, or reveal concepts that may never reach store shelves (but are still fun to play with).
There are definitely some products that really stuck with the team. With that in mind, here’s what made it into the list for the best of MWC 2025.
Best phone: Xiaomi 15 Ultra
With the 15 Ultra, Xiaomi once again proves that it knows how to deliver a terrific camera package. The return of the 1-inch main camera alongside a new 200MP tele lens gives the Xiaomi 15 Ultra versatility like no other phone available today, and it takes outstanding photos and videos in any lighting condition.
There’s plenty to like with the rest of the hardware; the design is much better than in previous years, and Xiaomi has a two-tone color option that’s evocative. Gaming isn’t a problem at all, but there have been instances where the device overheats. It easily lasts over a day, the AMOLED panel is brighter than last year, and the software is optimized well. Basically, the Xiaomi 15 Ultra has all the ingredients to be one of the best phones of 2025.
Best foldable phone: OPPO Find N5
The OPPO Find N5 solves one of the biggest pain points of foldables — size. Thanks to its ultra-thin design, it feels like a regular phone in daily use; even while folded, it is just 8.93mm thick, and that’s thinner even than the Xiaomi 15 Ultra — a considerable achievement.
But it’s when you unfold the Find N5 that you understand the magnitude of OPPO’s innovation. Coming in at just 4.21mm, the foldable is thinner than any other book-style device, and it is an absolute joy to use. You also get one of the best foldable camera packages, class-leading battery life, two fantastic OLED panels, and useful software features designed to maximize the potential of the tablet-sized inner panel.
Best value phone: Nothing Phone 3a Pro
The Phone 3a Pro is proof that you don’t need to pay a lot of money to get a great phone. It has Nothing’s distinctive design, but because of the addition of a new 50MP tele lens at the back, the camera island is distinctly busier than previous models. We like the new design, but it is polarizing, and Nothing admits as much.
The plus side is that you get two great 50MP cameras on the back of the Phone 3a Pro, and the inclusion of 3x optical zoom gives it much better usability in real-world scenarios. The hardware is better than last year, and it does a good job with gaming, the battery lasts a day, and the custom Nothing OS 3.1 software is the best you’ll see on any budget phone. The clean interface with bold widgets and styling gives the Phone 3a Pro a sizable advantage, and it will get more software updates than any other device in this category — an added bonus.
Best concept phone: TECNO Phantom Ultimate 2
The TECNO Phantom Ultimate 2 was teased in the latter half of 2024, and it impressed us with the fact that despite being a multi-fold phone, it was still thinner than the Galaxy Z Fold 6 at just 11mm thick. That said, no one got to see it in person until MWC 2025, where the phone was on display in all its multi-fold glory.
It’s actually quite shocking how thin the phone is in person. It protrudes on one side where the cameras are housed, which is par for the course with most smartphones these days. However, the massive 10-inch display is quite a sight to behold when fully unfolded. TECNO was unable to provide much in the way of specs, which is fair given this is just a concept, but the phone feels quite solid, and we hope that it makes its way into consumer hands soon.
Best accessory: Aurzen ZIP Tri-Fold Projector
Tri-fold phones are slowly becoming a thing, but this portable projector is also diving into the tri-fold space. The Aurzen ZIP Tri-Fold Projector features a pocketable design that’s just 1 inch when folded and weighs less than an iPhone. It outputs a 720p picture that makes it easy to view video and images from your phone on a larger canvas.
There are actually many ways to connect to the projector; you can just cast using your phone, and there’s an HDMI receiver built into the product, so you can use it with just about any device.
Best wearable device: Xiaomi Watch S4
Last year’s S3 was one of the best budget smartwatches around, and the S4 builds on that foundation. It has a bright AMOLED panel, decent internals, excellent battery life, and Health Connect integration. The smartwatch continues to be highly customizable, with Xiaomi making it easy to switch out the bands and even alter the color of the dial. There’s a rotating crown, it lasts 15 days between charges, and at 1,500 nits, this is the brightest smartwatch in its category. And best of all, it is a great value.
Best XR device: RayNeo X3 Pro
RayNeo’s X3 Pro are upcoming AR glasses that run on Qualcomm’s AR1 Gen 1. The glasses pack a considerable amount of hardware into a tiny chassis, and they include a custom optical engine that allows the glasses to be thinner and lighter. The micro-LED panel gets up to 2,500 nits, and a high-res camera is integrated into the glasses that lets you record your surroundings. Basically, the X3 Pro is a Meta Orion rival that aims to make AR much more accessible, and RayNeo is also bundling a suite of useful AI features into the glasses.
Best AI innovation: Honor Alpha Plan
To say that Honor is going all-in on AI would be an understatement. The Chinese manufacturer has pledged $10 billion toward AI innovation over the next decade, and it is positioning its devices as part of an overarching AI ecosystem. The Alpha plan consists of three pillars: create a phone with an agentic AI, build an open ecosystem, and collaborate with global partners to deliver new AI use cases. It is a bold vision to say the least, and it will be interesting to see how Honor leverages the potential of on-device and cloud AI models to differentiate itself — and its products.