The brand new Leica Leitzphone by Xiaomi, Honor’s ultra-thin MagicPad 4 and extra

MWC 2026 formally will get underway on March 2 and can proceed by March 5, however the bulletins are already coming forward of its begin. We are able to all the time rely on the annual tech occasion to convey tons of latest telephones, laptops and tablets, and we’re anticipating to see some robots and different devices too — plus loads of AI information, in fact. Along with the bulletins, MWC is our likelihood to get hands-on time with among the most attention-grabbing new units, just like the Xiaomi 17 Ultra.

Engadget’s Mat Smith is on the bottom in Barcelona, and we’ll be updating this story because the week goes on to maintain you within the loop on all the pieces that caught our consideration. Preserve checking again right here for the most recent MWC information.

Xiaomi x Leica

Xiaomi kicked off MWC this yr by asserting the worldwide launch of its 17 Extremely smartphone, which debuted first in China again in December. It is unclear if the cellphone will ever come to the US, but it surely’s now rolling out in Europe. Xiaomi teamed up once more with Leica to make a photography-focused smartphone, and the 17 Extremely sports activities a 1-inch 50-megapixel digicam sensor with a f/1.67 lens, a telephoto setup with a 200MP 1/1.4-inch sensor, and a 50MP ultrawide digicam. There’s additionally a guide zoom ring across the digicam.

Try our palms on for our first impressions of what it is like taking pictures with the Xiaomi 17 Ultra. And there is extra to it than simply the digicam. The 17 Extremely has a 6.9-inch OLED 120 Hz show that peaks at 3,500 nits of brightness, and a 6000mAh silicon-carbon battery. The Xiaomi 17 Extremely begins at £1,299 (roughly $1,750).

Leica additionally introduced a brand new cellphone made in partnership with Xiaomi at MWC. It appears to be like a complete lot like Xiaomi’s 17 Extremely, however is not the 17 Extremely, precisely.

Just like the 17 Extremely, Leica’s Leitzphone by Xiaomi has a 1-inch digicam sensor and bodily controls for zoom and different settings, utilizing a mechanical ring across the digicam unit. It encompasses a Leica-designed intuitive digicam interface with the choice to point out simply the necessities while you’re taking pictures, hiding all of the modes and labels. There is a monochrome taking pictures mode and Leica filters.

The Leica branding is splashed throughout it in design and wallpapers, but it surely’s in any other case fairly just like the 17 Extremely, with the identical specs. Just like the 17 Extremely, it has a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chip and a 6.9-inch 120Hz show. This one’s priced at €1,999 (roughly $2,362).

Along with the 17 Extremely, Xiaomi introduced two new tablets at MWC this yr: the Xiaomi Pad 8 and Xiaomi Pad 8 Pro. There’s nothing revolutionary right here, however they’re light-weight and skinny, with each being 5.75mm thick and weighing 485g, and have a 9200mAh battery. The Professional mannequin is powered by a Snapdragon 8 Elite chip, whereas the common Pad 8 makes use of the Snapdragon 8s Gen 4 chipset.

Xiaomi additionally unveiled a brand new 5000mAh powerbank, the UltraThin Magnetic Power Bank 5000 15W. The 6mm thick energy financial institution is available in three colours with an aluminum alloy shell: orange, silver and charcoal grey. Together with that, the corporate launched the Xiaomi Tag, its personal tackle the Bluetooth merchandise tracker. The Xiaomi Tag has a built-in hanging loop so it may be connected on to a keyring, and the corporate says it should work with each Apple Discover My and Google’s Discover Hub for Android.

Honor MagicPad 4

Forward of MWC, Honor introduced what it claims is the thinnest Android pill on the earth: the 4.8mm thick MagicPad 4. We’re anticipating to listen to extra about this at Honor’s press convention on Sunday, however up to now we all know it encompasses a 12.3-inch 165Hz OLED show and weighs simply 450g. It comes with as much as 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, and is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Gen 5 chipset. The thinness would not rely the digicam bump, Honor notes. The MagicPad 4 has 13MP rear and 9MP entrance cameras. It additionally boasts spatial audio, with eight audio system.

Simply because the show is barely smaller than the earlier MagicPad, the MagicPad 4 has a smaller battery at 10100 mAh. It comes with a 66W quick charger. The MagicPad 4 will run Honor’s MagicOS 10. We do not but understand how a lot it should value, however we’ll replace this after Honor’s press convention (the place we’re additionally anticipating to see the corporate’s robotic) with any new particulars.

Tecno

We are able to all the time anticipate to see some wild cellphone ideas at MWC, and this yr we’re beginning with one from Tecno. The corporate unveiled a modular idea smartphone design that may be as skinny as 4.9mm in its base configuration. There’d be 10 modules to select from based mostly on the announcement, together with numerous digicam lenses, a gaming attachment and an influence financial institution, counting on magnets to maintain all of it collectively — or Modular Magnetic Interconnection Expertise, as Tecno is looking it.