Best of MWC 2025: T3's award-winners from Mobile World Congress

It's that time of year once more when the mobile industry gathers en masse in Barcelona as part of the Mobile World Congress show – a giant showcase of all the latest and best mobile phones and connected products.

It's also that time of year when T3's tech team descends on the show, sifting through all the announcements – check out our MWC 2025 live blog here – to pick out our best-of-best products, concepts and innovations – and bestow them with a T3 Best of MWC 2025 Award.

The show is back on fine form this year, with plenty of announcements and must-see products making our Best of MWC 2025 list. Check out our top 10 selections below, with an explainer about what makes each of them so special.

Xiaomi 15 Ultra

There are camera phones and then there's the Xiaomi 15 Ultra's camera phone. Its quad snapper has not one but two 1-inch sensors in its mix, including a 200-megapixel zoom. It's unlike anything else that's out there – and there's even a transformative camera grip that basically turns the phone into a camera.

Beyond its photographic accomplishments, however, the 15 Ultra is testament to the great and the good of Android, with Xiaomi's latest software and AI developments flowing smoothly. It's a fine phone to use compared to the usual flagship competition – with those cameras being the clear star of the show.

Samsung Galaxy A56

Samsung has come in swinging in the mid-range category, hot on the heels of Apple's reveal of the iPhone 16e, in delivering one of the best affordable phones in the Galaxy A56. It's the upgrade to last year's A55 success, bringing a new design language to the series.

With 'Awesome' colorways – literally the marketing name – a glass sandwich design and new brushed metal finish, the Galaxy A56 brings a whole new look for the series. The camera enclosure, meanwhile, is now in an 'island' design, delivering flagship S series looks from yesteryear in a commendable, affordable model.

Nothing Phone (3a) Pro

A totally new sub-category for Nothing's mid-tier phone line-up, the new (3a) Pro ups the ante when it comes to the cameras – offering a 3x periscope zoom that's walks beyond its key competition. That's why the rear camera enclosure is a new, larger and circular design.

Nothing continues with its unique semi-transparent design language and Glyph lights, though, which give it a really compelling point of difference against the usual best Android phones. And with a keen price, as said in our Nothing Phone (3a) Pro early review, this could be the MWC show-stealer.

Lenovo Yoga Pro

The Yoga Pro 9i Aura Edition is the latest high-performance laptop from Lenovo aimed at creators. The most impressive thing about this machine is its 16-inch, 3.2K PureSight Pro display. This is a tandem OLED display, using two OLED layers – and is the first time we’ve seen this tech in a laptop.

Its benefit is obvious: super-bright images, but the benefit of perfect contrast that OLED can deliver for the richest blacks yet the brightest of whites. The only other major device to use such technology is the Apple iPad Pro, which was a game-changer when it first launched.

Lenovo is no stranger to Best of MWC Awards, with its extensive research and development always bearing conceptual fruits at this show – from transparent displays to rollables. While this 2025 reveal might be less 'out-there', it's a super-desirable display technology that sets a new standard of appeal.

Honor Magic 7 Pro

While the original China launch of the Magic 7 Pro was in 2024, Honor used its MWC stand to show off its latest flagship for all to see. It stands out for a variety of innovations, including a new AI Deepfake Detection feature, which we first wrote about at the beginning of 2025.

While artificial intelligence in the software is part of the Magic 7 Pro puzzle, the handset is also choc-full of features that keep it competitive, including a 200-megapixel telephoto camera and a burst shooting mode for capturing moving subjects. That combination, plus IP69 ruggedness, makes it a killer combo – and worthy winner of a T3 Best of MWC award.

Oppo Find N5

Oppo took to MWC 2025 to deliver its AI Summit, highlighting the brand's focus on artificial intelligence. But the real, tangible best outing from Oppo is its recently-announced Find N5 foldable – which is the thinnest of this form-factor – which looks an absolute stunner.

The inside display – which, at 8.1-inches, is the biggest of any book-style foldable – also has the smallest indent (or 'crease') of any foldable you'll have set eyes on, further adding to its appeal. Sadly, the device won't be coming to Europe after a last-second announcement, but that doesn't detract from how much of a step forward this device is among the best folding phones.

Xiaomi Modular Optical System

Xiaomi has some great cameras on its latest handsets, but this concept, announced in the closing minutes of its keynote, goes one further. The modular optical system is a complete camera system, including the sensor, housed in what looks like a mirrorless camera lens. It attaches to the back of the specially adapted Xiaomi 15 via magnets and two pin connectors for power.

The system then allows you to use your phone properly as a camera, with a manual focus ring on the lens and full manual controls through the Pro setting in the camera app. The idea for this modular system would presumably offer more than one lens and allow you to snap various lenses on when needed.

While the idea isn’t completely new – Sony did something similar about 10 years ago – the potential for this is huge and could be the final nail in the coffin for budget mirrorless cameras. Now, give us one of these with a Leica badge on and you’re really talking...

Honor Watch 5 Ultra

It isn’t easy to stand out as a solid new wearable nowadays, but a good starting point is always to come out with a really nice, premium-feeling design. Honor’s new smartwatch manages just that, with a sleek octagonal shape that sits on the wrist very nicely indeed. That little smart dial is tactile and useful, too.

Equally importantly, the Watch 5 Ultra has some great specs to boast about, including a sharp 1.5-inch AMOLED display that looks impressively sharp in person, and battery life that can stretch to 15 days before you need to top it up.

Honor’s also talking up its ability to do a 45-second one-tap health check to make sure your basic measurements are cause for any alarm. Going through it on the MWC show floor I was reassured to pass with flying colours – or, at least, “no abnormalities”. Knowing that sort of quick once-over is available at any moment could be quite heartening for the health-conscious.

Huawei Mate XT

First revealed last year, but shown off in all its glory on Huawei's MWC stand, the Mate XT is the first triple-folding phone, revealing a gigantic 10.2-inch display within. It's like nothing else in the foldables world – and this is no concept, it's the real deal.

Testament to Huawei's ongoing research and development, this Mate handset is a real step forward – check out T3's first impressions hands-on – that shows Google and Samsung a thing or two when it comes to foldable accomplishments.

Lenovo AI Ring

Lenovo once again offered a bevy of concept designs for MWC, most of which were based around its ThinkBook business machines. There was also a number of 3D display solutions, from external monitors to plug in attachments, as well as in-built systems. These use a dual camera system to provide eye tracking, which then adjusts the image for you to create the three-dimensional approach.

This ThinkBook 3D laptop had those cameras built in to the top of the screen. The 3.2K display uses a Directional Backlight 3D solution to switch easily between 3D and 2D images – even offering both on the screen at the same time. The best thing though is the accompanying smart ring.

Called the Lenovo AI Ring, this acts as a pointer, much like a mouse or track pad, but in three dimensions. With the ring placed on your first finger, you can just your thumb to scroll, tap or long press to perform different actions. You can even click your fingers to switch between 2D and 3D modes. Where it gets really impressive though is with 3D models, as you can move and rotate objects just by rotating your hand.