MWC 2026 Was All About Chinese Phones, 6G, And Dancing Robots

Mobile World Congress 2026 is about to wrap up in Barcelona. Over the past few days, BGR exhaustively walked through the Fira Gran Via venue to discover all the latest mobile techs, which this year have been represented by Chinese phones, 6G and Wi-Fi 8 promises, and, of course, one too many robots.

From the best of Showstoppers to all the crazy concepts of Lenovo, like a tabletop robot that could be the ultimate personal assistant, the trade show was marked by Honor making its first global announcement event hosted outside of China with the new Honor Magic V models. Besides that, we've seen mobile phones unveiled by Nothing, Huawei, Xiaomi, and even Oukitel, which went from copycats of the latest iPhone and Samsung Galaxy devices to a mockup of a very tiny smartphone that looks just like a Galaxy S27 series.

José Adorno/BGR

Also at the show, Qualcomm committed to the upcoming 6G standard alongside many industry players, as they expect the first appearance of this technology to be available before the end of the decade. Even more optimistic than that, these companies are now promising the next step of Wi-Fi, the Wi-Fi 8 standard, to get its first products by the end of this year or early 2027. In other words, these tech players are getting ready for more AI, consistent connectivity, and blazing-fast speeds.

While Mobile World Congress is not the place to see that many robots, as CES usually is, several companies still took their time to show some of their latest technology innovations combined with top-edge connectivity capabilities. While walking through the halls, I'd usually see a horde of people walking behind Exergio's humanoid robot paired with Converse shoes, and it would even make cameos at other booths like from MEI and Unitree.

José Adorno/BGR

Unitree, once again, was showing the capabilities of its boxing robots, which so far are more fun than actually dangerous, unlike some of the other devices they have in store. Like many other attendees, I spent a good 15 minutes watching these robots weirdly trying to attack each other, while Exergio's robot would be just standing there... capturing data.

José Adorno/BGR

Another surprise was Agibot and its new leasing program for robots. Starting at 899 euros per day, anyone can rent a robot for a kid's party, to work as a museum tour guide, security vigil, or even to dance with you. BGR also had the chance to see a restaurant that had an entire operation by robots. It was a bit slow, but the technology is (allegedly) only getting better.

During the MWC days, BGR also got invited to the Wired x Sparks' panel at the Monastery of Sant Miquel. Executives from Sparks, Ericsson, OURA, and ReinaiXance took part in the discussion of what to expect from technology in the next decade. While the hot topics inside the show have been faster connectivity, more displays, and AI assistants, for Sparks' Chief Growth Officer, Adam Charles, the next decade will be more about "more intentional personal experiences," as people will look for more ways to get closer to others.

OURA's CEO, Tom Hale, also talked about how non-intrusive technologies will continue to play a big role in that paradigm shift. Of course, being chief executive officer of a company that gets health data from your finger, Hale talked about how his technologies, and future ones, could help users read the room better. "Understanding people around you takes time, maybe you could understand the physiological sense of others without doing the hard work, which could help you approach a conversation with your wife, boss, or someone else differently."

At the end of the day, Mobile World Congress, just like this panel, was all about improving human connectivity. It might happen through 6G, Wi-Fi 8, XGIMI's AR glasses, or as simply as getting to know others. The answer lies somewhere in between.